What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a holistic approach to designing the land and home where a family can have the most sustainable (if not regenerative) lifestyle on a household level with minimal impact made on the earth and nature around us. Permanent agriculture considers purposeful functions and sustainable methods for the design of property, along with the production of food. Though, as I’ve learned, it is not limited to simply food, but a web of useful ecosystems and diverse organisms that can be used for fuel, building, medicine, community sharing, tools, and so much more.
This is crucial for future generations, as the majority of us now are well aware of the damage that can be created by not caring about our consumption habits, our agriculture practices at large, and how disconnected communities are becoming from nature. I love the term, “thrival,” and I love it because it means “to thrive, not just survive.” There’s another quote by Wendell Berry that stresses the importance of our oneness with nature, and that is, “Nature includes us....We are in it and are a part of it...if it does not thrive, we cannot thrive.”
Design
*** NEW FOR CO-VID TIMES —- Two options are available for permaculture and landscape design. Online consultations are available through the Shop. In-person consultations will be done socially-distant. If needed, I can refer to other reputable permaculturists and landscape designers in your area. ***
Water It With Love Landscaping, LLC (WIWL) will conduct an initial interview to gain better understanding of the needs, desires, problems, and answer any other questions that you have. From there, we will go more in-depth with a full consultation. With permaculture principles in mind, we will create a specific design based on the needs and desires of the client. This includes a full permaculture design: a base map, conceptual design map, and detailed designs, and they will be yours to keep as a part of the service.
Areas of interest covered in the consultation:
Permaculture design for home and land; garden design, and small-scale farm design
Retrofit old homes to reduce carbon footprint
Graywater and rainwater catchment systems
Earthworks (like swales, berms/basins, keyline design, hugelkultur)
Mushroom cultivation (outdoor and indoor)
Preserving the harvest, seed saving, and garden-to-table recipes
Garden design for elderly, disabled, children, business, schools, and organizations.
After the initial consultation is complete, WIWL can offer further services to see a project complete from the initial concepts to the finished product.
To set up a design consultation, please contact Gayle at (720) 938-0928 or email at wateritwithlove@gmail.com.
Install
Water It With Love specializes in edible and perennial landscape design, but we also offer installation services of organic gardens. You do not need to have a design completed in order to have plants installed. There may be times to contract with high-quality installers to complete tasks such as hardscapes, new drip system installations, and large construction projects like pergolas, zuni bowls, walipinis, etc. We can refer you to reputable small businesses in the area to ensure a streamlined installation of the whole design.
Maintain
With over forty years of combined experience in growing food, flowers, and herbs, enriched with a deep love for this work, Gayle and her dedicated crew can help individuals, families, and business owners maintain their property with the greatest care. Organic and regenerative methods are of upmost importance in our care, and we attempt to incorporate the permaculture design principles and ethics in our practice. For example, ‘closing the loop’ or not making waste, is one action we take into consideration - and we can do that by composting the ‘waste’ from clients’ properties!
Services included but not limited to: weeding, mulching, pruning, planting, transplanting, propagating, fertilizing, composting, waste removal, seed saving, harvesting, and harvest preservation.
Educate
Water It With Love is available for educational services and research opportunities. Gayle has a passion to share her knowledge. With ten years of teaching her two children full-time as homeschoolers, she lives for passing on the love of growing food and medicine to the youth. Other adults, too! It’s never too late to learn something new!
Topics we specialize in:
permaculture design course topics
edible and perennial foodscapes / small-scale intensive gardens
urban gardening, community gardens, and gardening with kids
preserving the harvest and plant propagation
patio gardens / container gardening (french gardens)
organic and regenerative gardening methods
seed saving, herbal folk remedies, garden to table recipes, and more.
Preserve the Harvest
The abundance of the garden have you knee-deep in tomatoes, apples, and herbs?! We’re here to help! Contact us for help with preserving your harvest. Fruit trees, berries, herbs, …you name it, we can help preserve it!
Methods include:
Seed saving
Garden to table recipes for vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers
Canning, drying, dehydrating, freezing
Herbal vinegars and oils
Infusions, decoctions, and other homemade remedies
Water It With Love Landscaping, LLC is licensed and insured.
Gayle is a member of the following organizations:
Please fill out this contact form to let us know your gardening needs.
More About Permaculture
Permaculture Design Principles by David Holmgren (image provides link to David’s YouTube Permaculture Design Principles video)
David Holmgren’s permacultureprinciples.com explains more on this wonderful flower chart of how permaculture ethics and principles are woven into a multitude of systems such as technology, education, health, and economics, not just agriculture and land stewardship. Click on the image to learn more about permaculture!
“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope. ”