I followed the signs from West River Drive through Fairmount Park to the recycling center for free mulch. On my way back I found myself at Woodford Mansion, one of Fairmount Park's historic houses. Woodford has a collection of colonial era furniture that is unusually large and varied--worth seeing even if that's not your thing.
I had been here in the spring for a job took me to a lot of the lesser known historic sites in the area, and was excited to learn that the Philly Orchard Project had started a permaculture garden on the grounds.
Permaculture can be defined a few different ways--some very capacious, others more practical. I would describe it as a method of farming that requires minimal effort and offers maximum yield. A permaculture gardener starts her garden at her doorstep, relies on perennial plants that return unaided, and designs her home and yard so that time and climate become her servants.
When I visited Woodford in the spring, the curator told me there was a plan to expand the garden to double what had just been put in. Exciting! Here's the plant list for Phase I:
And here's the layout:
I adore the signs they've put up with some of the species. For an information fiend like me, this is dope:
I think it was in the book 1491 that I read that the reason there is such a high percentage of fruit and nut bearing trees per acre in the South American rain forest is because indigenous people cultivated their environment by selecting for those trees. My dream is to buy a property somewhere and plant a luscious food jungle all around my house. I look longingly at the many vacant lots on the north side of the city and imagine the good food that could be grown there. It's encouraging there are people in town who are excited about permaculture.
Two more pictures:
That's a gooseberry. When I was little I thought gooseberry tart was possibly the funniest phrase in the English language.
And this green feathery cloud is what asparagus becomes when you let it run riot:
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