Imagine yourself in your porch on a lazy summer afternoon. Suddenly, you see a hummingbird getting nectar from some Beebalm. Then you see a second. Birds swoop down to eat the winter rye seeds, and Bumblebees land on your pollinating flowers.. Despite the (rain, drought, wind) of climate change, your backyard ecosystem is stable. Every year is a surprise, but not a nasty one where BIttersweet climbs and strangles all your trees, outcompeting native vegetation.
Nature is an excellent designer. The Permaculture (Permanent Agriculture) design process is simply the idea of designing to mimic the closed loop, low waste ecosystems found in nature. By looking at your property as a whole system, (birds, bees, humans, critters, soil, trees), we can help you create low cost, stable, resilient gardens and meadows on your property that naturally attract wildlife and have an incredible (and often unexpected) beauty.
What Can Permaculture Design do For YOU?
1) SAVE MONEY. Rather than buying a lot of nursery product every year, work from good soil and seed. See what comes up by April. Use annuals and perenials together to create a whole ecosystem, rather than a collection of plants.
2) SAVE LABOR. Why drag all your leaves away when you can shred them and compost them for the following year? Saves money and effort on bags, saves money on compost.
3) SAVE MATERIALS. What resources do you have ON SITE already that can enhance your garden? If trees need pruning, logs can be used for paths. If you have an abundance of rocks, they can be collected to make drought tolerant zen gardens.
4) CARBON SEQUESTERING: If you take care of your trees, they will take care of you. Trees, apart from beauty, filter our air, and sequester carbon. They also provide Shade, wildlife habitat, and cost savings on staying cool in the summer.
5) LAWNS INTO MEADOWS. Why struggle to maintain a traditional lawn when you can have a varigated lawn (or meadow) of clover, grass and flowers? You would be surprised what wildlife comes to visit. Your trees will love you for not using herbicides.
By looking at your property as a whole system, rather than as a bunch of separate parts, you can save money, enjoy beauty and wildlife, and even better, your property will be prepared for climate change.
