The Minimalist Gardener: Low Impact, No Dig Growing

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Packed with design principles and examples for small gardens, Patrick's down-to-earth legacy continues to inspire. The Minimalist Gardener has the potential to regenerate some of these plots and re-enthuse the disillusioned as once a minimalist design is implemented that is the end of hard labour and the beginning of abundant harvesting with minimal management.

Let the plants grow how they will – without fertiliser they may not grow as tall but they will be stronger and more durable for it. If you keep having to duck your head to mow underneath a tree, or go up a ladder three times every summer to cut ivy out of the gutters, or hire a hedgetrimmer to cut the Eleagnus that keeps growing in front of the windows and blocking the light – do something about it! Big thanks are due to Permanent Publications for bringing these articles together into this very accessible and easy reading new reference book. 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.Both novice and expert gardeners, conventional, organic and permaculturists will find new inspiration, ideas and step by step instructions – literally, on the dry stone step and path building section! And I don’t think it really lives up to the title, there’s stuff about permaculture and raised beds and perennial vegetables but overall it’s the authors personal garden experience and specific way of doing things that he’s passing on. I found easy to understand instructions, examples, illustrations and loads of professional guidance passed down from Patrick’s long experience. As for making compost – throw the material on the ground and it will turn into compost right where it sits – why do you need to give it a special place to do what it wants to do anyway?

Minimalist gardening appeals to all gardeners – every grower is excited by the prospect of increased yields and decreased effort – it’s a dream for anyone trying to combine food growing with a busy life or ageing body. It’s like having your own expert gardener on hand for whenever you have a ‘how could I do better, more easily, naturally, abundantly or sustainably? Some of my favorite bits included the tips for small gardens, and the perennial vegetables and self-seeders. Patrick was born on 11th February 1949 in Devizes, Wiltshire and brought up on a smallholding in Somerset. 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.

The lovely garden of my mentor Charlotte Molesworth is featured here in the Financial Times in the last week or so… She has been interviewed lots of times but I thought this was a particularly great piece, with some photos done at unusual angles and different parts… so well worth a read.

Chapter one succinctly describes permaculture approaches to minimalist gardening with very clear, simple explanations that completely demystify the terms whilst gently and convincingly introducing some of the more revolutionary permaculture techniques that newbies can find a bit dubious. As a permaculturist he had ways of gardening that worked with nature rather than against it, and over the years he found ways of making the work simpler and less arduous, while equally if not more productive.

Mulch and other soil building techniques are welcome, and raised beds and other features such as rain barrels and compost bins have their place. 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. 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. His apparent excitement in showing off his splendid leeks, while casually grazing on some perennial broccoli was contagious, and the series of short films he made about growing vegetables leave one in no doubt of his passion for it. Patrick describes how to select plants based on what you like to eat and how to combine them in polycultures that confuse pests.