There's something in this Permaculture lark...

Part of the garden is terraced and the lower half has been for too long part of Gledhow Woods.  Last year I got some help in clearing some brambles and a blown-down laburnum but it has been so full of debris, I didn't have the wherewithal to get my head round what to do with the space.  The thought of burning the rubbish skittered menacingly across the frontal lobes.

Then I reminded myself of my Permaculture pretensions and realised that actually the laburnum, skeletons of old Christmas trees and sundry cast-offs would make good semi-longterm habitats for wildlife.  So almost on a whim I began packing the undersides of the vastly overgrown privets with said debris and what I thought was going to be a long job was done in less than 15 minutes! 

The spirit with me now, I contacted my apple expert to ask if she had any Bramley seedling whips.  I'd been trolling eBay to see if there were any cheap trees I could bid for but with postage anything decent was gone for over £30 and well out of my budget.  She suggested looking in our local Aldi.  Though they had some obscure climbing roses on offer for £2.50 (but mental note, nevertheless) and some equally unknown apple varieties - outside of Denmark -  (is Aldi Danish?) there were no Bramleys.   A free-food coupon trip to Tesco was fortuitous, however, as they had just the job for seven quid.  Duly planted.

I'm going for a Stella cherry tree next.  Have been researching rootstocks and have been persuaded out of the dwarf varieties - they wouldn't stand a chance against being hastytasty.  Far too much high maintenance.  Some dwarf rootstocks require weeding, for goodness sake!  So have decided to go for the full monty and keep it within manageable limits by judicious pruning.  If anyone knows of anyone with a Stella in Leeds they want rid of - let me know!

All of the above was just over half-an-hour's work and at the end of it began to plan the next job.  I do not know why there was a pile of soil on the path down to the garden shed.  Having realised that I won't be interrupted by the formal demands of waged work, and having come to a proper understanding of how important it is to create in one's mind specific job for the next time I'm out, three days later saw me digging (yes, there was a lot) it out.  What a difference a brushed path can make.  Even if you haven't done much, it does make it look as if someone knows what they're doing!

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Try these books to tempt you into Permaculture:

The Permaculture Garden by Graham Bell
The Permaculture List on the Radishwebstore