In tune with the principles of permaculture this project has taken place over several seasons and will be ongoing as the site and flora change over time. We provided an initial design incorporating perennial edibles, a dry-creek and raingarden, space for annual edibles, a heavily utilized on-site compost, and many native plants to house and feed lots of critters. We have gotten rid of the traditional turf lawn little by little over several seasons, and teamed up with the client to source a myriad of edible perennial species including paw-paws, lingonberry, asparagus, strawberry, rhubarb, honeyberry, currants, and a cherry tree. In addition to edibles for humans, the abundance of native grasses, flowers, and shrubs means that by early summer the site is buzzing with pollinators. We work with the client to identify beneficial ‘weeds’ including nettles and dandelion for human consumption and violets and clover among others for pollinators, we selectively pull some of these ‘weeds’ to keep populations under control but leave some on-site for the benefit of everyone who uses the space. Every year brings a new look as different plants thrive, it’s a fun journey to visit the site each season and adapt maintenance and new plantings to both the human and animal inhabitants on-site.
