On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA December 2016 - January 2017 | Page 18

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

SABRENA SCHWEYER

Embracing Permaculture

Can it be true that even horticulture professionals
don’t understand permaculture?

EASY TO DISMISS
Travis Beck, author of Principles of Ecological
Landscape Design and director of horticulture
at Mt. Cuba Center in Greenville, Delaware, took
a PDC in 2002 and recognizes permaculture
as one of his early influences. “Permaculture
doesn’t have a great rap. It is too easy to dismiss
it for the herb spiral and mandala gardens. But
the herb spiral, with its multiple microclimates,
is actually a great example of the systems-thinking that is permaculture’s strength,” he said.
The permaculture design perspective is
incorporated into classes at the Conway School
of Landscape Design by Jono Neiger, author of
The Permaculture Promise. “Horticulture doesn’t
look into the larger picture. [It] is focused more
on planting; and maybe on water, productivity.
Permaculture ends up having a larger perspec18

PHOTO COURTESY IAN ADAMS

Permaculture is an
important global
movement, yet many
gardeners may not be
giving it the respect it
deserves. According
to internationally
recognized permaculturist Penny
Livingston-Stark,
“Permaculture is a
design science, rooted in the observation
of natural systems, that aids us in designing
human settlements that have the stability and
resiliency of a natural eco-system.”
Yet, permaculture is often misconstrued as a
branch of horticulture or a style of land design.
Founders Bill Mollison and David Holmgren
developed it in the 1970s as a system for sustainable agriculture, but soon broadened it to
encompass all aspects of human interactions.
It is not easily explained in a few sentences.
Permaculture ventures beyond the natural
and built environments into social systems,
economic systems and more. Its core training,
a 72-hour Permaculture Design Course (PDC),
provides an overview—and creates a paradigm
shift for many people.

Residential landscape by the author and her team at Salsbury-Schweyer Inc., illustrates that permaculture
landscapes can also be beautiful in the traditional sense. In addition to edibles and plants for birds and
pollinators, it features sustainable water solutions. Rainwater is captured in a cistern located beneath the
permeable brick patio. Any excess flows into rain gardens to recharge the ground water.

tive—one that incorporates not just the design
of the garden or planting spaces, but is thinking
about whole systems and at all different scales.
All aspects are included for meeting human
needs: food, water, shelter, community.”
DOESN’T HAVE TO BE MESSY
One hurdle that permaculture must overcome
is the view that it is messy—with aesthetics
nowhere near the primary goal. Rosalind

Creasy, author of the classic The Complete Book
of Edible Landscaping, thinks that aesthetics are
important for permaculture gardens. “We don’t
want a hippie garden. Permaculture principles
are great, but it doesn’t have to look trashy!
Permaculture is generally done by people who
don’t have a lot of horticultural experience.
They have fabulous ideas and dreams, but not a
lot of [design] knowledge,” she said.