At the beginning of 2017 Permanent Publications sent us an email expressing an interest to publish a book on our polyculture trials and experiences. I'd been thinking about writing this book for some time and responded with gleeful enthusiasm. I'm happy to announce that we have signed the publishing agreement and have already started to work on the book. The working title of the book is Polycultures - Designing and Creating Polyculture Gardens, Farms and Landscapes, and you can find a draft overview of what the book will cover here.
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The order does not denote how good I think the books are, it's more based around the order I read the books.
1 - The Permaculture Garden - Linda Windrow
Six - eight months after we had moved to Bulgaria, a friend of ours, Kalina, visited our garden and gave us this book after returning from a PDC with "The Gelaw" - Geoff Lawton in Australia. We had not heard about permaculture before, and after reading this book during a wet winter I knew it was all about to change. (A side note - before reading this book we were considering opening an ATV track!)
2 - Plants for a Future by Ken Fern
Next is the excellent work of Ken Fern - Plants for a Future. Ken, originally from my neck of the woods in South London, used to be a bus driver. He and and his wife Addy have spent decades studying plants of medicinal and edible value and moved out to Cornwall in 1989 to plant out 28 acres of land with the plants they had discovered. Ken continues to work on an extensive database of useful plants that you can find here. His book is amazing, presenting a variety of plants for a variety of purposes.
3 - Creating a Forest Garden by Martin Crawford
The authors and books that I find most interesting and useful are those written from experience and perhaps no author fits this bill better than the main man of temperate forest gardens, Martin Crawford.
Martin Crawford also writes the excellent quarterly publication Agroforestry News. I highly recommend subscription to this journal as essential reading for all who are interested in temperate tree crops and agroforestry.
4 - Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon
It's not essential for a grower to understand plant physiology and the scientific basis of how everything is working but it seems to me to be inevitable. The book that I found delivered this knowledge in a way that only someone who has dedicated their life to trying to understand the complexity of plants and plant care can, is the Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon.
5 - Micheal Chinery - The Natural History of the Garden
The passion for garden wildlife that Micheal possesses dances off every page of this book. It takes you on a journey into the often overlooked world of the incredible diversity that can be fostered in the natural garden. After reading this book you will probably never look at an Earwig the same way again :)
Welcome to our Online Store where you can find Forest Garden/ Permaculture plants, seeds, bulbs and Polyculture multi-packs along with digital goods and services such as Online Courses, Webinars, eBooks, and Online Consultancy. We hope you enjoy the store and find something you like :) It's your purchases that keep our Project going. Yuu can also find our full list of trees. shrubs and herbs for forest gardens on our website here
6 - The Earth Care Manual by Patrick Whitefield
The late Patrick Whitefield left with us a number of excellent books all written from his experience in the field and with the level head of a man that has seen it all before. The Earth Care Manual is, perhaps, the best overview of permaculture out there.
7 - Edible Food Forests by Dave Jacke, Eric Toenmioser
Delving deeper for knowledge on forest gardens and perennial systems lead me to what is without doubt the most extensive book on the topic. Dave Jacke and Eric Toenmioser absolutely nailed it in Volume 1 providing a thorough vision and theoretical overview of forest gardening. Volume 2 has everything you need to know on the practical side of things although I still don't get the pattern language chapter and would love to hear from someone that does :)
8 - Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway
9 - The Theory and Practice of Agroforestry Design by Paul Wojtkowski
Probably one of the most overlooked (or under quoted) books in the field, perhaps because of its academic approach to the topic. This books provides an excellent framework for Agroforestry and is full of practical guidance specifically suited to large scale adoption of these practices.
10. The Internet by The people out there doing it!
Support Our Project
If you appreciate the work we are doing you can show your support in several ways.
Become a member of the Bloom Room. A $70 annual or $7 per month subscription to our Substack provides you with access to live sessions, design tutorials, a members forum and more, see details here.
Make a purchase of plants or seeds from our Nursery or Online Store
Joining us for one of our Practical Courses or Online Courses
Comment, like, and share our content on social media.
If you appreciate the work we are doing you can show your support in several ways.
Become a member of the Bloom Room. A $70 annual or $7 per month subscription to our Substack provides you with access to live sessions, design tutorials, a members forum and more, see details here.
Make a purchase of plants or seeds from our Nursery or Online Store
Joining us for one of our Practical Courses or Online Courses
Comment, like, and share our content on social media.
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