My New Azorean Garden

My new garden.

So, here it is. This is my new garden! I love it. It's not really much of a Permaculture garden. It has concrete paths, a fountain, a pool, and almost no food plants. We are renting our house and this garden from an elderly widow who comes from a well-to-do family. She and her family are very kind people, but it is unlikely they needed to spend time growing their own food, so their garden is much more park-like in design. In fact, this is a very large and very upper class garden for the island. The only neighbor I have seen that has a larger garden happens to be just across the street (at the top left of the photo above). The garden has not been well kept for many years. Only the basic lawn trimming with minimal shrub tending had been done. Many of the plants that had been tended were poorly pruned as well. The photos here were taken after a bunch of trimming and weeding has been done over the last two weeks.

Our pool nestled in the garden.

I'll be honest about the pool... I really don't know what to think of it. It is pretty. My wife and kids will love it during warm days. It is nice. However, it seems rather... extravagant. Pools are a waste of resources. Water, money, time. Chemicals are poured into the water which aren't too healthy for humans or wildlife. Basically, it is a sterile pond. Very unnatural. Makes me have really mixed feelings. Bottom line, it is not mine. We are renting the house, a pool came with it, and I am not getting rid of it. So I will enjoy it while I am here!

Adjacent to the pool and back garden is a very large undeveloped area.

This is one of my favorite parts of our property. I have written many times about having an undeveloped or completly wild area. In Permaculture, this is called Zone 5 (read about Zones 1-5 in this article). We often need to allow one corner of our garden to "go wild" again. But I have a number of acres of completely undeveloped land abutting the back corner of the garden. I've climbed over the fence just once so far, and it is great. The land is about 4-5 feet lower on the other side of the fence, so there is a low canopy that I can walk (a bit hunched as I am 6'3" (190 cm) tall). There are lillies all over the place and birds darting everywhere under there!

Here is what I am calling my "lower garden". It is the part that is closest to the house and really is a few feet lower than the rest of the garden. The dog doesn't seem to be too interested in it. I plan on building some raised beds for annual vegetables in it. It is bordered by bougainvillea in front, a mix of hibiscus and bird-of-paradise on one side and a bunch of small shrubs on the back side. 

Here is the "back garden". We just cleared out a whole lot of overgrowth and put in a fence along the road side (left side in the photo). With our dog, this was necessary. There's a large patch of aloe vera growing here along with a long strip of bird-of-paradise. There are roses and hibiscus and lillies in the back. Along the right side is a hydrangea and a number of yet-to-be-identified shrubs. A single cycad and a poorly tended fig are there as well. This will likely be left mostly lawn for the dog and kids.

This is the fountain area. There is a large variety of flowering bulbs along all edges of this section as well as around the fountain. The fountain itself is in a mild state of disrepair. It is overgrown with water plants. There are quite a few frogs that love this "pond". We are planning on cleaning things up a bit. We'll clear out a good section of the water plants, but not all. I want to keep this somewhat "wild", especially since the fountain pump is broken and is not going to be fixed. I'll likely interplant as many food producing plants in this section as I can get away with without it looking to unkempt.

This is what I am calling the "back garden". The southeast corner of the pool area is overshadowed by a large, sprawling fig tree that is covered with hundreds of immature fruits. I think it is awesome that I planted and tended my fig tree back in Turkey for two years, with no harvest, knowing that someone else would literally eat the fruits of my labor, and now I will do the same with whomever planted this fig tree years ago. Not that I buy into it, but it is very karma-ish. The "back garden" abuts the neighbooring, undeveloped land. There is a large stand of brambles on the fence line that I am pretty sure is the Azorean Blackberry (Rubus hochstetterorum), but I'll have to do a little further investigation on this. I think this would be a great location for a beehive... more on that soon!

This is the view from my back fence. Very natural Azorean coastline. There is small road between the treeline and the rocky beach. The small bay above has a tiny dock where old fishing boats leave most mornings. The land jutting out on the other side of the bay contains pastures and, at the far left, a bird sanctuary. I am planning on heading over there in the next week if I can.

Just on the other side of my house is this view. Looking back inland over the few blocks of the village/town where we live, you can just barely make out the rising hill/ridge that is lost in the low clouds. This is a commonly seen phenomenon. Most of the upper hills or volcanic mountain tops are covered many days or parts of most days in low cloud cover. The clouds in this photo are blocking about half of the pastured hills from view.

Looking directly down from the view in the previous photo, we can see our neighbors backyard. This is what is much more commonly seen in the land surrounding homes here in the Azores. Most people have vegetable gardens. Here is corn, squash, potatoes, and some form of cauliflower or broccoli that is forming seedheads. There is fertile soil here, and I can't wait to start planting in it!

Deforestation in the U.S.

Loss of Primary or "Old Growth" Forests in the U.S.

http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html

Primary Forests, sometimes called Old Growth Forests, are simply areas of forest that have never been logged. The map above is a sad statement on our management of these forests. I am not against logging. I am not against using the natural resources of the Earth; however, we must do so wisely. The Primary Forests are full of species of plant and animal that, if lost, will never exist again. But that is only part of what we have lost and stand to lose through deforestation.

Permaculture teaches about the use of Zones (you can read more about that in this article).  Zone 5 is a permanently "wild" area. It is vital to have these areas so that we can observe how nature functions without our interference. It is the model for the systems we are trying to emulate. If we lose this, we lose our teacher... not in some esoteric way, but in a very real, tangible way. We need to make sure we protect these areas, so we can observe the systems of nature. These forests are the prime example of a functioning sustainable ecosystem, and without them we lose thousands of years of information to guide us in creation of our own sustainable systems.

Finally, we need these places to experience God's creation untarnished by man. That alone should be enough reason.

With all that said, take a look at this map:

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/hotspotdeforestationmap.jpg

This map does give me hope. I have not been able to find a date for this map or any information on the creation of it, but it is quite interesting. While there are places in the world that are really doing poorly, there are others (especially in the U.S.) that have allowed new forests to develop.

I get rather tired of politicians, celebrities, and even some scientists, who get all worked up about some small aspect of environmentalism and forget about the very large, tangible ways to protect the environment... they are worried about a speck of dust right next to the elephant in the room, so to speak.

If you truly care about the environment, please put your energy into something that has a tangible result.

Plant Hardiness Zones Maps for the World

World Plant Hardiness Zones Map

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0103-90162008000700009&script=sci_arttext

In a previous article I discussed the U.S. Hardiness Zones (you can read that article here). I use these zones in each of my plant articles. I recently received an email from a reader telling me that the Zones I discuss mean nothing to them as they are in Greece. While I use zones that are tailored to the U.S., there are similar zones outlined for all parts of the world. Many of these zones use the same temperature scales, and others do not, but it is not too hard to go from one to another if you have both map keys available.

In brief, a Hardiness Zone Map divides an area into Zones (typically 1 through 10 based on minimum temperatures, with 1 being the coldest and 10 being the warmest).  A plant is placed into one of these Hardiness Zones based upon the lowest temperature it can withstand.  As I have stated previously, the benefit of Hardiness Zones is that it provides a starting point for planning which plants can winter-over where you live.  However, there are a few drawbacks to the Hardiness Zone Map.  It does not consider day length (which changes considerably the further from the equator you go), snow cover (which moderates soil freezing and insulates roots), humidity, frost, or soil moisture.  Probably the biggest drawback is that it does not consider how warm your summer will be.  The classic example is comparing the Shetland Islands north of Scotland and southern Alabama.  Both are listed as bewteen Hardiness Zone 8-9.  However, the Shetland Islands are sub-artic and southern Alabama is sub-tropical.  There are almost no plants that can grow in both places.

I hope this helps anyone struggling to determine in which Plant Hardiness Zone you reside.  Here are the links to pages that have the best Plant Hardiness Zones maps I can find for locations around the world:

1. Africa - Not a very detailed map at all, but the only one I could find for the entire continent.  There is a much more detaile map of Southern Africa here. 
2. Australia - Not extremely detailed, but still very useful.  Also, it has a comparison to the U.S. which can be quite helpful. 
3. Canada - Very detailed map, but may be a little hard to use as the zones blend into one another... but I guess that is how things actually are in real life. 
4. China - Pretty good map.  There may be better ones out there, but they are not available (or searchable) in English, and my Mandarin is not good at all. :)
5. Europe - Pretty good map.  There is a list to specific countries that link to a larger (close-up) map.
6. India - No specific map found.  The only map that I could find is at the top of this post.
7. Japan - Fantastic interactive map.
8. Russia - Map is fair, but the information is good.  Includes areas/countries that belonged to the former USSR.
9. South America - Not super detailed and maybe a little hard to see the zone deliniations, but still reliable.
10. Southeast Asia - No specific map found. The only map that I could find is at the top of this post.
11. United States of America - link to my previous article.

Hardiness Zones, Heat Zones, and Sunset Zones

USDA Hardiness Zones

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has been producing a Hardiness Zone Map for many years.  This map divides the U.S. into Zones 1 through 10 based on minimum temperatures (1 being the coldest and 10 being the warmest).  A plant is placed into one of these Hardiness Zones based upon the lowest temperature it can withstand.  Over the years, the concept of Hardiness Zones have been applied to all areas in the world.

2006 National Arbor Day Foundation Hardiness Zone Map

http://www.arborday.org/media/zones.cfm

The most recent USDA Hardiness Zone Map is from 1990.  However through work from the American Horticulture Society, the Arbor Day Foundation has created the 2006 Hardiness Zone Map.  This takes into account the warmer temperatures the U.S. has been experiencing over the last decade.  If you are interested in seeing the changes, the Arbor Day Foundation has a great animation on this page. Just click the Play button. 

Probably the most useful site for locating your Hardiness Zone is located here.  Just enter your zip code and your Hardiness Zone will be shown.

The benefit of Hardiness Zones is that it provides a starting point for planning which plants can winter-over where you live.  However, there are a few drawbacks to the Hardiness Zone Map.  It does not consider day length (changes considerably the further from the equator you go), snow cover (moderates soil freezing and insulates roots), humidity, frost, or soil moisture.  Probably the biggest drawback is that it does not consider how warm your summer will be.  The classic example is comparing the Shetland Islands north of Scotland and southern Alabama.  Both are listed as bewteen Hardiness Zone 8-9.  However, the Shetland Islands are sub-artic and southern Alabama is sub-tropical.  There are almost no plants that can grow in both places.

AHS Plant Heat Zone Map

The variations in summer heat around the globe is what prompted the American Horticultural Society to create their Plant Heat Zone Map.  The AHS Plant Heat Zones are listed from 1 through 12.  The zones are based on the average number of days per year that the temperature will rise above 86 degrees F (30 C) as this is the temperature above which plants start to show heat stress.  This is a great tool to augment the Hardiness Zones in your planning.  You can dowload a PDF of the AHS Plant Heat Zones here.  You can also search for your Heat Zone on this page by entering your zip code.

Sunset Climate Map

http://plantfinder.sunset.com/sunset/maps/images/USA.jpg

The last map that I want to share was produced by Sunset Magazine.  This company, which has a large gardening focus and has been around since 1898, divided the U.S. into 45 Climate Zones.  These zones are based on Latitude, Elevation, Ocean Influence, Continental Air Influence, Mountains, Hills, Valleys, and Microclimates.  It is a much more ambitious undertaking.

Here is a searchable map to find your Sunset Climate Zone, but I prefer going to the Sunset website and selecting the U.S. region here, as it provides a map as well as information on that growing region. Sunset also provides a pretty substantial searchable plant database for their Climate Zones on this page. 

Combining Hardiness Zones, AHS Plant Heat Zones, and Sunset Zones, you will be able to more confidently chose plants that are well suited to your local conditions.  These are great tools for planning your Permaculture System.

Here is a link to my article on Hardiness Zones for the World.

For my reference, I also want to add a Pacific Northwest Hardiness Zone Map as well.  It is based on the 1990 data, but is still useful.

http://www.raintreenursery.com/Pacific_Northwest.html

Permaculture Zones

PERMACULTURE ZONES

One of the foundational patterns of Permaculture is the concept of Zones.

There are five Permaculture Zones in the landscape.  These zones are areas of land (large or small) that are organized based on how much time is spent in them.  In its simplest form, the Permaculture Zones are concentric cirlces like this:

Permaculture Zones

http://www.small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com/images/permaculture_zones.GIF

Permaculture Zone 0

This is your home.  This is where you reside, obviously.  There is a lot I will have to say about home design, energy (traditional, alternative), water use, etc.  Zone 0 can include attached greenhouses, indoor plants, window plants, window boxes, bird feeders, companion animals (i.e. dogs).  In my opinion, the optimal house design has large windows that let you observe your yard/land as frequently as possible.  It should also connect to the outdoors in a way that makes you have a hard time deciding if you are inside or outside... e.g. covered back porch/patio that transitions to an overhead grapevine/wisteria trellis with an outdoor kitchen that transitions to a garden path.  Your home should be a place of refuge and relaxation.  This is not meant in some new age kind of way.  I really mean it.  If you work away from home, you should be able to walk in and find places that calm you.  This is vital for you and your family.

Frequency: Very frequent daily visits

Permaculture Zone 1

This is the area of your yard/land that requires the most time and energy to maintain.  It is typically located within 15-20 feet of your home.  It makes sense to start designing Zone 1 in areas that you typically walk past multiple times per day: right outside your front and back door.  In Zone 1, we place our annual vegetables, salad mixes, herbs, small fruit plants, dwarf fruit trees, espalier trees, external (non-attached) greenhouses, cold frames, rain barrels, nursery for new plants, small composting areas (including worm composting bins), a small pond, and small, quiet domestic animals like rabbits or pigeons.  This area is often fenced in to protect from predation.  This is the first place to be developed in your Permaculture plan. 

Bill Mollison once said that if you need some fresh herbs for your morning omelette, and if you go to collect them from your Zone 1 garden and your slippers get wet from the dew, then they were placed too far from the home.

Frequency: Frequent daily visits

Permaculture Zone 2

This area is getting a bit further from the home.  The components of Zone 2 include the larger, less frequently attended annual and perenial vegetables, larger shrubs and fruit bushes, some smaller fruit trees, maybe a pond or a small plot of wildflowers, larger home composting areas, louder or larger domestic animals like chickens and bees.  Zone 2 areas can extend along frequently used paths that lead to other Zones or to areas that are more frequently visited like a barn, a large pond, or path to a neighboors back yard.

Frequency: Visit every few days

Permaculture Zone 3

Fairly minimal components of your Permaculture Plan are placed in Zone 3.  This is a great place for a forest garden, nut trees, large ponds, dams, mushroom logs/hay bales, commercial crops (if you are considering this), barns, large trees used as windbreaks, and any other components that are used/harvested only a few times per year.

Frequency: Visit once a week to once a month

Permaculture Zone 4

Not everyone will have a Zone 4.  This is an area mainly used for pasture to graze larger domestic animals (sheep, goats, cows, pigs), firewood, timber, coppicing, and wild harvesting.  It is considered semi-wild.

Frequency: Visit a few times a month to a few times per year

Permaculture Zone 5

This is a permanant wild area.  This is a place to go and observe and learn from the designs in nature.  It is a place to enjoy the wild places of God's creation.  We do not intervene here.

Frequency: Visit frequently

Additional Comments on Permaculture Zones
In reality, Zones are NOT concentric circles.  Zones are designed based on the land you have and the functions you are trying to create.  You cannot create your individual pattern of Zones until you are actually on the land walking around.  Zones also are not always distinct.  They can be when divided by a fence, but more often to not they merge into each other.

Illustration of Zones from Toby Hemenway

http://smartpei.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451db7969e2011570d7a4d5970b-800wi

Permaculture Zones are a great way to start thinking about practically applying Permaculture to where you live.  When designed properly, Zones will save you time, energy, and money.