I started a permaculture garden out front (and elsewhere), with the sidewalk on on the south side and driveway lining the east side. It’s @120’x20’. The 20’ is always hard to guess at because it’s curved for more attractiveness; part of the curved area is much deeper than twenty feet and some is less–near the center arbor. Yes, I use strawberries as a groundcover. Ironically, I planted Regent serviceberries back about four feet along the length of sidewalk, and closer to the sidewalk, I planted perennials and herbs for color, medicinal purposes, and as insect attractors and repellers. Behind the serviceberries, I planted 50 crowns of asparagus going the 120’ length. Both the serviceberries and asparagus were planted to offer some privacy when I’m working or harvesting and as a barrier to all of the neighborhood leaves that were always landing in my yard. Behind all of this, I’ve managed to fit in probably 15-20 fruit trees and many shrub-like plants such as rhubarb, currants and gooseberries, with the taller trees on the north side of the bed: persimmons, cherries, etc. and the shorter trees like medlar and pawpaws closer to the asparagus and on the southern most aspect.
I say “ironic” because now I go around and offer to leaf sweep those same neighbors’ yards because I don’t have enough leaves on my own property, and I need/use them as mulch just about everywhere! I will say that I’m not sorry for the way I planned it, because when using leaves as mulch, they need to be chopped up so as not to make the soil anaerobic and it’s a pain to try to rake them out of beds in order to chop them up. The Regent serviceberries act as a good screen for many leaves from coming through. As far as stacking functions, I’ve mentioned a few already, but high on my list is attractiveness, fragrance and pulling in pollinators. I’ve interspersed many flowers and bulbs throughout. I have lots of daffodils for beauty, but also as a rodent (moles and voles) repellent. Snowdrops and crocus provide early bee food. To have flowers in February still astounds me! A few weeks ago, in early late February, we hit 65 degrees for a few days. Bees were in the thousands all over the snowdrops because it was the only food available to them. I was so glad that I have them scattered all over the property.
I started with 50 strawberry plants, 25 on each side of an arbor that allows access from the sidewalk and cuts the 120’ expanse in half. (It has pink climbing roses growing on it, both for fragrance and beauty, but also familiarity for passersby, late flowers and rose hips for me.) For my purpose, I like the day-neutral berries much more than the June bearing. First of all, they go all summer and well into fall–I’m often still harvesting into November–in Vermont! I have strawberries all summer and throughout winter for breakfast. Just now, in mid March, I’ve used up all of the frozen strawberries and am working through the blueberries. (I have 40 bushes out back.) Having a large diversity also helps hedge against crop failures. Last year, we had a freak cold snap that wiped out apple orchards throughout the state. My Concord grapes were affected along with some other things, but having diversity allowed me to still preserve a great deal of produce, much of which is still too young to have started producing fruit. I had enough strawberries that I made a batch of wine. I freeze-dried a considerable amount and simply froze at least 30 quarts. What a treat! The strawberries have completely filled in, which was my goal so that I wouldn’t have to mulch so much, if at all. The north side of the garden, I’ve lined with hosta. I used it because it’s tidy looking, it’s easy to mow along, and it’s edible, although I don’t really eat it. If they attract slugs, I figure that that will be more food for birds. Someday, I’d like to get some chickens, and they would make short work of any slugs. The roots of the hosta almost become solid and act as a barrier between lawn and garden, and the bees love to climb up into the flowers both to eat and sleep! Nothing cuter than to find a bumblebee all curled up in a flower come fall!
I find the garden beautiful both in blossom and in fruit. The structure of it in winter is wonderful and really adds “winter interest”. Yes, it attracts so much wildlife. I have a fox that visits and that thrills me. I want to build an ecosystem. They may snag a little fruit, but if there are rodents of any kind, that fox will keep them in check. I have lots of chipmunks and bunnies, which I love but all things in moderation! I have seeded my lawn (what’s left of it!) with clover which is a nitrogen fixer, so in time of drought the lawn remains green. Also, the bunnies prefer clover, and if they are hopping around just eating that, I’m happy; they are helping the clover to release its nitrogen and their poop helps fertilize the lawn and gardens. I also have some opossums, which are very welcome as they hoover up ticks and other insects. Yes, they also like fruit, but I have more than I will ever be able to eat, and if they help me avoid Lyme disease… they’ve earned the fruit they eat.
I will be planting a hawthorn this spring (along with more fruit and nut trees)–stacking functions? four season interest, the flowers, leaves and berries are great for heart health, the birds and other critters will eat the berries, and it provides safe cover for wildlife. I have lots of diversity on my one acre. I mean in plants, but also in the variety of wildlife that has grown exponentially. The number of butterflies, dragonflies, bees and lightning bugs is stunning. The caterpillars alone feed clutches of birds. Chickadee parents need to find 350 to 570 caterpillars every day, depending on the number of chicks. Multiply that by the 16 to 18 days it takes to fledge, and that’s a total of 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to bring a clutch of chickadees to maturity and 96% of North American land birds feed their young with them.
I have well over 40 kinds of fruit growing here with a very wide span of ripening, starting in May with honeyberries and asparagus all the way through December with medlars, persimmons and pawpaw. Many varieties act to accommodate specialist species of insects, and a surprising number of fruits are native; blueberries, pawpaws and persimmons to name just a few. My thought is to always plant more than I need, and that way, I don’t mind if the wildlife eats a bit.–What single person is going to eat the amount of fruit given by six American persimmons?! Animals and their habitat were here before we were, and their habitat is getting smaller and smaller and , becoming non contiguous, with only small patches few and far between because of us. The ecology they provide only helps our own survival. If I can give some of it back, it feels really good and just watching wildlife enrichs my soul.
I hope my front garden is a teaching tool to the general public who walks and drives by. I have had many people say that they had never considered growing asparagus until they saw mine. People are shocked when they see the giant bowls of strawberries that are harvested on a daily basis. They comment on how many changes they witness each and every day. People are watching, thinking and learning. I also hope to donate a great deal to the local food shelf as well as to neighbors. I can donate armfuls of asparagus and rhubarb and baskets of fruit and nuts and still have plenty for myself. I give away loads of strawberry plants and allow neighbors to harvest the herbs I have growing near the sidewalk. (Mostly, the length is planted out with perennial flowers because of the dogs walking along and peeing! The herbs are more along the driveway where dogs aren’t frequenting! They like a dryer environment, so they make a good marginal border between pavement and garden.)
I consider my learning as a stacking function as well. My garden has taught me to appreciate some weeds like plantain, dandelions and purslane, as well as learning about wine making, freeze drying, dehydrating, canning, steam juicing, pickling, herbalism, vinegar-making, tincture and salve-making, seed collecting, growing mushrooms, propagation and pruning skills along with mulching practices, the importance of natives and no-till and chop and drop methodology, plant interactions, such as what will grow near juglone found in the heartnuts I’ll be planting, natural ways of combating disease and fungal issues, growing mushrooms and the value of mycelium and fungally dominated soil, soil building and making biochar. It has extended my palette and range of cooking. Soon, I will need to learn about how to make quince and medlar “cheese!” There are probably other things I’m not thinking of, but this is a pretty hefty list of new skills!
