Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: Hello from Victoria, BC, Canada

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: <permed@nor.com.au>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Hello from Victoria, BC, Canada
  • Date: Mon, 5 Nov 01 09:49:25 -0000


Sean wrote
>I've found a place which I hope to
>rent for several years while I attend school. It has a big, south facing
>backyard with little else living on it but for patchy grass, thistles,
>dock, morning glory, buttercup and similar delights. Not even the birds
>come to visit.
>
>I have begun to put down on paper how I'd like this to look at the end of
>a decade. The most enjoyable prospect for me, however, is convincing my
>landlord of the feasability of the project (and the ease of clean up when
>I move on)--and then convincing my neighbour, with whom I share this
>duplex, to allow me full reign over the entire back yard.

I spent 10 years in various rental urban properties until I aquired
Djanbung Gardens.
I managed to convince my landlords that if they didn't like the garden
I'd move it with me and assured them that their weedy lawnscape would
quickly re-establish.
On 2 of these occasions I concentrated my gardens (deep sheet mulch,
mainly because I didn't trust the soil or it was obviously in very bad
condition or contaminated with lead fallout from busy roads) around the
perimeter of the yard 1-2 meters wide next to the fence. The other 2
yards I constructed a mandala garden complete with tyre pond (built on
top of the ground in case I had to remove it) and planted a mix of fruit
trees, flowering native shrubs and berry bushes around the fence line. I
found most landlords were really paranoid about loosing all the 'lawn' so
I always left an area of grass as a small compromise (there is a place
for some recreational mulch meadow in most zone 1). In one of these
gardens I also managed to keep 3 chickens in a mobile pen, handy for
occasional tractoring and would let them free range only when I was in
the garden to prevent damage.
I also had a substantial container garden of pet plants, dwarf fruit
trees etc that I moved from place to place.
The interesting thing is that none of the landlords asked me to get rid
of the garden when I left as the tennant following expressed interest in
the property because of the garden.
I found landlord resistance crumbled when I said I'd be gardening on top
of the soil and wouldn't be digging it up & I could easily remove it by
hiring a small trailer to shovel all the mulch into to transport to my
new site. I was selective in the trees & shrubs I planted to maximise
their chance of survival. Most of the trees I planted in these gardens
are still thriving 10-20 years later, most of the gardens have
disappeared now but were continued by subsequent tennants for several
years after I abandoned them.
Maybe - in terms of your neighbour - just propose to garden half of the
yard, and with time as or if they show interest you can help them garden
their half.
Robyn Francis

Djanbung Gardens Permaculture Education Centre
home to:
Permaculture Education
ERDA Institute Trust
Nimbin Eco-Village Project Office
Robyn Francis - permaculture designer & educator
PO Box 379, Nimbin NSW 2480 Australia
Ph 02-6689 1755 Fax 02-6689 1225
permed@nor.com.au www.earthwise.org.au





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page