Edible Landscaping Portfolio

Walton, KY

The plan:

Address and fix major drainage issues from a steep backyard that slopes towards the house. Define growing spaces and using earthworks that infiltrate water effectively and build soil (Swales and terraces).

The place:

1.3 acre suburban/ rural edge property in Walton, KY

The Permaculture:

• Excavate drainage canals, french drain systems, and diversion earthworks to redirect problematic flooding areas
• Clear invasive honeysuckle and brambles and replant a paw paw forest
• Install 3 swales with integrated rain gardens to improve water retention and distribution
• Plant food forests and tree lines on all swales and other areas to slow down water, and keep as much of it as possible from taking nutrients off the hill

Huntington, West Virginia

The plan:

Design and develop both a permaculture trail and a vast permaculture “living laboratory” on an otherwise unused,  steep slope on the side of a mountain.

The place:

Veterans Affairs (VA Hospital) in Huntington, WV

The Permaculture:

• Develop an extensive food forest for veterans to interact with and help grow
• Implement a fruit orchard amongst native trees growing on the hillside
• Reforest a large section of dilapidated wooded areas using native fruit trees, nut trees, and shrubs
• Design and construct large social gathering areas that utilize water catchment and solar systems
• Design and install 4 high-density apple orchards lines on the steepest part of the sloped hillside
• Construct raised garden beds for perennial herbs and annual vegetables
• Construct a raised bed garden for growing root-stock
• Conduct permaculture educational classes for veterans

Colerain, Cincinnati OH

The plan:

Collaborate with recent PDC student in order to create a fruit-tree and berry orchard to help sustain a family compound.

The place:

Two neighboring properties in suburban/historic farmland Colerain

The Permaculture:

• Designed and installed a diverse, dense mix of fruit trees, native plants and guild plantings along four tree planting lines in food forest style terraces
• Added native shrubbery to further diversify the landscape

Covington, KY

The plan:

Create edible and beautiful growing spaces in raised beds to maximize positioning to sunlight and airflow.

The place:

Very small, very shaded backyard in Covington, KY with dogs.

The Permaculture:

• Constructed intricate cedar planting boxes
• Created a tiny food forest of espalier apple, pink currants, and comfrey in back corner
• Constructed a wine-cap mushroom bed
• Created a trellis extension for hardy kiwi to grow on existing pergola

Montgomery, Cincinnati OH

The plan:

Collaborate with a budding gardener on his vision of incorporating native edges with an edible food forest that would compliment his annual gardens in his back yard and reduce mow-able grass areas. Meld a paver wall with existing landscaping plants in his front yard.

The place:

Suburban Montgomery enclave

The Permaculture:

• Planted a diverse mix of native/medicinal shrubbery like paw paws, witch hazels, and spicebushes under a dense canopy of oaks trees around the back edges of the property.
• Planted a food forest with apples and nectarines and interplanted  guild plants all around.
• Constructed trellis systems for both blackberry and raspberry bushes.
• Designed and installed a rain garden with native pollinator plants.
• Built paver retaining walls in front yard to enhance mulching, new bed creation, and individual tree planting terraces for pear trees.

Glendale, Cincinnati OH

The plan:

Design and create a fruit tree orchard/food forest Installation, and build a stone-walled herb garden to match existing stone structures.

The place:

Historic manor in suburban Glendale

The Permaculture:

• Created a large food forrest consisting of apples, pears, peaches, currants, blackberries, raspberries and apricots
• Incorporated agricultural limestone to create a large, stair-stepped herb garden that seamlessly blended into the existing stone walls

Westwood, Cincinnati OH

The plan: 

Design the front and backyard areas to incorporate existing trees and shrubs in order to accommodate a new fence.

The place:

Suburban historic property in Westwood.

The Permaculture:

• Spent several days removing invasive honeysuckle at the stump
• Pruned overgrown yew and other plants that would obstruct the new fence
• Processed honeysuckle for a large mulch pile

 

Oxford, OH

The plan:

Develop a diverse landscape with edible trees and shrubs. Address depleted and terrible soil and drainage issues. Design productive wind breaks on the properties elevated plateau areas.

The place: New construction house on 5 acres outside the University town of Oxford, OH

The Permaculture:

• Developed a zone 2 food forest that complimented existing gardens, chickens, and goat areas.
• Installed a riparian zone buffer of native species for water purification as well as goat fodder.
• Planted hundreds of black locust, Austrian pine, and eastern red cedar trees as a windbreak and coppice material.
• Implemented key-line subsoiling on contour to help break up hardpan layers and increase water retention.
• Planted tree islands for lawn development and to create more hospitable micro-climates for grazing and recreation.

Goat-scaping Colerain, OH

The plan:

Use goats to munch down and clear invasive species like honeysuckle and multiflora rose without using chemicals or machinery inside wooded sections of a public park.

The place:

Colerain Park, Cincinnati OH

The Permaculture:

• Set up temporary electric netting to define goat areas
• Construct mobile housing for the goats
• Manually saw branches and high browse for the goats to eat
• Sit back and watch the hungry goats clear out gnarly plants while beautifying public trail areas

 

Wyoming, Cincinnati OH

The plan:

Incorporate an edible forest garden into an existing ‘traditional’ landscaped space.

The place:

1/4 suburban lot, Wyoming, Cincinnati OH

The Permaculture:

• Removed non-productive shrubbery and invasive species
• Removed poison hemlock from surrounding area
• Planted fruit trees, berry bushes and perennial herbs throughout landscape
• Redefined retaining wall spaces and edges with new plantings
• Created large Hugelkultur mound to breakdown invasive weeds and promote new, more productive growth

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