Friday 27 January 2023

Backyard Forest Garden

 


I read this book whilst sitting next to my wife when she was sleeping most of the day in hospital at the start of her stay. It's well written, informative and highlights a lot of what I have been doing right, but also pointed me in directions I had not contemplated before. It explained and demystified the permaculture design process. 

One tends to think more of larger scale permaculture and food forests, like the Weedy Gardener has on his videos, but for me this shows how one can apply the concepts and make a small-scale Multi-layered Forest Garden in your own back yard or for me at my allotment.   

Pippa Chapman is an RHS trained gardener who designs, plants and maintains abundant, biodiverse, edible and beautiful forest gardens. In this book she shares her practical tips for realistically transforming your own plot, whatever its size, and with limited time, money and resources. 

She explains that a forest garden doesn’t have to be big; you can grow a productive edible paradise in pots and containers too. Pippa explains how to create multiple layers on a small-scale to maximise your growing area, using polycultures and guilds for healthy, low-maintenance food. 

She shares how to use perennials for structure and for year-round food, and how to incorporate flowers for beauty, wildlife and for the kitchen. 

Chapters on permaculture design and forest gardening give practical advice on how to plan and plant your own garden, with guilds and plant profiles to give real-life examples to help you get started. 

The book also includes useful tips on propagation and seed saving help keep plant costs low and a handy chapter on the soil-food web will help you understand your own soil and how to keep it healthy.

It's full of illustrations and photographs and was such a joy to read

£16 from Amazon but only £14.40 direct from Permanent Publications 

I really can't recommend this book enough it gets a 5 star rating from me! 

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