“What is a forest garden?”
My oldest son asked me that question one day as we were standing in the kitchen. He knew I had been planting a lot of trees and other plants and that I referred to the emerging combination as my forest garden. He also knew, because I had just told him, that I had set up this Florida Forest Gardens website. My son has a background in graphic design and commercial art, so I thought he might be able to help me. He was asking the question not only for his own information, but to guide me in the process of building this site.
“I know what a garden is,” my son continued, “and I know what a forest is. But what is a forest garden?”
His question made me realize that I did not have a quick or easy answer. That is partly because people, like me, who are into forest gardening are also into natural farming, permaculture, organic gardening, regenerative agriculture, and so on, and the description of each of those is somewhat different. People even call forest gardens by different names such as edible food forests and household gardens.
Forest Gardening
Forest gardening is a form of sustainable land use, more specifically “agroforestry,” for growing food. The method mimics natural systems. Through human intervention — namely, you — the process of establishing an edible food forest is accelerated from about 100 years to 10 years. Plus, the more established your forest garden becomes, the more it tends to maintain itself. Thus, as you age, the amount of work you have to put into your forest garden decreases. That trajectory depends, of course, on what your goals are for your land, but in general, it represents a realistic expectation.
A forest garden is comprised of seven to nine layers. Following is a popular graphic of a forest garden in seven layers:
The nine-layers that I refer to also include the mycelial/fungal layer, which is part of the soil web, and therefore essential, and the aquatic/wetland layer, which is desirable but not essential in all settings.
My Florida Forest Gardens Pinterest account includes nine boards named for the nine layers. These boards are titled:
1. Canopy/Tall Tree Layer
2. Small Tree/Large Shrub Layer
3. Shrub Layer
4. Herbaceous Layer
5. Groundcover/Creeper Layer
6. Roots/Tubers Layer
7. Vertical/Climber Layer
8. Aquatic/Wetland Layer
9. Mycelial/Fungal Layer
I also have boards on: Forest Gardening/Permaculture (principles); Nitrogen Fixers (Across Layers); Water Harvesting; Outdoor Building Plans; Food; and Soil. Following my boards is one of the best ways to keep up with what I am learning and doing and to gain some ideas for your own forest garden. My bias is toward USDA Zone 9b and what grows well here where I live in central Florida; however, I freely learn from other forest gardeners all over the world.
Florida Friendly Legislation and Principles
The Florida legislature did a great favor to Florida homeowners who want to grow forest gardens when they passed Florida Statute 873.185 “Local Florida-friendly landscaping ordinances.” Some enthusiastic forest gardeners who have gotten into trouble with their local ordinances or HOA rules have successfully prevailed because of that piece of legislation.
The University of Florida (UF) IFAS Extension office publishes a helpful guide on the nine principles to follow for a Florida-Friendly yard: 1) Right Plant, Right Place; 2) Water Efficiently; 3) Fertilize Appropriately; 4) Mulch; 5) Attract Wildlife; 6) Manage Yard Pests Responsibly; 7) Recycle Yard Waste; 8) Reduce Stormwater Runoff; and 9) Protect the Waterfront. Those principles are nicely consistent with permaculture principles.
Permaculture Principles
Forest gardening is tightly interlaced with permaculture, a term that David Holmgren and his professor Bill Mollison came up with in 1978. Their original reference was to “permanent agriculture” highlighting the sustainable aspect of the principles and practices. Since then, the meaning of the term has has evolved to stand for “permanent culture.”
Here is a short video of David Holmgren discussing permaculture as a way to change the world, to create the world that we want.
David Holmgren explains how you can change the world with permaculture
Here is an Oregon State University Ecampus concise (less than 10 minutes) explanation of permaculture principles:
The Permaculture Principles covered in the video are: 1) Observe & Interact; 2) Catch & Store Energy; 3) Obtain a Yield; 4) Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback; 5) Use & Value Renewable Resources & Services; 6) Produce No Waste; 7) Design from Patterns to Details; 8) Integrate Rather than Segregate; 9) Use Small & Slow Solutions; 10) Use & Value Diversity; 11) Use Edges & Value the Marginal; and 12) Creatively Use & Respond to Change.
The two books referred to in that video are linked below for your convenience:
Size Does Not Matter (Much)
You do not need acreage in order to forest garden! Some people have established amazing forest gardens on as little as one-tenth of an acre, and possible smaller yards. Others grow what they can in containers on the balconies of their apartments. Yet others do have acreage. Do as much as you can or want with what you have to work with at the time, but do something!
Obviously, the size and orientation of your property will determine to some degree the design choices that you make in establishing your own forest garden. Some, who live in neighborhoods, apply a “Mullet” design approach, humorously named after the once-popular haircut which was short in the front and long in the back, otherwise known as “business in the front, party in the back.” As a forest gardening technique, that means you keep your front yard in keeping with the neighborhood, likely a lawn and a few trees or shrubs, and plant your food forest in the side and back yards.
One of our local permaculture landscapers and experts demonstrates the mullet approach in a video on his Pete Kanaris GreenDreamsFL YouTube channel: The Final Step: MULCH MULCH MULCH.
Val and Eli are a young couple who have successfully relied upon the above-referenced Florida Friendly legislation to defend their right to grow a forest garden on their, roughly, one-tenth of an acre in Jacksonville, Florida. The following is one of the first videos of their forest garden that I watched and it greatly inspired me to not just plant fruit trees as I had been doing, but to take it step further and establish my own forest garden.
Permaculture Paradise: Val and Eli’s Garden!
Resources
The top navigation bar of this website also includes a “Resources” tab where I have included articles, videos, and books and other sources that I have found particularly useful, so much so that I keep returning to them.
I also recommend some of my favorite Facebook groups and YouTube channels and why I find each one relevant to my forest gardening efforts.
Trial and Error
“Nature wants to be a forest,” is a common saying among forest gardeners and permaculturists. “Every forest is a lake,” is another, referring to the water retention capabilities of a forest. There are many others, and as with anything else, communicating with enthusiasts in an area requires a certain kind of literacy. Do not worry about that if you are just beginning: it will all come in due time, as you learn and apply what you learn, little by little.
Especially in the beginning, much of your effort will be by trial and error. You can imbibe all of the knowledge you want from multiple sources, but there is really no replacement for learning by doing. That, in turn, means that you will have some successes and some failures.
Embrace Your Failures
You are likely to learn as much or more from your failures as from your successes. There is no substitute for that process, so you might as well embrace it; in fact, give it big ol’ bear hug and thank God that you are alive to experiment and make mistakes.
Delight in the Serendipitous
What I love most about forest gardening is the serendipitous — the “chance” happy and beneficial — unplanned things that happen, simply by nature doing what nature does.
The wind may blow in a seed of something beneficial that you never thought of growing, but there it is, growing in your forest garden and loving it there.
Whether you have a small or large forest garden, you may be surprised by the variety of wildlife that comes to visit or live there. Each living thing has its place in the ecosystem you are building. Over time, your forest garden will reach its own balance. Love it, and it will love you back and will be there to feed and delight generations not yet born.