permaculture and garden design - can the two mix?

Mention permaculture to most garden designers and they will probably give you a look of disgust, for to mainstream society, permaculture just means hippies! It certainly does have an image problem and it is not all undeserved, but the more I study sustainability, the more I think that the origins and design intention of permaculture is of relevance to us all. I say this somewhat reluctantly, for I've had my encounters with the movement over the years, and although I love the aims and aspirations of the movement, I have been less than impressed by much of the tangible output, at least, as seen here in the UK. As ideas adapt to our Northern temperate climate, and practitioners gain more experience, I think that is gradually changing.

Permaculture originated in Australia in the 1970's, and arose from the work of Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Permaculture originates from the phrase “permanent agriculture”, sometimes subsequently shortened to “permanent culture”. However, Mollison was not the first to use this phrase, which was first coined in the 1930's by J Russell Smith in his work “Tree Crops: a permanent agriculture.”.There are various definitions of permaculture but I see it most relevant as a method of “whole systems thinking”. Here is a quote from the Permaculture Research Institute site (www.permaculture.org.au):

Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order.

Notice how this definition lifts the aspirations of permaculture right out of the class of simple organic gardening (which it might otherwise be compared with) and into a system of sustainable living and culture. If my intention as a designer is to devise ways of sustainable landscaping, the I cannot ignore the implications and possibilities of permaculture. The next question then, might be what can I, as a garden designer, add over and above permaculture? Perhaps the main thing is a sense of aesthetic design, that we all need beauty and inner calm, which a well designed garden can generate. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and permaculturalists might well argue that there is nothing more beautiful than a productive, natural landscape. As a garden designer however, I feel I can work more effectively within the mainstream, without being hampered by the title of permaculturalist.

One of the main reasons I see close ties is because of the principles of forest gardening, as shown on the RISC garden picture (www.risc.org.uk/garden). This uses several principles that are dear to my heart, forest gardening (see design note 3011: forest gardens, rooftop gardening (biological buildings) and new urban landscapes. Every urban flat roof has the potential for some kind of greenery. Where there is strength enough to have a reasonable growing depth, food or forest food gardens can be designed, but as you will see from my articles referenced above there are many other design principles and aspects to include in urban design, many of which leave permaculture behind and are firmly rooted in other aspects of ecological design.

Perhaps the thing to realise, is that true whole systems thinking, by its very nature, cannot be fully embraced by any one discipline, not even permaculture. Instead, every designer of every discipline needs to adopt a pattern language approach to their thinking and make sure they understand what part they can play in the big picture.

I think garden design has a lot to learn from permaculture, and perhaps visa versa; don't write it off out-of-hand.