Words&Dirt

I’m down to one book this morning, so this will be another day with two quotes from the same book!

“An ecological garden is like a net, sieving and holding whatever resources (minerals, organic matter, sunlight, water, and organisms) flow through it.  And, just as important, these landscapes are consummate recyclers, shuttling each bit of matter and energy from soil to plant to animal and back again, over and over until every last bit of benefit has been extracted.  This careful stewardship of all resources is one key to a sustainable garden.  So we employ a spectrum of techniques to grab and recycle as many resources entering the garden as possible.”

––Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, by Toby Hemenway, loc. 5600

“We’ve mimicked natural plant communities.  This takes advantage of a few billion years of groundwork done by evolution.  A plant community’s species have coevolved over eons and so are familiar partners.  They know what to do with each other.  The interconnections and flows of nutrients, chemical signals, and pollen, as well as the niches for the beneficial supporting cast of soil life, have already been worked out.  This is why the guild approach is so much more successful than just planting blocks of a single species.  Like a great sports team, the members have rehearsed their moves so many times that, when we bring them together, they blend into a smoothly performing ensemble and get to work.”

––Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, by Toby Hemenway, loc. 5754