PORTFOLIO
MEDICINAL GARDEN SANCTUARY
Medicinal garden installed with beautiful stone archway and seat walls, boulder water feature and rain garden.
FOOD FOREST HABITAT
Food forest garden complete with stone water feature, rain garden, rainwater collection irrigation system, grey water system, galvanaized beds, and permeable pathways - all part of a fire rebuild in 2017.
WOODLAND GARDEN PATIO
Outdoor deck space with flagstone patio, stone retaining wall, native slope planting and firepit feature.
WATER HARVESTING RETREAT
MEADOW OASIS
Removal of lawn to be replaced by mowable meadow - complete with waterfall pond feature, galvanized beds, and custom fence with decorative panels.
URBANITE CONCRETE - PERMEABLE PATIO
Removal of existing concrete patio and recycling into a new urbanite, permeable, patio space.
SUBURBAN OASIS
Staycation anyone? This home exemplifies how enhancing a few elements in your landscape can serve as an extension of your overall living space – one you may never want to leave. It all starts with water catchment via downspouts to rain tanks, rain gardens, and a laundry to landscape greywater system.
All these water-saving elements bring more water to a multi-colored pallet of native and pollinator friendly flowers, trees, and shrubs. A rain garden keeps moisture in the ground longer, helping temperatures stay cooler during the hot summer months. An irrigated food forest thrives just steps away from the back door and patio.
DROUGHT TOLERANT HABITAT
This productive landscape provides a variety of relaxing shady hang-out spots, while discreetly recharging groundwater with a series of swales and rain gardens. Complete with on-site composting and drought-tolerant, native plantings.
This productive landscape provides a variety of relaxing shady hang-out spots, while discreetly recharging groundwater with a series of swales and rain gardens. Complete with on-site composting and drought-tolerant, native plantings.
HABITAT GARDEN
This smaller, one-quarter-acre restoration shows how converting a traditional backyard to an environment providing sustenance to both people and wildlife—just by adding a few elements—can transform the landscape in a big way.
A rain garden and fountain, raised bed gardens, pollinator-friendly plants, shaded gravel paths, seating areas edged with cobble, and an ongoing maintenance plan, all provide the kind of food, water and shelter that is beneficial for both the people and wildlife living in it.
A rain garden and fountain, raised bed gardens, pollinator-friendly plants, shaded gravel paths, seating areas edged with cobble, and an ongoing maintenance plan, all provide the kind of food, water and shelter that is beneficial for both the people and wildlife living in it.
PETALUMA STONEWORK
PERMACULTURE SKILLS CENTER
The Permaculture Skills Center is our partner organization and the location of our main office. It is a 5-acre demonstration site and educational institution dedicated to sharing regenerative land development and management practices.
The site was a largely blank canvas of fertile but neglected farmland which has been under restoration and cultivation since it was purchased in winter 2012. Since then, we installed over 2,000 feet of stormwater harvesting earthworks, four habitat ponds with constructed wetlands, and two acres of rotational grazing pasture lined with on contour hedgerows.
We planted over 250 heirloom fruit and nut trees with hundreds of medicinal, soil building, insect-attracting and edible plants as an understory. The site also features one acre of vegetables, strawberries, and cut flowers.
The Permaculture Skills Center is our partner organization and the location of our main office. It is a 5-acre demonstration site and educational institution dedicated to sharing regenerative land development and management practices.
OHLSEN HOMESTEAD
Featuring over 100 fruit and nut crops, hundreds of diverse medicinal and soil building plant communities and a robust vegetable garden, this homestead provides a significant amount of food, joy, and beauty for the Ohlsen family.
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of stormwater are being caught and directed to replenish aquifers, maintain a swimming pond, and drought proof the property.
Complete with graywater reuse, rainwater storage, vermiculture systems, and an elaborate water-harvesting system using large logs and stumps as retaining walls, this homestead garden has evolved into a sought-after learning environment in the permaculture community.
Featuring over 100 fruit and nut crops, hundreds of diverse medicinal and soil building plant communities and a robust vegetable garden, this homestead provides a significant amount of food, joy, and beauty for the Ohlsen family.
FLAGSTONE FIREPIT VEGGIE GARDEN
Installation of raised vegetable beds, flagstone patio and firepit gathering space - surrounded by grape vine trellis and other edible perennial plants.
HONEY OAKS FARM
Honey Oaks Farm was designed as a highly productive farm with a central swimming pond and cascades of flowing water. Recovered logs from the property frame many of the terraced beds alongside stone steps that lead into a dense forest of native, perennial, annual, and edible plants.
STREAM RESTORATION
SPYGLASS RETREAT
SCULPTURE GARDEN
NATURAL POOL GARDEN
COTTAGE GARDEN SANCTUARY
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"We are absolutely delighted with the work that Permaculture has done with our Landscape project. Everything has been done with such knowledge, thought, and care. From the original consultation and collaborative planning (and "value engineering") through to completion! The staff are all great and do wonderful meticulous work - going the extra mile. We have appreciated all of Michael's enthusiasm, knowledge and great communication and Rene is an absolute Gem on all levels.”
— ROBERTA, BODEGA, CA
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“If you are looking for a permaculture team with great customer service, talent, and efficiency, [Permaculture Artisans] is your stop. I am very pleased with my new rainwater catchment system, downspout redirection, swales for slow water draining from my hill, and general advice. Smart folks.”
— RITA P., SEBASTOPOL, CA
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“We have had only great experiences with everyone at Permaculture Artisans. We have used them since last summer for bi-monthly upkeep of our 1/3 acre yard—which has a wide variety of shrubs, fruit trees, flowers, and a small lawn that needs more care than we can provide. We also recently used them to redesign and replant all of the plantings in our front yard—with great results—done on time, at a reasonable cost. We can recommend them highly without reservation.”
— DOUG F., CA
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"We are so fortunate to have been working with Permaculture Artisans for almost 2 years now. They have been there every step of the way to help us transform 5 acres of fallow land/invasive shrubs into a beautiful working permaculture farm. Everyone on the team is passionate about what they do and it absolutely shows in their work. We look forward to our continued relationship with them! "
—SARA C.
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“Thank you so much for the most wonderful work on the garden. We enjoy it enormously! Pure pleasure to walk around the front and the back yards and see it all well-pruned and well taken care of. Thanks again. “
- PATTY, SANTA ROSA
