I’ve always been fascinated by permaculture, the art of creating landscapes like nature. It feels effortless yet yields plenty. Permaculture is called “lazy gardening” because it’s about doing less work but getting more.
Permaculture focuses on perennial plants that come back every year. They need less care, give bigger harvests, and improve soil health. Here, I’ll list the top 20 plants for beginners. They’re easy to grow and help create a sustainable garden.
Introduction to Perennial Edibles
Perennial edibles are key to sustainable gardens and food forests in permaculture. They provide a steady harvest with little upkeep. Diversity is crucial for a healthy permaculture, improving soil, attracting insects, and offering a variety of food all season.
Importance of Diversity in Permaculture Gardens
Using many types of perennial edibles, like herbs and fruits, makes a garden strong and self-sufficient. This variety mirrors nature, where plants help each other and the garden. By growing different perennials, gardeners get a lot of food and support biodiversity without needing many outside helpers.
Benefits of Perennial Plants for Beginners
- Low-maintenance: Perennial plants return year after year, saving time and effort.
- Larger harvests: Once established, perennials often give more food than annuals, offering a steady supply.
- Ecological benefits: Perennials improve soil health, draw beneficial insects, and create a balanced, sustainable ecosystem.
Starting with perennial edibles, new gardeners can build a vibrant food forest. This garden needs less work but offers a wide variety of food.
“Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. It is about connecting things together in mutually beneficial ways, and it is about living lightly on the land.”
– Bill Mollison, co-founder of permaculture
Easy-to-Grow Perennial Vegetables
Starting with easy-to-grow perennial vegetables is a great choice for new gardeners. These plants are simple to care for and give steady harvests. They do well in many conditions, perfect for beginners. Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) and kale (Brassica oleracea) are two great options.
Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum)
Wild garlic is a hardy, shade-loving plant with a garlic taste. It needs little care and grows well in sun or shade. Its green leaves and white flowers also make your garden look beautiful.
Kale (Brassica oleracea)
Kale is a tough, leafy green that’s good for you. It can grow as a biennial or perennial. It does well in many soils and is easy to care for. Kale regrows after you pick it and can handle cold weather, making it a great choice for your garden.
“Perennial vegetables are an excellent choice for beginner permaculture gardeners, as they require less work than annual plants and provide reliable harvests year after year.”
Adding these easy-to-grow vegetables to your garden is a smart move. They’re low-maintenance and full of nutrients. They help make your garden more diverse and strong.
Hardy Leafy Greens and Herbs
Beginner permaculture gardeners should think about adding hardy leafy greens and herbs to their gardens. Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are great for both their leaves and flowers. Perennial leeks (Allium porrum) add a unique flavor and can come from annual varieties. Celery (Apium graveolens) is special because it’s both an herb and a vegetable, offering stems, leaves, and flower shoots all season.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Chives are a hardy, perennial herb that loves well-drained soil and full sun. Their onion-flavored leaves and purple flowers are both beautiful and useful in a permaculture garden. Chives are simple to grow and need little care, making them perfect for many dishes.
Perennial Leeks (Allium porrum)
Perennial leeks, or Egyptian or Turkish leeks, are easy to grow and maintain. They can start from seed or be divided from other plants. This gives you a steady supply of tasty, hardy leafy greens all season. They’re a great choice for new permaculture gardeners because they’re adaptable and long-lasting.
Celery (Apium graveolens)
Celery is a special perennial herb with edible stalks, leaves, and flower shoots. It might need a bit more care than some hardy leafy greens, but its variety and health benefits make it worth it. With the right care, celery can give you a constant supply of fresh, crunchy food.
Nutrient-Dense Perennial Crops
Permaculture gardens are all about using nutrient-dense perennial crops. These crops help build soil fertility and support the ecosystem. Sea beet (Beta vulgaris maritima), the ancestor of sugar beet, beetroot, and chard, is a great example. It’s hardy, productive, and very nutritious.
Sea beet is good for its leaves in autumn, winter, and spring. Its immature flower heads are great in summer. This makes it a valuable addition to any permaculture garden.
Sea beet is a dynamic accumulator. It pulls up and concentrates essential minerals from the soil. Its deep roots tap into nutrient reserves, bringing them back to the surface for other plants. This boosts the garden’s fertility and resilience.
Adding sea beet and other hardy, nutrient-rich perennials is key for a thriving permaculture garden. These nutrient-dense perennial crops offer a steady supply of fresh, nutritious food. They also support the ecosystem through their diverse functions and interactions.
“Perennial vegetables are plants that live for many years, providing a continuous supply of fresh food once established.”
Low-Maintenance Perennial Vegetables
When you design a permaculture garden, adding low-maintenance perennial vegetables is a big help for new gardeners. These plants need little care but give lots of food every year. The giant bellflower (Campanula latifolia) and miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) are great picks.
Giant Bellflower (Campanula latifolia)
The giant bellflower is a versatile perennial with edible leaves, shoots, and roots. It grows well in partial shade, making it perfect for low-maintenance perennial vegetables in permaculture gardens. Its big, bell-shaped flowers also make your garden look beautiful.
Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
Miner’s lettuce is an easy-to-grow easy-to-grow crop with delicate, mild-tasting leaves great for salads. This hardy perennial needs little care but gives lots of nutritious greens all season.
Adding these low-maintenance perennial vegetables to your permaculture garden means you can have a productive harvest with little work. The permaculture way is all about working with nature. These tough perennials are ideal for beginner permaculture gardens.
Shade-Tolerant Edible Plants
Many plants need full sun to grow well, but there are some that do great in shade. The fawn lily is one such plant. It’s a starchy root crop that does well in dappled shade or partial sunlight.
Fawn Lilies (Erythronium)
Fawn lilies are versatile and productive. They’re perfect for shaded areas in a permaculture garden. The ‘Pagoda’ cultivar is special because it has large, edible tubers.
“Fawn lilies are a great example of a shade-tolerant edible plant that can help to diversify a permaculture garden and provide a reliable source of starchy root crops, even in areas with limited sunlight.”
Fawn lilies are not just good to eat. They also look beautiful, with delicate flowers that add to the garden’s beauty. By using plants like fawn lilies, gardeners can make their permaculture spaces more productive and diverse, even in shady areas.
best plants for permaculture beginners
Starting a permaculture garden is exciting. Beginners should pick easy, low-maintenance plants. These plants give reliable harvests with little effort. Some top picks for best plants for permaculture beginners are:
- Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum)
- Kale (Brassica oleracea)
- Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
- Perennial Leeks (Allium porrum)
- Celery (Apium graveolens)
- Sea Beet (Beta vulgaris maritima)
- Giant Bellflower (Campanula latifolia)
- Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
- Fawn Lilies (Erythronium)
These easy-to-grow perennials and low-maintenance crops are great for beginners. They are versatile and grow well in different conditions. They also need less care than many annual veggies, making them beginner-friendly plants for permaculture gardens.
“Permaculture combines ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture,’ focusing on self-maintaining systems with minimal annual inputs.”
Beginners can start with these best plants for permaculture beginners. They help create strong, diverse, and sustainable food systems. This is the start of a thriving permaculture garden.
Perennial Fruit Crops
Permaculture gardens are not just for veggies. They also include perennial fruit crops. The alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a great choice. It’s a wild type that doesn’t spread out, making it easy to manage and pick the best varieties.
These small strawberries are perfect for lining beds or as a ground cover in permaculture gardens and edible landscaping.
The raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is another great fruit for gardens. It loves woodland edges and is a favorite among gardeners. Raspberries are easy to add to permaculture gardens for a steady supply of tasty fruits.
They spread out, making them great for living mulch or guild plantings with other perennial fruit crops.
“Planting a tree guild may initially cost more and require more effort, but in the long run, guilds are likely to be more resilient and vigorous, particularly from a biodiversity standpoint.”
Adding diverse perennial fruit crops like alpine strawberries and raspberries makes gardens self-sustaining and easy to care for. They provide a constant flow of fresh, healthy food. These perennial fruit crops fit well into permaculture gardens and edible landscaping designs. They help use space wisely and save on work.
Unique Perennial Vegetables
Permaculture gardens often have common veggies, but there are also unique ones. These unique perennial vegetables come in different shapes and tastes. They add variety and health benefits to your garden.
Caucasian Spinach (Hablitzia tamnoides)
Caucasian spinach is a climbing plant that tastes like spinach. It’s great for permaculture gardens because it grows long and does well in shade. You can use its young leaves and shoots in salads and stir-fries.
Daylily (Hemerocallis)
Daylilies are not just pretty; their flowers are edible. You can use them in many dishes, like fritters and stir-fries. They’re easy to grow and perfect for new gardeners.
Shiitake Mushroom (Lentinula edodes)
Shiitake mushrooms are a fun choice for gardeners. They grow on logs and add a rich flavor to food. They’re a great choice for edible landscaping because they’re tasty and good for you.
“Perennial vegetables, once established, provide long-term harvests each year.”
Versatile Perennial Fruits and Roots
Permaculture gardens are full of diverse, long-lasting fruits and roots. These plants are easy to care for and perfect for new gardeners. They help create a sustainable food system with little effort.
Apple (Malus domestica)
The apple tree is great for many uses, like cooking and baking. It’s also good for making dried apple rings. These trees can handle different climates and soils, making them ideal for permaculture gardens.
Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata)
Sweet cicely tastes like anise and is related to carrots. You can eat its young leaves, flowers, and roots. It’s great in salads, sauces, and as a natural sweetener, adding value to any garden.
Poppy (Papaver somniferum)
The opium poppy is not just for its seeds, but also for its beautiful flowers. These flowers attract pollinators, helping the garden’s ecosystem thrive.
Adding these fruits and roots to your garden makes it productive and easy to maintain. It offers both food and beauty, making your garden a treasure.
Low-Maintenance Perennial Edibles
When setting up a permaculture garden, pick plants that need little care. These hardy plants give you a steady harvest. They also help keep the garden balanced and full of life.
Japanese Plum (Prunus salicina)
The Japanese plum (Prunus salicina) is a top fruit tree for permaculture gardens. It starts producing fruit early, unlike other plums. Its tasty fruits are great for making jams, jellies, and fruit leather.
Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) are a treasure in low-maintenance perennial edibles gardens. They spread on their own, giving you plenty of this healthy root veggie. Enjoy them roasted, mashed, or in soups and stews.
Rhubarb (Rheum)
Rhubarb (Rheum) is a must-have in edible landscaping. It’s not just for pies; it’s also good in salads. This plant is easy to care for and will keep your garden happy for years.
“Cultivating self-seeding plants in the garden leads to the production of at least some of its own seed, contributing to a more sustainable garden.” – Barbara Pleasant
Conclusion
Permaculture gardens are all about diversity. They need a variety of perennial edibles to thrive. These plants are easy to grow and require little care, making them perfect for beginners.
The 20 plants mentioned in this article are a mix of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and more. They all contribute to a healthy and productive permaculture garden.
Starting with these beginner-friendly perennials is a great way for new gardeners to begin. They help create a garden that is both self-sufficient and balanced. With the right design and planning, even small spaces can become lush and full of fresh food.
The secret to a great permaculture garden is diversity and using perennial plants. By following the tips in this article, anyone can make a garden that’s good for the planet and the soul.
