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”
Tag Archives: garden
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”
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”
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 forContinue reading “Achieve Your 2025 Goals Through Gardening”
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 isContinue reading “How a Permaculture Garden Design Can Allow a Garden To Get Better Over Time”
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 ChallengesContinue reading “Coastal Foraging Garden Design: Balancing Aesthetics and Edible Yields”
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. TheContinue reading “Native Plant Family Garden Design in Hawthorne, California”
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 designContinue reading “Garden Design – Why Get Help to Plan Your Garden?”
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 theirContinue reading “Budget-Friendly Garden Ideas: Improve Your Garden for Free”