the importance of perennials

Gardening with Gabe
Permaculture Perspectives By Gabe Bridges
Welcome to the article, “Permaculture Perspectives,” where we will examine gardening through the lens of permaculture. Pe- rennial plants are the topic this month. A perennial plant is one that will last more than two years. Perennial plants in our gardens and land- scapes can be very rewarding.
Let’s compare an apple tree and carrots. If you think of an apple tree and the maintenance it requires it is rather simple. You really only have to go to the apple tree about 3 times a year. You need to prune, harvest and mulch/compost. If you want to grow carrots, you have to rototill the soil, spread compost, maybe rototill again, plant seed, wa- ter, water, water, weed, weed, weed, then finally after several visits you get to harvest. I’m not advocating against carrots but showing a simple contrast between the two.
Perennials should be included in every garden and landscape. I recommend using perennials that serve at least one function and also include at least one use. Functions that perennials can serve include nitrogen fixer, dynamic accumulator, wildlife forage or shelter, nectary for pollinators such as hummingbirds and bees, weed suppressing ground covers, and other functions such as aromatic pest confusers or coppice species (Jacke, Toensmeier 2005). Uses include edible fruit, edible nuts, edible greens, edible roots, culinary spices and herbs, teas, edible others such as flowers, seeds, saps, and medicinal uses (Jacke, Toensmeier 2005). Here are a couple of plant descriptions based on Jacke and Toesnmeier’s plant species matrix chart, species-by-use table, and species-by-function table. Allium schoenoprasum, common chives, are an excellent culinary with good edible flowers. All Allium species are considered a superfood by virtue of being the best land plant source of selenium, and having good medicinal qualities similar to garlic. Chives are a good dynamic aaccumulator of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and calcium. They are a generalist nectary plant, which flowers from June –August. They act as a moderate ground cover. While Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier have highlighted these functions and uses very well in their book “Edible Forest Gardens Vol. II,” there are also a few more reasons that make perennial-based gardening appealing.
Perennials can reduce the need of our own garden maintenance. First off, when you plant garden space with perennials you reduce the amount of space that has been tilled. This reduces our dependence on fossil fuels and increases our own self-reliance.
Second, without having to replant every year we end up saving some time spent on starting seeds and/ or preparing soil.
Finally, established perennials tend to be more drought tolerant than annuals, thus reducing the need to take the time to water and if we are on municipal water, hopefully it will reduce our water bill.
So if we are going to grow a section of our garden with all perennials how do we put it together? If you look in any natural ecosystem you will see that perennials make up the majority of the architecture of that ecosystem. From the coast here in California to the high Sierras you will see trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and bulbs placed according to light, moisture, and nutrient availabilities. We can use these natural systems as guides as how to integrate several different plants into our own designed ecosystem. This doesn’t mean we have to use trees in our design. We can however use this guide to help us grow what we want. We don’t have to try to design some complex self-regulating system, we can use perennials in a more simple manner. We can use them as border plants for the rest of our garden, they can be used here and there. The more I see how easy they are to take care of, and how much I enjoy harvesting something I planted 5 years ago, the less and less space I have for annuals in my garden.
A few important things to think about when acquiring plants is to make sure that the plant you have chosen isn’t invasive. Your local nursery should know, but you may want to do your own research just to be sure. Another important piece of knowledge is if the plant has any poison parts on it.
As this article is being read, I’ll be looking for my first sprigs of asparagus, smelling fresh apple blossoms, watching raspberries flower and grow, harvesting rhubarb, scallions, fresh herbs, and thinking about where I’m going to plant all of those cherry trees I have.
* Gabriel Bridges has a Bachelor of Science in Permaculture from UC Davis, is a certified permaculture designer, and teacher. He lives and works on his permaculture farm and education center on Love Creek Road in Avery.