Raised Beds: Garden Design Tips

Raised beds are a common feature in many productive garden designs, and when used wisely, they can be an incredibly effective solution for growing food. But they are not always the right choice for every space or situation. As with all elements in a permaculture design, it’s essential to assess your specific needs and contextContinue reading “Raised Beds: Garden Design Tips”

California Permaculture Design: Drought-tolerant, Ecoregional Permaculture Landscape Design

This concept design for a property in Livermore, California aims to provide plans for the creation of a beautiful, regenerative landscape that provides for many of the needs of the family who live here while also catering for wildlife and ecological health and improving the biodiversity of the site. Ecoregional Design Within the Livermore HillsContinue reading “California Permaculture Design: Drought-tolerant, Ecoregional Permaculture Landscape Design”

Spring Gardening With Little Time to Spare

Like most people these days, I find I have a long list of things to do, and little time in which to do them. (Hence the delay in updating this website.) Spring is a very busy time of year for me as a permaculture garden designer and consultant, and also a busy time for meContinue reading “Spring Gardening With Little Time to Spare”

Cornwall School Farm Permaculture Design

As well as working on designs for private properties, I also work on community projects. This is something that is very important to me, since I am very much aware of the criticisms of permaculture relating to its inaccessibility for many… and seek, where I can, to remove potential barriers. Permaculture offers concepts and designContinue reading “Cornwall School Farm Permaculture Design”

Wildlife-friendly Landscape Design for a Long, Narrow Garden in Pennsylvania

Many gardeners feel challenged by the length and width of their gardens. Having a long, narrow garden is a common complaint. I’ve worked on a number of designs for gardens like this over the years. Like any garden, long, thin spaces have both their advantages and disadvantages – with permaculture design – with the rightContinue reading “Wildlife-friendly Landscape Design for a Long, Narrow Garden in Pennsylvania”

Ireland Permaculture Project – Eco-friendly and Family-Friendly Landscape Design

This design, which I worked on towards the end of last year, aims to provide a pleasing recreational space where wildlife is welcomed throughout the seasons, and where predominantly native planting is used to give aesthetic appeal, as well as some edible yields. The design significantly boosts biodiversity on the property, while also dividing theContinue reading “Ireland Permaculture Project – Eco-friendly and Family-Friendly Landscape Design”

Spiral Form Gardens: Beyond Basic Herb Spirals

If you are familiar with my writing and designs, you will likely also be familiar with the concept of a herb spiral. This idea, extremely popular in permaculture circles, involves creating a pyramidal, spiral-form raised bed to grow a range of herbs that like different growing conditions in a relatively small area. However, the potentialContinue reading “Spiral Form Gardens: Beyond Basic Herb Spirals”

South Carolina Permaculture – Sustainable Landscape Design

Another design from late last year, for a client in South Carolina, explores a range of exciting ideas, including sacred geometry, mandala gardens, herb spirals, forest gardens and other forms of agroforestry, while also focussing on family and ensuring a high-quality family life. Zone 1: Zone one focusses around two loci – the primary homeContinue reading “South Carolina Permaculture – Sustainable Landscape Design”

North Carolina Permaculture Design

This design for a site of approximately 44 acres, 33 of which are currently plantation woodland that I created towards the end of last year. I provided site plans to guide the formation of a sustainable, beautiful and productive homestead for the extended family, including planting schemes and plant lists, alongside the information given below:Continue reading “North Carolina Permaculture Design”

Practical Design Tips for a Low Maintenance Garden

Low maintenance – these are words that come up again and again when clients describe what they are looking for in their gardens. Careful design can certainly help us to achieve our goals of being able to use our gardens more fully without having to take on more work than we can handle. While IContinue reading “Practical Design Tips for a Low Maintenance Garden”