Practical Permaculture

December 1, 2016

Gardeners will relish the pragmatic text and illustrations in this handbook from two of permaculture's well-known leaders, Bloom (Free Range Chicken Gardens) and Boehnlein (education director, Bullock's Permaculture Homestead, WA).

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2014
In this thorough introductory guide, Bloom (Free-Range Chicken Gardens) and Boehnlein, both Pacific Northwest permaculture practitioners and designers, fill a niche for readers who want to integrate this down-to-earth but too-often-mystifying nature-inspired design system into their lives. Moving a step beyond Toby Hemenway’s classic Gaia’s Garden, the book includes more recently hatched, controversial additions to permaculture philosophy. In a conversational, at times overly cute style, Bloom and Boehnlein walk readers through the basic ethics and principles of permaculture, core ecological concepts, and a detailed explanation of the potentially intimidating permaculture design process. They examine permaculture systems, from soil and water to energy and shelter, showing readers how each system is “a major piece of the sustainability puzzle.” They also provide a list of “50 useful plants for permaculture landscapes” that, unusually, seem to favor warmer and even tropical climates. The final section discusses the “invisible” structures of economics, community, and land access, topics absent from earlier permaculture guides, reflecting the system’s dissemination and development beyond its Australian originators.

December 15, 2014
Many folks think the term permaculture, which refers to ecological and sustainable design and construction, is an amalgam of permanent and agriculture, and in many ways, they would not be wrong. There is indeed a great element of farming, of raising both crops and animals, involved. But there is an equally strong emphasis on culture in the purest sense of the word: how people live on and with the land, observing the components that are already in place and using them in a way that feels less like manipulation and more like respect for what they are. Integrating all aspects of an ecosystem into a unified, sustainable whole, permaculture can be embraced on scales both large and small, in urban and rural settings, by a cooperative or an individual. Yet the concept can be daunting. Making permaculture accessible and achievable is the goal of this guidebook, and with astonishing thoroughness and admirable dedication, Bloom and Boehnlein meticulously outline every aspect of permaculture, providing inspiring examples and impeccable advice for analysis, design, implementation, and plant selection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)