New Permaculture Garden at State Road Elementary

School is out, but we’re still hard at work in our new garden!

Awhile back we mentioned that we were adding a permaculture section to the State Road Elementary School garden. This idea was inspired by the new permaculture garden being developed at the La Crosse YMCA. Thanks to many helping hands, we now have our own permaculture garden and it’s off to a great start!

That’s good, you say, but what exactly is a permaculture garden? We’re glad you asked! Permaculture stands for “permanent agriculture” and was first coined in the mid-1970’s by biologist Bill Mollison. The purpose of permaculture is to create an ecosystem in your garden where every plant has a role to play. Think of it as planting with a purpose! For example, instead of a flowering shrub bordering your sidewalk, plant a blueberry bush. Permaculture gardening is make the most of the space you have!

We planted our new permaculture at State Road Elementary along a grassy strip next to the parking lot. Plants in our garden include raspberries, ground cherries, and herbs along with some wildflowers to attract pollinators like bees. We’re excited to see how our little plant community develops over the course of the summer!