Rethinking Your Lawn With Permaculture Zones

What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is the practice of designing sustainable human habitats by following nature’s patterns and respecting nature’s limits. Unlike a small suburban garden of straight rows or a few raised beds in your backyard, permaculture is focused on the thoughtful design of agriculturally productive systems that have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems—and it can be applied in your own backyard.

Who Invented Permaculture?

The term “permaculture” was first coined by Bill Mollison, an Australian biologist, as a combination of the words permanent agriculture. According to Mollison, permaculture creates systems that are ecologically-sound and economically viable. These systems provide for their needs, don't exploit or pollute, and are sustainable for the long term. Permaculture uses plants and animals' inherent qualities coupled with natural landscape characteristics and structures to produce a life-supporting system for cities and countries, using the smallest practical area.

What is Permaculture Sector Analysis?

Sector analysis is related to the energies of nature that are external to our site but pass through our land and can affect it. These energies may include the sun, the wind, the rain, water flow, fire risks, the slope of the land, and others. In this sense, a sector analysis can also help in designing a sustainable home. Understanding the sun's angle and the orientation of our homes can help homeowners use passive solar design to reduce the external heating and cooling needs of our homes. Understanding how rainwater moves across our yards can help homeowners devise strategies to reduce erosion and stormwater runoff.

A sector analysis can also include factors such as a panoramic view you want to maintain, the part of your land where wild animals most often pass through, etc. Being aware of how these energies interact with your site through careful observation allows for a design process that minimizes the potential damage of these energies while maximizing the beneficial aspects. For example, knowing where the cold winter winds and the warm winter sun come from will help you decide how to angle your house and where you will need to plant a windbreak so that your home can be more energy-efficient and comfortable.

What Is Permaculture Zone Planning?

Zone planning is a design tool whereby the location of every component in your yard is determined by how often you need to use that component and how often you need to invest the energy to keep it working in your favor. The parts of your design that you use most often and need to pay the most attention to are placed closest to your house, while elements on your site that need less human intervention or are used less frequently are placed farther away.