Welcome
Read on to learn more about permaculture, sustainability and what I do.
Yorkshire Permaculture Design
This is my design for a client in Yorkshire, in collaboration with a client excited to be taking the first steps towards a more self-reliant and resilient way of life on this small plot of land. Like many of my clients, this one wanted some reassurance that they were on the right track, and some…
Reuse and Upcycling in a City Garden
You don’t need to have a massive budget or a large space to create a beautiful and productive garden. My designs often incorporate materials that my clients already have on hand – and I am an advocate of making use of what you already have before you even think about buying anything new. This recent…
Sustainable Irrigation & Water Management
Whether you are dealing with high rainfall or drought, a boggy site prone to flooding, or land that becomes parched and dry, managing water effectively and sustainably is crucial to long-term success. If you have not thought much about water on your property then you are in a fortunate position. Increasing numbers are now having…
Growing Food Indoors & Undercover
As a garden designer, I have worked with clients to grow food in an amazing range of situations. Typical gardens are not the only option for food cultivation. There are so many other places where food can be grown – from polytunnels or greenhouses, to rooftops, balconies, or interior spaces in homes, restaurants, offices, business…
Community Orchard Permaculture Design
A local community group in England approached me to create a plan for a community orchard that they wished to create on a brownfield and scrub site adjacent to their existing car park and community building. Community Hub and Community Orchard Design The creation of the concept plan involved collaboration with several local societies and…
Summer Solstice – Design Reflections for the Longest Day
In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice marks a moment of profound significance — the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, and we enjoy the longest day of the year. For millennia, people have celebrated this turning point, recognising it as a time of abundance, growth, and potential. But beyond its cultural and…
Maine Permaculture Design: Sustainable Food Production & Ecosystem Restoration
This is my design for a property of approximately 2 – 2.5 acres in Maine, USDA zone 5a. Like many of my designs, the starting point for this project was the desire of the property owners to increase the amount of food that they grow for themselves and their neighbours. They were also excited to…
Shared Garden Design: Landscape Design for Sustainable Shared Spaces
Shared gardens can often be challenging and underutilised spaces. But even when people do not agree on every detail, a space can still serve to meet multiple needs while also being a boon to local wildlife. This design for a client in Glasgow, Scotland, aims to overcome the challenges of this largely shaded shared garden.…
Beyond Conventional Landscape Design – Why Choose Permaculture Design?
I am sometimes asked how being a permaculture designer is different to being a more generic ‘landscape designer’. Permaculture designers are one type of landscape designer, and they can do many of the same things. It is important, however, to recognise that permaculture approach to landscape design goes far beyond that of most conventional landscape…
Garden Design Tip: Value Other ‘Gardeners’ in Your Outside Space
I am the main human gardener on our property, but I am far from being the only one who does things and makes choices that influence what happens in the garden. One important thing that human gardeners need to remember is that they are not gardening alone. Any human gardener is just one of a…
London Landscape Design – Sustainable Design for a Steeply Sloping Family Garden
This design aims to make the most of this sloping site in South East London, while creating a biodiverse, ecologically complex, beautiful and productive family space. The design aims to incorporate plenty of wildlife-friendly and child-friendly features while also ensuring effective and efficient water management and diverse food production for a resilient and sustainable way…
Iowa Permaculture Design – Food Production & Restoration
This plan for a property in Iowa aims to provide relatively low-maintenance but highly productive food producing habitat for humans, and wildlife, including deer as an additional wild food source. It aims to boost biodiversity and improve the health of natural ecosystems on the site. The site is within an ecoregion where a mosaic of…
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 context…
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 Hills…
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 me…
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 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 right…
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 the…
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 potential…
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 home…
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:…
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 I…
Achieve Your 2025 Goals Through Gardening
Happy new year and best wishes for 2025! I do not always update this website as often as I should. Like many people, I find that time can often be in short supply. Now, as the new year begins, I fully intend to share more of my designs, and more design tips and advice for…
Regenerating Native Oak Woodland: Holistic Permaculture Design
Here you can see my concept design for a site of approximately 2.5 acres in the California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. It is located within an area where blue oak woodland predominates but the site itself has been degraded by human activity and largely denuded of its native vegetation cover. The client’s primary goal…
Getting Starting With Permaculture: Where to Begin
Some who are new to the concept of permaculture find the whole thing overwhelming. Looking around online, having heard about permaculture for the first time, it is easy to get information overload. Cutting through the buzz words and jargon and getting to the heart of things can be important. There is of course plenty to…
Permaculture Garden Design: Strategies for Reluctant Gardeners
When I speak to people about what I do as a garden designer, or show people my own garden, I often get one of two different reactions. People who are already keen gardeners tend to lean in, ask questions, and try to learn more, if they come across an idea with which they are not…
Commercial Agroforestry – Vietnam Permaculture Design
This is the initial part of a design for a commercial farm in Vietnam, where the owner wishes to implement agroforestry and permaculture principles to improve carbon sequestration and sustainability on site, and boost biodiversity, while also earning an income as a viable business. Slow, Steady Solutions for Sustainable Transition A work in progress, this…
Trees and their Roles in Permaculture Designs
Trees are of course very important elements in many permaculture designs. The specific roles that they can play, however, can be many and varied, and trees must always be used in the right places, and within the right type of design, to achieve the right results. Tree planting is almost invariably talked about as a…
How a Permaculture Garden Design Can Allow a Garden To Get Better Over Time
Permaculture designs help us to make the most of a current site and/or situation. But, of course, permaculture does not just concern itself with the here and now. Permaculture also looks forward. In the context of garden design, permaculture can allow us to design for the present and the future, for a garden that is…
Colorado Permaculture Design: Mountain Garden Design
Perched high in the mountains, this Colorado homestead in the case study concept plan above has some truly stunning views. But the owners were unsure where to start when developing plans for their steeply sloping site. They wanted to make sure that they could use the land for recreation and for food production, while also…
Using Native Wildflowers in Permaculture Design
Using native wildflowers in permaculture design is common, of course, but how exactly might native flowering plants be incorporated into your plans? Permaculture design can often involve thinking about wild plants would naturally grow in a particular area, and then incorporating those plants in schemes that serve us, as humans, as well as the natural…
Regenerative Gardening and Regenerative Agriculture
In order to move towards a positive future for all, we need to embrace a regenerative rather than an extractive mindset. Working with cyclical systems, working with nature, we need to remember the importance of giving back, keeping those cycles turning rather than simply taking all that we can get. Regenerative gardening and farming go…
Coastal Foraging Garden Design: Balancing Aesthetics and Edible Yields
Coastal gardens can often be challenging, with strong, salt-laden winds and perhaps very light and sandy soils. This fairly small coastal garden in Eastern Scotland is currently an under-used space, an area of grass south of a coastal cottage, with a coastal path running along low, craggy cliffs on its southern side. The Typical Challenges…
Forest Garden Design Tips: Developing Sustainable Food-Producing Systems
As anyone who has looked at any of my case studies will already know, forest gardens, food forests or agroforestry schemes often play important roles in my designs. Forest gardening also lies at the heart of my own gardening at home. I have a walled orchard which I have gradually worked to evolve into a…
Permaculture Design for a Wildlife-Friendly Scottish Garden
You do not have to have a massive garden to make a big difference for local wildlife. This is my design for a garden in West Lothian, in Scotland’s ‘Central Belt’. The client approached me because they wanted to turn the lawned, boggy area next to their new-build home into a wildlife haven for their…
Sustainable Landscape Design – Sources of Inspiration
I have recently been thinking about my different sources of inspiration for the permaculture designs I create, so today I thought I would share some of the things that help me to come up with my ideas, in hopes that some of these things may also inspire you to dream and plan when it comes…
Overcoming Barriers to City Rewilding and Re-greening Initiatives
Rewilding cities and other human-centric spaces is increasingly important, as more and more people spend their lives in massive metropolises with little access to truly natural and ‘wild’ environments, and as we encroach ever more on the wildlife around us. Rewilding Cities: Identifying Sites for Permaculture Design Identifying land suitable for rewilding in cities and…
Virginia Permaculture Design: Native Plants, Forest Garden, Mandala Garden
This is a garden design for the ridge and valley ecoregion of Virginia, incorporating plenty of native plant species and primarily aims to: This concept design, for which I have also delivered a full planting plan, incorporates a wide range of plants native to the eco-region, within a range of different ecosystem types. Alongside some…
Practical Tips for Small Gardens
You do not need to have a large garden to adhere to permaculture ethics and principles. Even in the smallest spaces you can obtain a yield and grow at least a little of your own food, while still having some space for recreation. Small gardens can often deliver far more than you might think. Understanding…
Permaculture Communities – Design Tips and Ideas
I have worked on designs for a range of permaculture communities around the world, on a range of scales. Community is important, and understanding how we can scale up from the personal and individual to a broader-scale resilience though permaculture design is crucial for a sustainable future. What is a Permaculture Community? When I talk…
Native Plant Family Garden Design in Hawthorne, California
This is the first part of my design for a family in Hawthorne, California, a part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I am currently working on the planting plans for each of the areas shown on this plan and am close to completing the more detailed design. In this design, family-life is central. The…
Garden Design – Why Get Help to Plan Your Garden?
Permaculture design gives anyone the tools they need to create their own garden design. By following permaculture ethics, principles and design methodologies we can all move closer and closer to a truly sustainable way of life. So many may ask why they should employ the services of a permaculture designer. Why get help to design…
Case Study: Washington DC Permaculture Plan
In this case study for a family garden in Washington DC, water takes centre stage. Craving an aquatic idyll, the clients requested a garden with a waterfall, lazy river and natural swimming pool, taking advantage of a natural depression in the back yard. A native plant-filled rain garden completes the watery picture – keeping water…
Budget-Friendly Garden Ideas: Improve Your Garden for Free
All too often, people make the mistake of thinking that they cannot afford to improve their gardens. They do not realise that there is actually a lot that they can do for free. With some thought, determination and hard work, there are plenty of budget-friendly garden ideas to implement that allow anyone to improve their…
Rewilding or Ungardening in Permaculture Design
When any permaculture designer is working on a project, they will typically be working within the relatively solid framework of the permaculture ethics and permaculture design principles. But permaculture as a design framework it not rigid. It leaves the space that is needed for nature, for people, and for changes over time as a system…
Case Study: Utah Permaculture Design
The above design is my initial concept plan for a client in Utah. One of the primary goals for this design was to manage water wisely on the property, catching and storing as much as possible from the retained hillside to the north, as well as from the home itself. The design aims to prevent…
Case Study: Montana Permaculture Design
Montana is a varied state with diverse eco-regions, incorporating parts of the Rockies, of course, as well as some of the Wyoming Basin and portions of the Northern Great Plains. This design is for a client based towards the south-west of the state, in a mesic montane area where small fragments of stable, climax Aspen…
Case Study: Panama Permaculture
This case study shows my design for a client in Panama who is looking to create a care facility for those with Alzheimers and dementia on her property. Holistic Design for Holistic Care Caring for her own mother, my client has discovered the immense benefits of holistic care in a restful and natural environment and…
Case Study: Texas Permaculture
This is my concept design for a client in the Western Cross Timbers bioregion of Texas who primarily reached out for help with their water management plans for the area around their home. Permaculture Water Management As you can see from the plan above, the design incorporates many water-management features commonly found in permaculture designs,…
Case Study: Yorkshire Garden Design
Working with small and somewhat awkwardly shaped garden spaces is a challenge for many gardeners. But with the right designs we can overcome all the difficulties that can arise and create attractive and functional spaces. Yorkshire Permaculture Design This design for a property near the coast of North Yorkshire, in England, works with existing features…
Case Study: Flower Farm Initial Concept Design
There are many ways to diversify income streams on a farm and many ways to obtain an income from a piece of land. This case study shows my preliminary concept design for a portion of a property in Georgia where the clients wish to develop a commercial flower farm, expanding an existing business. Diverse Flower…
Case Study: Czech Republic Permaculture Plan
A family in the Czech Republic requested this design for a portion of their property in order to grow as much of their own food as possible. They wish to create a pleasing place where their family of four with two young boys can spend plenty of time, relaxing, playing and foraging. They also wanted…
Case Study: Philippines Permaculture Plan
This is my concept design for a site of approximately 2,500 sq m on Cabilao Island, in the Philippines. The design aims to maximise food production while also providing each of the elements desired by the client, responding to the strengths, opportunities, challenges and weaknesses of the specific site and delivering plenty of options for…
Case Study: Scotland Permaculture Design for Flooding Mitigation
Often in permaculture design, we encounter issues with water. In many areas and on many specific sites, a shortage of water is the challenge. But on occasion, we may find that the challenge we need to address is not too little water, but too much. In some regions, we are not faced with increasing drought…
Case Study: Vermont Permaculture Design
This case study shows my design for a steeply sloping site in rural Vermont, completed late last year. The design was created for a husband who wished to surprise his wife with a design for their new property as a Christmas gift. The couple fell in love with the rural property, with its great views looking…
Case Study: Large Scale Agricultural Design, Permaculture in Angola
This case study is a broad-level concept plan for a large agricultural project of 25,000 ha in Angola. Of course, this gives only a broad overview of my concept for this site. This large farm operating according to permaculture principles can serve as a test site for agricultural progress and food security in countries where…
Case Study: Dryland Permaculture Design
Happy new year! I hope that everyone has had a good start to 2024 and is ready to dive headlong into a new year of possibilities and a new growing season. For my first post of the year, I wanted to share this exciting concept design for a dryland permaculture design project in Arizona which…
Case Study: Illinois Permaculture Design
This is the preliminary permaculture concept plan for a farmstead in Illinois. the design aims to synthesise the ideas of the client with the demands of the site and to allow them to make the most of the property – recently purchased – that has been somewhat neglected in recent years. The client, a hobby farmer…
Case Study: Scottish Permaculture Garden
This is a domestic garden design for a client in eastern Scotland. The key design goals with this project were to create a space for nature-connection, with plenty of space for human recreation and for food production while also providing a sanctuary for local wildlife. The client wanted to incorporate more trees and other plants…
Case Study: Tranquil Meditation Garden
This is my design for a property in Ireland for a client who wanted a really relaxing space. food production was a priority but so too was creating a space where she and her grown-up daughters could really breathe, meditate and unwind. Aside from the trees to the north/ north west, the edge of a…
A Discounted Permaculture Design Package for Christmas
Though it does still seem rather early to be thinking about Christmas, this could be a good time to think about providing your partner with a gift this year that will not just give them a good feeling on Christmas day, but which can keep delivering long term. Do you and your family dream of…
2023 in Review – Hope from Permaculture in Practice
As we near the end of 2023, I am minded to look back at what has happened and what has been achieved over the year. As the November nights draw in, I am thankful for the hope that clients and fellow permaculture practitioners, rewilders, environmentalists and conservationists have given me in what have, for many,…
Case Study: Scottish Forest Garden
I have been a little remiss in updating case studies to this site recently, but this is not because nothing has been going on but rather because there has been so much! Finding time to share what I have been doing has been a challenge, but I do still want to make sure that I…
Case Study: Caribbean Eco Village
Co-operation and community are key to creating a thriving and healthy future for all. Starting with a single property, with an eco-home and organic, sustainable permaculture garden, a project can grow to incorporate a number of independent homes and gardens sharing resources and working together to combine modern sustainability practices and traditional village life. The…
Case Study: SE England Wildlife Garden
This is my design for a garden of approximately 28 x 28m (784 sq m) in South Eastern England. The garden is currently mostly laid to lawn, with a marked slope upwards to the northern end. It is surrounded by a fairly low natural stone wall that has crumbled down in a couple of places,…
Case Study: Collaborative Permaculture Plan – Turkey
This is the concept plan for a project I am working on for a client in Turkey, who is planning to convert the barn on this piece of land, and create a homestead with a forest garden and vines. The primary concern was to create water systems to retain water on the property while also…
Case Study: Eastern Kansas Permaculture Plan
This case study shows my concept design for a small property on a lot of a little under 170 sq m, in eastern Kansas, at the fringes of the central forest-grasslands transition ecotone, where the eastern forests meet the great plains. The client has just moved into the property in question and wants to turn…
Case Study: Scotland Agroforestry
This is the concept plan for a new food producing garden and agroforestry area of approximately 4 acres, on a smallholding of around 7 acres in south west Scotland, where the primary goal is to provide a substantial proportion of the diet of the inhabitants while also generating income through additional yields. As well as…
Case Study: Victoria, Australia Childcare Centre Garden
The concept plan above shows the design for a site in Victoria, Australia. The site is a childcare facility, for children aged between 18 months and 6 years, and sometimes older children up to the age of 10 after school and during holidays. This design therefore takes into account their needs and requirements for their…
Case Study: Co-Housing Permaculture Design
I’ve had a very busy few weeks, but wanted to update you on another case study showing a design I completed some time ago. I have been rather slow to update of late so I have several recent designs to share, and I will be sure to do so over the next week or two.…
Case Study: Family-Fun Garden
This design shows a garden for a family in USDA Zone 7, Virginia, who want to make the most of their space to enjoy time together before the oldest children leave home, with space to incorporate the interests of family members of a range of different ages, while also growing more food and other resources…
Case Study: Water-Wise California Garden
Water-wise gardening is crucial wherever you live. But is especially important, of course, in regions where water-shortage is a particularly pressing issue. This concept design for a garden in California shows that xeriscaping – or water-wise planting – does not always have to involve vast expanses of paving and gravel and spiky cacti and succulents.…
Case Study: India Permaculture Syntropic Agroforestry
This case study is an initial concept plan for a design I am currently working on in India’s Tamil Nadu region. The goal for this design is to create a syntropic food forest or agroforestry system on this site. To facilitate creation and water management, the main portion of the planting zone will be laid…
Case Study: Maryland Permaculture
This design shows the expansion of existing vegetable growing areas and productive spaces into the existing lawn of a Maryland property. It has been developed with reference to the location and site, and the client’s requirements, using permaculture design methods. Located in the Coastal Plain region, almost entirely dependent on groundwater for its water supply,…
Case Study: Sloping Garden Design
This is a design for a sloping back garden in northern England. The site slopes steeply down from north to south, from the back of the home to the lower end. There is around 2.2m difference in elevation between the highest point outside the back door, to the lowest point close to the end of…
Case Study: Intentional Community
This concept design is for a planned intentional permaculture community set in farmland and woodland in Idaho, covering around 10 acres at the heart of a site of around 25 acres. The idea behind the design is to create a community of around 25-50 people living in a sustainable way and collaborating to grow food…
Earth Day Inspiration
What should you do to celebrate Earth Day, invest in our planet and take action? There are, of course, a great many things that you can do – and not just on Earth Day. Remember, caring for people and planet should be something we all do year-round. But Earth Day is an opportunity to hit…
Case Study: Mediterranean Permaculture Concept Plan
This site of around 2 acres is located in the Provence region of France, in the Mediterranean climate zone. It enjoys a long growing season ideally suited to the cultivation of a range of plants and crops. The primary challenges are heat and aridity in the summer months, so shade creation, and good water management…
Fruit Tree Guild Planting Dos and Don’ts
Planting fruit trees can be a wonderful idea in many gardens. But whenever you consider planting a fruit tree, there are of course a wide range of things to think about. Creating a fruit tree guild is one of those things. Of course, you need to think about the environmental conditions and where you live.…
Thinking Global, Considering Regional, Acting Local
Apologies for the hiatus – I have been a little slow to post recently on this site because I have been extremely busy. I have been working on a range of projects, writing, and have, of course, also been busy here on my own property, both with the never-ending string of spring sowing and growing…
Case Study: Mississippi Permaculture Concept Plan
This is my concept design for a site of around 3 acres in Mississippi. The design aims to maximise food production while also providing for the needs of those who live on site and providing attractive and useful family space. The design is, of course, tailored to the client, the site, and the local conditions,…
Case Study: Public Park
This case study shows my design for a new public park in England. The site is currently a large grassy area, used in part as a play area for local school children from an adjacent school to the north but otherwise little used. The goal is to turn this area into an asset for the…
Blending Human Requirements and Nature’s Needs
Designs for home gardens and community sites must take into account, of course, the needs of the natural world around us. But they should also meet human needs. Often, it can seem as though these are conflicting. Though at the root, of course, these are one and the same. At the heart of it all,…
Case Study: Healing Garden
Many of us turn to our gardens when we are in need of healing – in physical body or in mind. In this case study, we see a garden where healing is the main purpose – the primary goal was to create a wildlife friendly space where the client could move around easily, and feel…
Our Individual Choices Can Perpetuate Problems or Work Towards Good
It is easy to feel helpless in today’s world – shifted by political tides, our changing climate, and other factors which can sometimes feel beyond our control. But while, often, we may struggle to see how we can truly change things for the better, it is always so important to remember that as individuals, we…
Case Study: Terraced Forest Garden Permaculture Design
This case study shows the preliminary concept design for a challenging garden with extreme slope in south western England. Existing retaining walls on a steep slope to the north and north east of the existing home are failing, insufficient and in poor repair. There are concerns that damage could occur to the home. Existing planting…
We Stand Together
These are dark and disturbing times. I’ve thought for a while about what I wanted to say about the tragic atrocities the Russian military is currently perpetrating on the people of Ukraine. While, living elsewhere we can sleep well, without threat, in our homes and plan our spring gardens, I am sure I speak for…
Case Study: Cambodian Project
This month has been a little different to many for me because rather than working on a number of smaller designs, I have predominantly been working on the next stage of the large project in Cambodia which I shared before. Above, you can see a portion of the planting plans for the North Valley areas…
Making a Living From Land
Many homesteaders, smallholders and hobby farmers dream of making a living from the land they tend. For some, a higher level of self-sufficiency is the only goal. But others dream of turning their property into a successful business. Seeking Solutions for Land Through my consultancy and design work, I can provide help to my clients…
Case Study: Community Potager
Not many of us, I think, would be generous enough to give over our own private gardens to community growing. But that is exactly what the client for the design shown above wishes to do. While they wish to grow food for themselves, they also want to create a space to grow as much food…
Land Ownership and Land Access
As a designer, I usually work with those who have been fortunate enough to purchase land. But I also work with communities and groups who are overcoming the challenges of access to land and providing what essentially becomes common land for the benefit of all. This is something I feel very passionate about. Land ownership…
Case Study: Cape Town, South Africa Permaculture Design
This is a quick overall concept plan I have created for a small suburban property of c. 495 sq m (mostly built on) in Cape Town, South Africa. Of course, this does not include all the planting detail, but serves to show the overall intention and as a point for feedback and discussion before more…
Getting Back to the Roots
I recently wrote a brief article for Treehugger: Why We Should Think About Roots. In this piece, I look a quick look at why it is so important to delve deeper, both when thinking about gardens and garden design, and when trying to live a sustainable life in general. We can learn a lot from…
Case Study: Connecticut Permaculture Design
This is a design for the garden of a family home in Connecticut, USDA zone 6. The goal was to create a design which maximised food production while also giving visual beauty, benefit to local wildlife, zones for recreation, and plenty of space for children to play. This garden is for a family of seven,…
Updating Traditional Cottage Garden Style for Your Specific Location
Certain styles of gardens are perennially popular around the world. The English cottage garden is one typical example. But achieving a certain style does not mean copying the design exactly, down to the specific plants that you choose. So good design often means updating traditional garden styles with native plants – to make them more…
Case Study: Cambodia Permaculture Project
I’ve had a very busy week, so have not had time to write any other posts this week. But I did want to share with you an exciting and large-scale project which I have been working on, and will be working a lot more on next month. Eco- Resort, Restoration, Reclamation – A Sustainable Future…
Case Study: Senegal
This is a design for a small property in Nguerigne, Senegal. This is a property of around 2,400 sq m, currently almost entirely bare and exposed except for one baobab tree. It is level, sandy and dry. This region is close to the intersection between the Sahel, and the West Sudanian savannah – in an…
Rewilding On A Range of Scales
When we talk about rewilding, we are often talking about doing so on a landscape scale – over broad areas. Large scale conservation, ecosystem restoration and rewildling are certainly important. But it is also important to consider smaller scale rewilding schemes on individual properties, and even in individual gardens. I’ve had a very busy start…
Case Study: Child-Friendly Garden Design
This design was for a small garden in southern England, for a client who not only has her own children but also works as a childminder. The garden, therefore, needed to be rationalised and laid out better, so that it would work well for the family themselves, their chickens, their dog, and for all the…
Water Conservation in Garden Design
I have worked on a number of designs for dryland regions and arid climates. And of course, in such design work, water conservation is key. But no matter where you live, it is important to think about water conservation in garden design. It is important to consider both landscape and the build environment when considering…
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