The classic book about ecological gardening-whatever size your garden-with over 250,000 copies sold!
"A great book!"-Men's Journal
Gaia's Gardenhas sparked the imagination of home gardeners the world over by introducing a simple message: workingwithnature, not against her, results in more beautiful, abundant, and forgiving gardens.
Many people mistakenly think that "ecological gardening"―which involves growing a wide range of edible and other useful plants―can take place only on a large, multiacre scale. As Hemenway demonstrates, it's fun and easy-even for the beginner-to create a "backyard ecosystem" by assembling communities of plants that can work cooperatively and perform a variety of functions, including:Building and maintaining soil fertility and structureCatching and conserving water in the landscapeProviding a rewilded and biodiverse habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and animalsGrowing an edible "forest" that yields seasonal fruits, nuts, and other foods
This revised and updated edition also features a chapter on urban permaculture, designed especially for people in cities and suburbs who have very limited growing space. Whatever size yard or garden you have to work with, you can apply basic permaculture principles to make it more diverse, more natural, more productive, and more beautiful. Best of all, once it's established, an ecological garden will reduce or eliminate most of the backbreaking work that's needed to maintain the typical lawn and garden.