Permaculture is a verbal marriage of "permanent" and "agriculture." Australian Bill Mollison pioneered its development. Key features include:

use of compatible perennials;

non-invasive planting techniques;

emphasis on biodiversity;

specifically adaptable to local climate, landscape, and soil conditions;

highly productive output of edibles.
Now, picture your backyard as one incredibly lush garden, filled with edible flowers, bursting with fruit and berries, and carpeted with scented herbs and tangy salad greens. The visual impact is of Monet's palette, a wash of color, texture, and hue. But this is no still life. The flowers nurture endangered pollinators. Bright-featured songbirds feed on abundant berries and gather twigs for their nests.
The plants themselves are grouped in natural communities, where each species plays a role in building soil, deterring pests, storing nutrients, and luring beneficial insects. And finally, you--good ol' homo sapiens--are an integral part of the scene. Your garden tools are resting against a nearby tree, and have a slight patina of rust, because this garden requires so little maintenance. You recline into a hammock to admire your work. You have created a garden paradise.
This is no dream, but rather an ecological garden, which takes the principles of permaculture and applies them on a home-scale. There is nothing technical, intrusive, secretive, or expensive about this form of gardening. All that is required is some botanical knowledge (which is in this book) and a mindset that defines a backyard paradise as something other than a carpet of grass fed by MiracleGro.

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In his book, Toby Hemingway says "permaculture is a set of techniques and principles for designing sustainable human settlements." Permaculture uses organic gardening principles to deal with big as well as little problems. Permaculture is involved with the local rose and the ecosystem within which the local rose lives. Most of the ideas Hemenway suggests have been "out there" for some time, but Hemingway combines and organizes this cumulative knowledge into a coherent approach. While I don't agree with everything Hemenway suggests, I think most of his ideas are worth trying.

Hemenway seems to have acquired much of his hands-on experience in semi-arid areas on the West Coast, so some of his "live and let-live" tactics may not work on the more lush East Coast. For example, Hemenway appears to be opposed to fighting certain kinds of invasive plants, some of them exotic (i.e. not native), but to me the whole purpose of my garden is to have something that does not look like the rest of the surrounding area--whatever that is--so, I will never give up the effort to keep certain plants OUT. On the other hand, I have discovered I can tolerate some "wildness" in my patch, and have given over certain parts of the yard to natural vegetation (as long as it does not include, poison ivy, bindweed, prickle vine..you get the picture) which the National Wildlife Federation would approve as bird-friendly.

Hemenway's "plan" is geared to the 1/4 acre lot, so folks in the suburbs with more space than me may be able to accomodate more of his ideas. However, I think some of his ideas can be adapted to a smaller space. One thing I really like about this book is his novel approach to laying out beds. No raised boxes or perennial borders here. He goes for keyholes, spirals, wreaths, and all sorts of novel shapes. And they work. I've laid out beds to fit my space and the result is some oddly designed garden areas that are beautiful (my whole yard is a collection of garden beds, I have NO grass).

I particularly support the building of swales to retain ground moisture, and using leftover woody material to build "Hugelkultur" compost heaps. Whenever we replace fence material, trim bushes or trees, or create other woody waste, we bury it at the back of the garden. I also throw newspapers, paper towels (7th Generation of course), and other biodegradable paper into the compost bin. And speaking of compost, adding it directly to the bed is a good idea. Just slip it under the existing mulch, or grab a shovelful of mulch to toss over it. This way the garden gets the full benefit of the decomposing material, not the area around the compost bin.

This is a wonderful book filled with wonderful ideas that hold the key to saving our world.

86 of 89 found the following review helpful:

The best gardening book I've ever boughtAug 23, 2002
By Bonnie Morse
For the past few months I've been reading books and learning all kinds of new things. Sustainable agriculture. Edible landscaping. Naturalistic landscaping. Agroforestry. I learned alot, but something seemed missing. And then I found Gaia's Garden. While I was reading it the first time, I kept thinking, "This is it. This is exactly what I've been looking for."

This book combines all these other concepts, adds still more, and makes it all easy to understand. There are lots of things I loved about this book. But the most important was the way Mr. Hemenway explains guilds. He gives specific examples, which you can follow pretty much exactly. But then he gives the information to go beyond his examples and create totally new guilds specifically designed for your site.

If I had to give up all my gardening books and keep only one, this is the book I'd keep.

59 of 61 found the following review helpful:

This is my Gardening Bible.Aug 13, 2001
By Elayne Hoover "ghiasword"
I thought I was getting a book that would negate the need for an entire shelf of gardening books, and it's true that I will probably never buy another gardening book. On the other hand, I must now buy books about Chicken Tractors, Worm Composting, Soil Building, How to Buy Land in the Country, etc. Now, I need to subscribe to a Permaculture magazine. And I need to take some Ecology courses. And . . . here I thought I was going to save money! :-) I couldn't be happier. Hemenway has disrupted my whole lifestyle for the better. There is enough info here to get me started on the right path, but he has only whetted my appetite for more information about permaculture. But at least I now have a pretty garden to sit in while I read those other books and munch on fruit I grew myself!

35 of 36 found the following review helpful:

Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale PermacultureAug 06, 2005
By Ronit "Piedmont Paranoia"
At last! A book written for non-biologists, non-ecologists and non-tree-huggers!! I have read several books on permaculture which always left me wondering, "What the heck IS permaculture and who needs it?" This book, by Toby Hemenway, will get you so excited about the relevance and applications of permaculture that you will want to race outside with a bucket of vegetable peelings and leaf mulch before breakfast. Gardening can be a lot of hard work, but permaculture is about making it easier. Turning over compost piles every week is not for you? See his section on sheet composting. Does the very word "grey water" turn you off? Read Hemenway's description of taking a shower, then tearing outside in a towel to see the water drain out through a rocky stream. This book is full of concepts and inspirations that will not only make gardening a little easier but will also improve the land you live on, help you achieve greater self-sufficiency and create sanctuary for beneficial critters. And here is a major plus: Toby Hemenway, unlike other permaculture authors, actually has a sense of humor! An enjoyable read on the one hand and a basic gardening manual for the rest of your life.

25 of 25 found the following review helpful:

What an inspiring book!Dec 08, 2003

This book gives a wonderful introduction to permaculture. I had absolutely no idea what it was before reading the book. A one-sentence definition is worse than none. It is exciting to read about how the various parts of a garden interconnect.

I love the various shapes he suggest, such as keyhole gardens. I especially liked the way he guides you through the process of creating guilds. And it is good to know I can use all those plants I had to eliminate when planning a traditional garden. That is one of the nicest features of these gardens.

I have to admit the title is offputting. I thought this was some New Age system. Fortunately I read the reviews at this site, so that when I saw the book, I decided to give it a try. It is a very, down-to-earth, convincing book. Nothing New Age about it. I am excited and want to get started using some of these ideas.

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