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Our Permaculture Design Process: From Concept to Install

Apr 16, 2024

Over the course of sixteen years, we have shaped our proven process, from the first discovery call all the way through to caretaking and ecolawn services. When setting out to start a permaculture landscape business, it was important that we developed a proof of concept that not only creates thriving ecological landscapes and empowers clients to participate in Earth’s return to health, but also sustains a thriving business. 

 

By building lasting relationships with our clients through our consult-design-installation-caretaking process, we empower you to understand and interact with your landscapes as you deepen your role as an environmental steward. 

Consultation

We begin each design and installation project with a consultation. During our time together, we can begin to generate ideas, hear about your vision and goals, and refine the project approach into a scope that suits your site, goals, and budget. But first, a free discovery call. 

 

Site analysis

Then, we map the existing conditions and analyze the challenges and opportunities.

After our initial consultation, the design process begins with an extensive site assessment to understand the current conditions. Contemplative observation is a cornerstone of any permaculture design—we visit your site, map the existing conditions to see where things might be off balance, and then analyze challenges and opportunities. 

 

Design

Our designs are rooted in the unique language of each site, which we study during our site analysis and assessment. This allows us to work with the innate intelligence of the site and develop planting plans and water strategies that are elegant, creative, and site-specific. The beneficial landscapes we design will always center nature and the aspirations of our clients. 

Value Engineering

Once we have a shared vision and set of priorities from design, we take you through value engineering to develop budgets and phasing timelines. This is crucial because this step allows us to honor our plan and timeline as well as your priorities and budget.

 

Installation

Our team executes your design with vision, care, and precision. This is the heartbeat of our company – where the design and aspirations take shape and come to life. Some of the landscape elements and techniques we implement include edible landscaping, pollinator nectaries, medicinal gardens, songbird habitat, low-mow lawns, cover-cropping, compost + worm bins, sheet mulching, no-till agriculture, hugelbeds, paths + patios, stone masonry + carpentry, raised beds, terracing, trellises, earth contouring, rain gardens, off-grid water systems, rainwater harvesting, gravity-fed irrigation, stormwater management, wetland restoration and more. 

Caretaking

Many of our clients continue on through the caretaking service we offer. Whether you are hands-off and want help tending to your eco-paradise or want to learn side-by-side with our team, we’re here to help your garden thrive! We believe maintenance is love. That’s why we call it caretaking. Our visits are designed to help you feel confident reading and responding to your site and do the “heavy lifting” when needed. Tasks we might cover during our visits include tending to the garden as it is established, helping you to engage with the ecosystem you’ve created, maintaining hardscaping and water systems, up-keeping planting to include deadheading, weeding, grafting, propagation and pruning, and managing soil and resources on site. 

 

Ecolawn Care

For anyone who wants to maintain a meadow or a polyculture lawn with a positive environmental impact! We use all electric equipment (zero emissions!), while also using all organic lawn care methods to build soil and support pollinators. A large part of this service is listening to your desire for a different front yard and helping you get there by using organic amendments and natural fertilizers, diversifying lawn species, and incorporating flowering grasses. 

We are proud of our process and each member of our team who works to make it all come together. Hope you’ve enjoyed learning as we pulled back the curtain – so much goes into what we do, and we are grateful every day that we get to do it. Don’t hesitate to reach out and book a call if you have any questions!

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