Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist: How to have your yard and eat it too
by Michael Judd
Nonfiction/Gardening/Homesteading
143 pages
Published 2013
I’ve been making a habit of checking out gardening books from the library before buying them, so I know what I actually want to have around as a permanent resource. This book has definitely made that list. Other books talk about some of these same principles – swales, herb spirals, rain gardens, tree guilds – but this book actually goes into detail with step-by-step instructions and pictures on how to MAKE many of those things. I also appreciate that the author lives in Maryland, about an hour west of me. So our climate is the same.
I really enjoyed his chapter on uncommon fruits – I’d been reading that pawpaws are one of the fruits that do well with black walnuts, and his description of pawpaw fruit REALLY makes me want to grow one! They’re an uncommon fruit largely because they’re too delicate to ship, but they apparently taste delicious! And they’re native, which is always a plus. I’d love to stick with native plants as much as possible.
His chapter on mushroom growing was also interesting and VERY detailed. (I quite enjoyed that he included “a good beer” in his list of supplies at one point.)
It’s a short book, and it only covers a few topics, but it is EXCELLENT for those few topics he touches on. Definitely want a copy of this in my personal library!
From the cover of Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist:
Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist is a fun-filled how-to manual for the budding gardener and experienced green thumb alike. Full of creative and easy-to-follow designs that guide you to having your yard and eating it too!
The ABC’s of Creating an Edible Landscape
– Herb Spirals
– Food Forests
– Raised Bed Gardens
– Earthen Ovens
– Uncommon Fruits
– Outdoor Mushrooms and much more . . .
Goddess In The Stacks 
Growing fruits and vegetables (no mushrooms, though — my clone-sibling is allergic to them) is high on my list of things to do once I’m no longer living in a rented house. (I’m not allowed to plant anything at all in the yard here. Can’t even have planter boxes because they’ll “kill the grass” or something. As if we HAD any grass to speak of.) Even now, I’m seriously looking into the possibility of growing heirloom carrots in hanging baskets…
I’ve always wanted to have a garden too – I grew up with a large backyard garden. Being chronically ill has forced me to re-evaluate how much effort I have to spare, though. And the heat and humidity of Maryland summers wipes me out VERY quickly. But the more I read about Permaculture, getting it set up is the most intensive part, and then it should just be a little bit of pruning and harvesting. So that’s what I’m hoping to do! Luckily my able-bodied husband is willing to put in a lot of the work to get it set up, too.
Oooh, a MD author, I’ll have to check this one out. I generally don’t grow food anymore because I had some issues with some kind of blight sweeping through and got too frustrated. But always keen on trying again some day.