The Minimalist Gardener: Low Impact, No Dig Growing

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There is also a whole section on fruit that could be a great time saver, learning from others’ experience. Growing our own food is not only a satisfying and enjoyable thing to do, but it’s also one of the most positive actions we can take to turn our negative ecological impact into a beneficial one. The best thing we can do as gardeners is to experiment, keep on watching and learning, and most of all enjoy the garden and the fruits of our labour. Patrick describes how to select plants based on what you like to eat and how to combine them in polycultures that confound would-be pests.

His acquired wisdom from this life-long passion is now distilled into the pages of a new book, published by Permanent Publications, entitled The Minimalist Gardener.It can be lonely being the ‘weird’ and ‘untidy’ one on an allotment and can cause bad feeling and complaints – in some sad cases councils have ploughed up long established, productive permaculture gardens because they were reported as ‘too untidy’ or ‘neglected’ and accused of being a source of weed seeds and slugs. Since 1984, Chelsea Green has been the leading publisher of books about organic farming, gardening, homesteading, integrative health, natural building, sustainable living, socially responsible business, and more.

Putting the right plant in the right place, so that it thrives rather than looking ill because the conditions don’t suit it.So much has happened in a decade, from studying topiary with Charlotte Molesworth, to clipping all over the UK (and eventually in the USA and Sweden) to selling shears and secateurs at garden shows and hiding away my reticence to give talks about gardening and topiary to Horticultural Societies across the UK. Written by an acknowledged expert, this friendly guide will help you grow food in whatever space you have – large or small, rural or urban – with minimal purchased inputs, and maximum satisfaction. Patrick Holden from The Sustainable Food Trust wrote, "It is only towards the end of his life that the wider significance of permaculture ideas began to emerge . It’s only when tidy gardeners are encouraged and supported to look past current norms and gaze deeper into the tangled web of nature that they begin to see the promise, the beneficial relationships, ability to regenerate healthy soil naturally that they come to understand that it’s not lazy gardening but totally practical – many will gradually develop a preference once they have the opportunity to study permaculture practice and visit demonstration sites. Patrick taught many permaculture and other practical courses with his wife, Cathy, and was one of the first teachers in the world to develop an online Permaculture Design Course.