Abundant Design: Patio Production in a Mini-Woodland

Monday, May 22, 2017

Patio Production in a Mini-Woodland

When doing a permaculture design a property is divided into zones. Zone 1 is where you spend most of your time and you work out from there to Zone 5, the wild spaces.

Zones 1-3 from "Introduction to Permaculture"

This recently completed planting in Johnston is a great example of a Zone 1 feature. It shows what you can do right near your home, in this case just off the patio, with easy access for care and harvest.

Before

Retaining walls had been installed the previous year by another contractor. I was contacted to design a planting for the area.

During the site visit topics included fruit trees, bird & pollinator benefits, and companion interactions with low maintenance. The following plan, developed based on the homeowners favorites and plant availability.

Design for the plant communities

Located next to the patio, where the grill is kept, made an excellent place for herbs to be planted right at an easy harvesting height. Sage within arms reach for grilling chicken, or the soothing scent of lavender while relaxing in the evening watching the sunset. The Western facing inside corner provides a warm sunny area perfect for heat loving herbs.

Closer to the retaining walls and under the shade of the fruit trees Ostrich ferns will provide a lush green backdrop. They also will have edible fiddleheads in the Spring as the columbines and hellebores flower.

American Cranberry and Aronia will provide some Fall color as well as berries for birds and people. Daffodils, clover and comfrey will cycle nutrients helping the fruit trees until established.

Sheet Mulch

After calling in the utility locates, the soil was amended and the trees, shrubs and other plants were installed. Following planting, cardboard was put down as a biodegradable weed barrier. With the warm Spring weeds were already growing on the bare dirt.

Another layer of compost

Wild garlic chives were plentiful, so multiple layers were added in these places. Another layer of compost was added to hold down the cardboard and speed up its decomposition.

The capstones of the retaining walls were matched to use as edging giving it a unified look.

Finally ramial chipped wood was sourced locally as a great low cost alternative to dyed hardwood mulch. If you don't mind a few larger sticks and twigs, they provide more nutrients quickly that help build quality soil. After a few rains the chips will look clean as the leaves and bark wash in, helping offset nitrogen tied-up by the woodchips.

Here are the after pictures with plants just starting to grow. Follow Abundant Design on Facebook for more pictures as this Patio Project matures this summer.