#6 Edible Front Yard Permaculture Garden |Darien, CT | Best Landscape Designs of 2021 Not everyone requests a permaculture garden for their front yard landscape…but when they do, we know we are destined to work together! This all-star client is passionate about living off the land – she already had several chickens! – and wanted to maximize the productivity of her residential yard. We created a design of “stacked functions,” a permaculture concept that basically means everything in the design serves a purpose, if not multiple. For example, the native shrubs chosen provide nectar for pollinators, edible berries for humans and birds, and simultaneously help absorb and clean stormwater. We began the site development and initial planning of this project back in the fall of 2020. Catch up on the beginnings of the project on our previous blog post. A major design component was the new fence to enclose the client’s chickens in the front yard. We partnered with Salem Fence, whom we can’t recommend enough. We’ve collaborated with Salem Fence on many projects, and they always deliver timely, quality work that keeps our installation crews on schedule. After delineating the new planting beds, removing the turf grass and amending the soil, the initial phase of the permaculture garden was planted in the fall. Herbs, some perennials, and the fruiting trees and shrubs were not available from nurseries in the fall and were thus postponed until spring. This landscape is a wonderful example of mixing edible plants in with ornamentals, rather than designated each to their specific garden spaces. The mixed planting works here because of the enclosure from the fence, which keeps wildlife out of the squash, for example, and lets the client observe and enjoy everything from within the garden. Adirondack chairs surrounding the front yard fire pit invite you to sit and take in the vibrancy of the garden, instead of relegating the front yard as untouchable curb appeal. Custom masonry tied the new landscape together, connecting the new front gate with natural stone steps and a walkway to the front door. A simple, circular cut stone base lined with small rocks makes for a naturalistic platform for the front yard fire pit. Decorative river rock along the staircase border helps retain the slope during storm events. This landscape will only continue to develop and blossom as the new plants become established in the front yard ecosystem. Stay tuned for more photos! Contact us about your landscape design or permaculture project! Schedule a professional consultation or a free 15-minute discovery call. — Green Jay Landscape Design Where Design Meets Ecology
