The case for urban permaculture
Meet three keen gardeners who are pooling their resources in a bid to reconnect urban Aucklanders with how easy and worthwhile it is to grow your own fresh food.
Meet three Aucklanders running workshops for city dwellers and renters interested in growing food.
Where form ever follows function, as the saying goes. It may be a popular design concept, but it can let the side down when applied to edible gardens. I know, I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. And yes, as someone who initially took up the trowel and fork mainly to grow food for my family, I very much appreciate the meaning and wonder of coriander left to set seed and allium foliage flopping oh-so-artfully over in their mulched beds. Yet there is no denying that a garden planted for food can seem… well, aesthetically challenged. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that; after all, none of the 12 permaculture principles say anything about making it look pretty.
An important lesson I have learned, though, is that a non-gardener can be coaxed onto the gardening bandwagon (and various related DIY projects) by a goodlooking edible garden. A bit of effort to take their style philosophy into account (“of course the cucumbers and beans will stay in their perfectly symmetrical beds, honey”) can yield kilos of harvested crops as the nongardener comes to appreciate how frilly loose leaf lettuces can soften the straight lines of concreted paths while watching bright green blades of sweetcorn leaves sway gaily over what was once beloved lawn.
Amanda Warren has no need of such a lesson though, judging by the state of her beautiful and unique permaculture garden in St Heliers, a neighbourhood which – being both coastal and close to the city – just happens to be one of Auckland’s most desirable suburbs.
Amanda has a degree in landscape architecture, which partly explains how she came to the bold decision to terrace the agapanthus-infested slope behind her house. This has given her a north-facing sowing and growing space roughly equalling a quarter-acre. Here, she plants an inordinate amount of veges, flowers and fruit trees. It is an amazing transformation: “Before this, there had been a massive hawthorn in a corner, some pine trees and lots of concrete,” Amanda recalls.
In keeping with the permaculture principles she holds dear, Amanda has lettuces and herbs in beds and pots next to the kitchen and house. Compost and worm bins are tucked at the shady end of the garden, blending anonymously into the green “wall” of old established trees (including a lemon) and perennials.
As one climbs the wide stone steps towards the upper terraces, the garden reveals itself: bulging bags of potato plants, beans, berry canes, brassicas… If you’re not familiar with the vege plants, they are easy to miss as the eye is inevitably drawn to the pops of red, pink, purple, yellow, orange and everything in between from borage, rambling nasturtium, roses, masses of sweet peas and alyssum, salvia, daisies – to name just a few.
Further up still, into zones two and three, a birdbath, then beehives (both horizontal top-bar and traditional), as well as a small plastichouse, used for sowing seeds. “I highly recommend it as a cheap and effective way of growing seedlings,” says Amanda. Silkie bantams Duchess, Florence, Mummy, Baby Gold, Maria and Mavis provide fresh eggs, “when they are not on strike!”
Keep climbing, up to the compact home orchard, with newly planted fruit trees (all within their own polyculture guild of complementary plants) and even a tiny banana grove where several generations have thrived.
More recently, she has just planted a stevia in the front garden (which is also home to Tuatara the pet tortoise),
The goal here is to show urban dwellers that a productive permaculture garden is both doable and practical in our biggest city.
“You pay a gardener to mow the lawn and trim the hedges straight. Why aren’t we paying gardeners to maintain and create our edible gardens too?”
and is still nursing a water chestnut as she reads up on the best way to plant it up. “I experiment with the plantings, to demonstrate to myself that one can grow lots of food and still have a beautiful place.”
The integration of diverse systems has veges and flowers mixing and mingling chummily to the constant birdsong and hum of happy bees. These little critters don’t seem to interest 19-year-old cat Candy nor sweet golden retrievers Kea, 12 years old, and two-year-old Tekarua.
Framing it all – as one looks up and up from the deck next to the house – are flaxes as well as native and established trees. This picturesque scene defies expectations of what a productive permaculture garden looks like.
Even with all the stepping up and down, garden maintenance is not too onerous. For one thing, Amanda is a fan of Ruth Stout, an American author and gardener who advocated the use of hay as a permanent mulch on well, everything. This no-dig method – which Amanda learned at the Taranaki Festival’s Sustainable Backyard Trail – minimises watering and weeding, improves the soil and requires little labour, she assures me.
Plus, Amanda is not the only one to love, care for and use the garden in meaningful ways. She shares it with garden maintenance and design specialist Olivia Bayley, and plant-based chef Amy Klitscher, who set up her zero-waste catering company just last year.
Together, the trio recently started running permaculture workshops for city dwellers and renters interested in growing and cooking their own food sustainably. Amanda and Olivia take participants through the sowing and growing, after which they are directed to harvest from the garden much of the ingredients Amy uses to prepare the shared vegan lunch, which is also an opportunity to demonstrate her waste-free tips and ideas for the kitchen.
The workshop emphasises small scale, sustainable and zero waste – all achievable in the modest sections and tiny decks of our biggest city. The
“This garden is every chef’s dream. To be able to access this for all the wonderful fresh ingredients I need is simply amazing.”
goal is to kickstart (or simply refresh) the city gardener’s permaculture journey, showing that reconnecting with nature is both doable and practical in urban situations. Focus is on soil, seasonal veges and pest control. Under Olivia’s guidance, participants get their hands dirty potting up a “salad bowl” (lettuces and herbs) to take home – because, given Auckland’s mild climate, “nobody should have to actually buy salads,” Amanda says.
Perhaps more importantly, they meet other hope-to-be-green thumbs, finding an immediate peer support group.
Amanda, Olivia and Amy ran three half-day workshops last year, starting after Auckland’s second Covid-19 lockdown in October. “We don’t really know what it will be like going forward but there’s huge interest so far,” says Amanda. “It seems to be answering a call for many people. After what we’ve all been through, there seems to be a greater understanding of the need for more self-sufficiency and sustainability.”
This is perfectly in line with Amy’s personal approach to catering and cooking. The chef believes the past year has heightened Kiwis’ interest in healthy, sustainable food.
“And the best thing about that is that just small changes in the way we approach and prepare our food can get us there,” she says.
Olivia’s involvement stems from her longheld belief that pretty hedges and structural grasses can exist harmoniously within organic edible plots that will help gardeners feed their families too. “I try to implement organic practices within all my maintenance gardens and help the client grow their own passion for their outdoor space,” she says.
Having worked in Auckland gardens of various sizes for many years (her own company is called Lush Greenery Gardens), Olivia has noticed a marked rush of clients eager to brighten up their personal spaces now – and that includes the garden. They are also keen to learn the basics of gardening. “A lot of people did their own gardens and learnt quickly it can be tricky,” she says. “My wish is for people to realise the potential of their space.”