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When thinking about where to begin in reviewing Gaia’s Garden, Second Edition: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture
I had only caught small glimpses of the books contents and while I had a mild understanding of permaculture, the practice of it had been eluding me. As I’ve come to find out, permaculture is a theory and describing it is a little like describing color to a blind man. Until you see it, you don’t really get it. Or at least I didn’t.
Gaia’s Garden cleared up any confusion! Not only did it clearly and concisely explain the theory, it gave numerous examples and applications. This book is jam-packed and my mind is still absorbing it. One thing is for certain, it has completely changed both Justin and my outlooks on gardening.
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Theory and Practice
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To put it as simply as possible, the theory behind permaculture (a contraction of “permanent agriculture”) is to design our gardens to emulate and therefore work *with* nature, rather than against it. Toby Hemenway, the author of Gaia’s Garden, draws on several references to explain the symbiotic relationships found in the wild – from “invasive” plants (which he describes as merely ”opportunistic”) to tree guilds, animals and insects. What he describes in his book are techniques to closely imitate these relationships, thus creating a self-sustaining and low-maintenance oasis with multiple functions.
The book covers such things as stacking functions, assisting soil life, greywater systems, insects and animals, and the abundant use of perennials. The author discusses things such as wind barriers, swales, land surveying, the efficient use of space and edges, poly-cultures and a myriad of diverse plants and their uses. He describes input vs output, describing that if we take the careful time first in design and planning a sustainable system, our input of both energy, time and resources (fertilizers, mulch etc) will gradually decrease overtime, leaving us with a natural eco-system that much like our wild forests need little help from us to thrive. The color photos, diagrams, and tables make understanding the principles and applications that much easier.
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Our Highlights
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There were some points that stood out to Justin and I. Well, really the entire book! But here are the primary ideas we took away from the book:
- Compost: Hemenway describes the biology of compost and the idea that the more it is turned, the less nitrogen is left. This really struck a cord with me after our sheet mulching/composting of the front yard left us baffled as we discovered so little nitrogen in our soil tests. We can now both see it was from our turning the matter in an effort to assist the breakdown. We’ve since stopped turning our compost pile as often and the breakdown has actually been more complete and gets much warmer.
- Keyhole Gardens: The book describes keyhole gardens as a way to maximize growing space and offers several ideas for design. This really confirmed the design of our own raised beds and after discovering the difficulty of accessing some of our front garden areas, our idea is to implement the same technique in the front yard.
- Perennial vs Annual: This is perhaps the biggest Ah-ha moment in the book for us. Hemenway describes the soil disruption caused by the removal of annual plants and the soil building properties of perennials. In our climate and soil conditions, I’m not sure that we could do away completely with raised beds but this has certainly changed our ideas of front yard usage. We now plan to redesign and replant the entire 645 sq ft area, based on the ideas in this book!
- Tables: One of the biggest benefits of this book is the use of tables to list hundreds of nitrogen-building, nutrient-accumulating, multi-purpose plants. This has been a non-stop resource for us and one of the biggest benefits in the book.
- Guilds: Many ideas and examples are given of ways to plant trees, shrubs and other plants together to assist the health and growth of each other. This is perhaps the most overwhelming part of the book for us, as we try to find our own climate-adapted plants with which to create guilds.
- Zones, Home, Community and City Permaculture: Hemenway discusses the use of zones in and around the home and even out into the community; what to plant or place within each zone of the garden and how to apply this principle within city design. I found it to be incredibly interesting.
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There is so much more but these are the points that jumped out at us. I couldn’t begin to describe to you all the benefits and aspects covered in this book. I’m sure as time goes on, we’ll be referring back to Gaia’s Garden often and gaining even more insight in the months to come.
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Only One Complaint
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The only downside of Gaia’s Garden is the assumption of the reader’s climate. Most of his descriptions seemed to fit more temperate climates, nothing quite as cold as Michigan, nothing nearly as hot as our hometown. Although the book covered ideas of permaculture in the desert, the difference in climate and rainfall between New Mexico and Southern Nevada are vast. Many of the ideas he offered don’t apply to us (deer? what are those?) and the idea that the catchment of our four inches of annual rainfall in Las Vegas would suffice for much in temperatures above 110 F in the summer meant a bit of skimming the greywater chapter (we did however pull some inspiration for washer machine water). But then that’s a headache we Las Vegans have about any gardening books, isn’t it? ;)
Overall, this book is fantastic in laying out the principles behind permaculture and describing many effective and simple ways of implementation. We’re really looking forward to adapting the knowledge it gave us to our unique climate, as we learn more about the techniques and theories behind permaculture.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in green living, gardening, sustainability, self-sufficiency, urban homesteading or even just landscaping! It has ideas to offer everyone and may even change your entire outlook, much like it for did us. (In fact if you see an increased discussion and focus on permaculture on this blog, you can credit this book!)
If you are considering purchasing this book, would you consider purchasing it from the link above or the Amazon widget on my sidebar? All the proceeds we earn are going into our Five Year Plan fund and I’d love to say this book contributed both to purchasing and designing our new home someday! 
For more book recommendations, visit our Amazon aStore!
My name is Tara. I am a mama and a lover, a full-time nomad, a passionate devourer of Life and an Organic Life Coach.
this is really great! you are a great book-reviewer. i want a much larger area dedicated to growing food next Spring (or maybe beginning this Fall)…and guilds (or it sounds a lot like companion planting) is something i would really like to look into.
Kristin, the guilds are similar to companion planting but really take the idea further. In the book the “polycultures” he refers to are companion planting. Guilds are bigger and more symbiotic.
I almost bought that book this weekend but then I wasn’t sure if I would really like it, I didn’t get to flip through it much because the store clerk was giving me dirty looks. Now I wish I had bought it. LOL Next time!
WOOHOO! I’m so glad you’ve read up on this now. I’m a big permaculture convert, but it’s (as you’ve seen) a little complicated to easily explain to others. I’ve got the 1st edition of Gaia’s Garden. I have a permaculture bible, that I’ll be willing to send to you if you want it (if the postage isn’t extortionate or if you wanna pay it). It’s too pricey and fabulous to give to just anyone so I keep holding onto it. I’ll love for you to have it if it’ll be of use to you. – http://www.amazon.com/PERMACULTURE-Designers-Manual-Bill-Mollison/dp/0908228015/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248813533&sr=1-3
Hi, I was just introduced to your blog and have really been enjoying your outlook and information! Turns out, I had decided about a month ago that I needed a book on permaculture but didn’t know what to buy. The idea of treating our gardens like our forests makes sense to me, but I wanted to know MORE. And here’s a wonderful review! Thank you for your timely post — when I’m ready to buy, I’ll definitely be using your Amazon link.
Devouring this post, and soon to be devouring the book. It’s one I’ve meant to read for ages and now I have the ultimate incentive… our own property that is sad and hurting! Thanks for the review, I’ve ordered it on Amazon along with a few other long time want-to-reads. Can’t wait to give this poor yard some serious permaculture TLC! I have a friend who is really inspired by this book too and her yard really reflects it, it’s gone from dry, barren lawn to gorgeous, organic curves and texture and abundance… Yay!
You are a great book reviewer! I always want to do reviews but get overwhelmed.
We have the first addition and man I love this book. We are big permaculture idealists. I say idealists because right now we don’t have much to show, but we’ve got the education and now we are walking towards the practice.
I’m so glad you liked it.
I am IMMEDIATELY going to the library website and placing a hold on this book. Pronto.
Thanks for the recommendation as well as the honesty about it because it’s pretty chilly in Wisconsin, so I won’t expect the book to take into consideration the uniqueness of my climate (and others).
HI,
And each circle garden does it’s own composting, everything we consumer, cut, weed etc, goes into the dome and the chickens work it up into the ground. When we move the dome to the nest patch, the garden is ready for planting. Currently our domes are collapsed because they got caught in a storm though 
so current challenge garden wise is how to fix them up…
Such a lovely book this sounds, cover so pretty!
We work off a book called the Permaculture Home Garden. It’s great and simple and based on the chicken dome system…have you heard of it? Very climate friendly to all, although it’s typically Queenslad, OZ…I think you have to find your own system no matter where you are because there is so much more to adpat to apart from weather conditons. (soil conditions, flora and fauna etc,etc)
How well do chickens do where you are…
I posted pics of our chicken dome and talked about the system many moons ago…but the chicken dome system is genius – essentially no dig gardens. The chickens do all the hard work and as long as we treat them well, they lay us golden eggs in return
Wow, really? Turning the compost pile reduces nitrogen. I never heard that before. Well, that just justifies my laziness in not wanting to turn it now!
I’ll definitely have to check out this book, not only full of info but it looks like it has nice illustrations too, which I am a sucker for.
Another permaculture idealist here. Great review Tara. I look forward to checking it out. In our ongoing effort to simplify, make more time for family, and more down-time, it makes sense to have a garden that maintains itself as much as possible. I’ve been thinking about this lately as I try to get a handle on the weeds, and am wondering what I can do differently & more efficiently next year. I’ve been working on no-till, but I think my system needs tweaking. Anyways, this book sounds like a good place to start.
Ruth, is a chicken dome sorta like a chicken tractor?
Kendra, the science behind it could explain it better but basically nitrogen is eaten up faster by the organisms. SOmething like that. Justin has been peeing on our pile to make up for it. lol
Leah, I think it still takes quite bit of work initially to setup but in the long run it becomes more self-maintaining. My only concern is that I will be bored without enough gardening to do! lol
I had seen this book on several blog reading lists but was not convinced that I absolutely NEEDED it until I read your review….now I am definitely buying this book! I’ll be back after payday and use your link
ps. and I hear you on the limited info for gardening in ridiculously hot regions…eek!
That book sound great! I ear ya about gardening book not suitable for our zone. I live in Montreal, Quebec and the growing season is short and cold. Most of the time gardening book adress issues and plant no appropriate. That can put a damper on the purchasing.
That book looks fascinating! I have less than zero experience with gardening, but plan to do the full shabang when we buy a home next year with property and have been on the lookout for books just like this. I just finished The Backyard Homestead and it convinced me that we WILL have 2 or 3 laying hens. Imagine what this book could persuade me to do!
Permaculture has both baffled and intrigued me as well, and just yesterday i met a woman at the farmer’s market who invited me to join an active local permaculture group, and then today your review. I shall be baffled no longer! When I purchase the book, I’ll be sure to buy it from your page… (and thanks for the warmth today on my post, sweet mama).
Finally found the time to catch up on posts on your blog and so delighted to read about this book. What a fantastic review! Thank you. The highlights you gave have already given me some Aha! moments. We are already doing great things with greywater & compost but the planting has been challenging this year, especially given the climate (relentless sun), the crap soil (clay) and the greedy cow that found it’s way into the garden not once but twice and ate EVERYTHING! Sob! I will put this book on my pressie list for Xmas and make sure it gets bought from your blog link.
What a great review! We bought a house in May, and are slowly working on a permaculture re-make of the weedy mess of a yard. It’s slow going, but I have learned so much from our local permaculture club, and my children are able to participate in the experience.
http://www.larksongknits.com/2009/08/24/yardwork-is-hardwork/