Nature is a magnificent and complex web of systems and cycles which supports an astounding diversity of living organisms. In a natural system, nothing is wasted, and redundancy and multifunctionality are built in at every level. This makes natural systems highly efficient, resilient, and adaptable.

 

Indigenous and traditional people have lived in harmony with natural systems for many thousands of years. But in seeking to maximize food and industrial production, modern human civilization has a tendency to disrupt these systems and ignore the basic “laws” of life in the biosphere. While our agricultural methods are very successful at creating an abundance of calories in the short term, they do so at the expense of the ecological diversity and resilience on which the entire biosphere relies. We are now coming to appreciate that we ignore the ways of nature at our own peril.

 

Ecological design and Permaculture are two terms that are often used interchangeably to describe an approach to creating human environments that are integrated with nature, and that imitate natural systems in their efficiency, redundancy, abundance, and resilience.

 

For us at Bluegrass Ecological Design, this means that we take a systems approach to designing outdoor spaces for and with our clients. Whatever the size of the project, we look at the landscape holistically, paying attention to the various elements, resources, and restrictions, as well as the needs and desires of the client. 

 

Because of this integrated, holistic approach that seeks to benefit the entire ecosystem, including the human community, our landscape designs are quite different from traditional landscape design. We strive to create a beautiful, comfortable, and inviting space for our clients, while prioritizing biodiversity, sustainability, efficiency, and an abundant harvest of edible and useful plants.

 

Please follow the links below to learn more.