NEW! The Permaculture Handbook:
Garden Farming for Town and Country
by Peter Bane, Foreword by David Holmgren
Price: $45, 2012, 608pp.
(Expected delivery of this book is June 2012)

Review the Table of Contents

The urban landscape has swallowed vast swaths of prime farmland across North America. Imagine how much more self-reliant our communities would be if 30 million acres of lawns were made productive again. Permaculture is a practical way to apply ecological design principles to food, housing, and energy systems; making growing fruits, vegetables and livestock easier and more sustainable.

The Permaculture Handbook is a step-by-step, beautifully illustrated guide to creating resilient and prosperous households and neighborhoods, complemented by extensive case studies of three successful farmsteads and market gardens. This comprehensive manual casts garden farming as both an economic opportunity and a strategy for living well with less money.

It shows how, by mimicking the intelligence of nature and applying appropriate technologies such as solar and environmental design, permaculture can:

• Create an abundance of fresh, nourishing local produce
• Reduce dependence on expensive, polluting fossil fuels
• Drought-proof our cities and countryside
• Convert waste into wealth

Permaculture is about working with the earth and with each other to repair the damage of industrial overreach and to enrich the living world that sustains us. The Permaculture Handbook is the definitive, practical NorthAmerican guide to this revolutionary practice, and is a must-read for anyone concerned about creating food security, resilience and a legacy of abundance rather than depletion.

NEW! Permaculture Pioneers: Stories from the new frontier
edited by Kerry Dawborn & Caroline Smith
$35, 2011, 364pp.
(Read Review - PDF)
This book explores social and inner change for sustainability, charting a history of the first three decades of permaculture, through the personal stories of Australian permaculturists. From permaculture co-originator David Holmgren, to ABC Gardening Australia presenter Josh Byrne, the authors span the generations and the continent.

Included are stories from stories from David Holmgren, Terry White, Robyn Francis, Max Lindegger, Vries Gravestein, Jeff Nugent, Geoff Lawton, Russ Grayson, Fiona Campbell, Annemarie & Graham Brookman, Rosemary Morrow, Martha Hills, Janet Millington, Robin Clayfield, Alanna Moore, Naomi Coleman, Virginia Solomon, Ross Mars, Jill Finnane, Ian Lillington, Jane Scott, Josh Byrne, Tony Jansen, Morag Gamble and afterword by Stuart B. Hill

NEW! The Living Landscape, How to Read and Understand It
by Patrick Whitefield $38, 2009, 331pp.
(Read Review - PDF)

Patrick Whitefield is one of Europe’s foremost authors, teachers, and practitioners of temperate-climate permaculture. Patrick’s previous books include: Permaculture in a Nutshell, The Earth Care Manual, How To Make a Forest Garden, and Tipi Living.

The result of a lifetime spent in the countryside and twenty years of deliberate observation and note taking, the book reveals Patrick’s passion for the subject as well as his deep knowledge of it. The text is interspersed with line drawings and extracts from his notebooks, illustrating the various themes of the book with examples from all over Britain (and applicable to many temperate climate ecologies)
Although the book has a great relevance to permaculture – observing and understanding the existing landscape is an important part of the permaculture design process – it has a much wider appeal. It’s for anyone who spends time in the countryside, whether professionally or for pleasure.

“Patrick’s book can open your eyes. Through The Living Landscape he inspires people to reconnect with the land as a living entity, develop an active relationship with nature and the countryside and experience it first hand.” - Ben Law, woodlander, author, teacher.

Thinking in Systems: A Primer
by Donella Meadows
$20, 2008, 240pp.

“Dana Meadows’ exposition in this book exhibits a degree of clarity and simplicity that can only be attained by one who profoundly and honestly understands the subject at hand--in this case systems modeling. Many thanks to Diana Wright for bringing this extra legacy from Dana to us.” —Herman Daly, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland at College Park

“When I read Thinking in Systems I am reminded of the enormity of the gap between systemic thinkers and policy makers. If this book helps narrow the gap, it will be Dana’s greatest contribution.” —Lester Brown, founder and President, Earth Policy Institute

“Dana Meadows was one of the smartest people I ever knew, able to figure out the sensible answer to almost any problem. This book explains how she thought, and hence is of immense value to those of us who often wonder what she'd make of some new problem. A classic.” —Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy

“Thinking in Systems is required reading for anyone hoping to run a successful company, community, or country. Learning how to think in systems is now part of change-agent literacy. And this is the best book of its kind.” —Hunter Lovins, founder and  President of Natural Capital Solutions and coauthor of Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution

The Holistic Life: Sustainability Through Permaculture
by Ian Lillington, 144pp, 2007, $19 $25 Special Sale Price!

In this timely book, the author sets out the vision for a sustainable planet as well as methods we can all use to get there. The time has now come to get very serious about using alternatives and conserving what we already have, rather than living as if there is an unlimited supply of what we all know to be limited resources. Within this book are simple starting points which, when implemented, will be a small but significant change.

$75, 2004,  480pp, 206 black and white photos, 43 color photos, 145 line diagrams & numerous tables.

This book builds on the extraordinary success of the permaculture concept and global permaculture movement (over the last 25 years), to provide a more cerebral and controversial contribution to the sustainability debate.

David Holmgren is an ecological pioneer destined to have a major influence on permaculture's evolution.
"If the 'Permaculture Principles' that David Holmgren discusses in this extremely important book were applied to all that we do, we would be well on the road to sustainability, and beyond." Professor Stuart B Hill (Foundation Chair of the Social Ecology University of Western Sydney)

Are there ways to live within nature's limits while providing a secure future for our children and justice for everyone? We think so. Read this book.

Gaia's Garden 2nd Edition:
A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
2001, 238pp, $30

The first book published in the US in a generation to embrace ecological design of the home landscape, Gaia's Garden is a snapshot of Permaculture in America at the turn of the century. Toby Hemenway is a scientist, trained in genetics, who shares with his readers his rapturous enjoyment of the garden.

Many people mistakenly think that ecological gardening—which involves growing a wide range of edible and other useful plants—can take place only on a large, multiacre scale. As Hemenway demonstrates, it’s fun and easy to create a “backyard ecosystem” by assembling communities of plants that can work cooperatively and perform a variety of functions, including: Building and maintaining soil fertility and structure Catching and conserving water in the landscape Providing habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and animals Growing an edible “forest” that yields seasonal fruits, nuts, and other foods

Basics of Permaculture Design
by Ross Mars, 2005, $25, 170 pages

The Basics of Permaculture Design, first published in Australia in 1996, is an excellent introduction to the principles of permaculture, design processes, and the tools needed for designing sustainable gardens, farms, and larger communities.
Packed with useful tips, clear illustrations, and a wealth of experience, it guides you through designs for gardens, urban and rural properties, water harvesting systems, animal systems, permaculture in small spaces like balconies and patios, farms, schools, and ecovillages. This is both a do-it-yourself guide for the enthusiast and a useful reference for permaculture designers.

by Robert Kourik; Foreword by Rosalind Creasy
1986, $49, 45 b&w photographs, 204 illustrations, 382 pp 

First published in 1986, this classic is back in print by popular demand. It is the authoritative text on edible landscaping, featuring a step-by-step guide to designing a productive environment using vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for a combination of ornamental and culinary purposes. It includes descriptions of plants for all temperate habitats, methods for improving soil, tree pruning styles, and gourmet recipes using low-maintenance plants. There are sections on attracting beneficial insects with companion plants and using planting to shelter your home from erosion, heat, wind, and cold.

The basic argument for permanent agriculture: how to feed and house yourself in any climate with the least use of land, energy, and repetitive labor. Supersedes Permaculture One and Two. Topics in this book include:
- Energy-efficient site analysis, planning and design methods
- House placement and design for template, dryland and tropical regions

Principios y ejemplos para disenar pueblos, casas, y huertos sostenibles. Traducido de la edicion ingles original, contiene las mismas ilustraciones y listas de plantas y tambien un glosario de palabras que son unicas en la Permacultura.

1988, 576 pp. $105 Global treatment of cultivated ecosystems. Resource for all landscapes and climates. Lucid illustrations by Andrew Jeeves bring Mollison's concepts to life. Essential, in-depth look at earth repair and practical design.

1993. 75 pp. $13   The perfect gift to introduce friends & family to permaculture. Brief, concise, comprehensive, it shows how permaculture works in the city, the country and on the farm. Explores ways in which people can work together to recreate real communities.

Completely revised and expanded, this popular primer tells how to design a garden of any size from balcony bench to country acreage. With chapters on seed saving, Pc at work, integrated pest management, water usage, and design for disaster. The author's experience with women and communities in crisis (Cambodia, Albania, Afghanistan, and Vietnam) ensures a practical approach.

A working document for a new theory of architecture, building, and planning which forms the basis for a new traditional post-industrial architecture created by people. It introduces the archetypal language which allows lay person to design for themselves. "Brilliant....Here's how to design or redesign any space you're living or working in--from metropolis to room. Consider what you want to happen in the space, and then page through this book. Its radically conservative observations will spark, enhance, organize your best ideas, and a wondrous home, workplace, town will result"--San Francisco Chronicle

"[This book] is a gift . . . With curiosity, wit, and a spare and graceful style, Krafel notes why birds in flocks land as they do, how islands can move upstream in a river, how kelp forests, swaying gently, break the force of the sea's power, how tundra plants create whole ecosystems on bare rock from mere specks of life. Yet there are no long-winded sermons about the woods, or cute anthropomorphizations of animals.