Design

I can offer advice and assist with your edible garden, design so that it’s functional and aesthetically pleasing. My garden designs are based on the Principles of Permaculture. The aim of my garden designs is to create an outdoor space that is

  • Aesthetically Pleasing
  • Functional
  • Productive
  • Low Maintenance

My designs reflect the importance of working with nature. Edible forest gardening is the ultimate in producing, food whilst keeping in harmony with nature. It is a style of garden that I design into a lot of foodscapes for my clients.

What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is a word originally coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the mid 1970’s to describe an “integrated, evolving system of perennial or self-perpetuating plant and animal species useful to man”. They were both based in Tasmania at the time. After 30 years Permaculture may rank as one of Australia’s most significant “intellectual exports”.

“Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system.” – Bill Mollison

A more current definition of Permaculture is “Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs.”

Edible Garden Design Permaculture Design Melbourne

The Principles of Permaculture form the foundation of my foodscape design philosophy

How I see Permaculture

To me, Permaculture is an applied science and ethical design system, based on observation and analysis of natural systems. By utilizing Permaculture design principles, my designs help my clients to reconnect with the earth, seasonality and nature. The designs assist in working with nature, rather than against it

By copying nature’s blueprint and enhancing it with useful plants and animals, we aim to create productive, edible landscapes that are as close to self-sustaining as possible. Reading the landscape enables us to identify microclimates, and to use them to our advantage to grow an array of food plants. Through the use of guilds and zoning systems, we create efficient landscapes, which require less energy and effort to maintain. These landscapes, provide food produced with a smaller ecological footprint, and an informed knowledge, of what has been used in the production of this food.

“Through my designs, I enable my clients to live in a more sustainable manner through increasing productivity and by reducing waste, ongoing energy inputs, and maintenance requirements.”
– Duncan Cocking

What’s involved in getting a design completed?

Firstly I arrange a time to visit with you and explore the site together. This initial site visit consultation will be $200 (inc GST). During the consult, we’ll look at and analyse your site together. We’ll also discuss your needs and wants from the space and provide you with some ideas and options.

From there you may like to continue with a more formal analysis, design and project plan. This is a complex task but enables us to get the most out of the space and design the best solution for you. This involves

  • Completing a full design brief with all the household members to determine your wants and needs from the design
  • Analysis and mapping of current infrastructure
  • Analysis of climate, soil and external influences such as sun/shade, wind, rain, noise, views, etc (termed ‘sector analysis’ & ‘climate analysis’)
  • Exploration of potential design ideas and possibilities
  • Budget and project plan

The format of each design varies depending on the site and your needs. To give you a guide, our Permaculture designs usually end up being between 12 and 20 (A3) pages and are presented in a portfolio. The design portfolio is something that we can update as the design is implemented to provide you with a record of the garden implementation.

The cost for this design process is dependent on site complexity and size. Usually it is around $2500 to $3200 (inc GST). The cost of the initial site visit is deducted from the cost of the design.

Design options and costs are usually discussed and agreed upon during the initial site visit.

Give Duncan a call today to start the journey towards growing your own edible forest garden.

Phone: 0423 003 764

email: duncan@LeafRootFruit.com.au