Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, 2nd Edition

Price: $29.95 - $16.50
(as of Sep 07, 2026 16:11:59 UTC – Details)


“A book that will be absolutely necessary in the world ahead.”—Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy and Hope, Human and Wild
The revised and updated edition of the classic guide to ecological gardening for home gardeners to achieve more beautiful, abundant and forgiving gardens of any size
Featuring new guidance on urban permaculture for people with limited growing space
Many people 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. But it’s fun and easy even for beginners 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 a rewilded and biodiverse habitat for beneficial insects, birds, and animals
• Growing an edible “forest” that yields seasonal fruits, nuts, and other foods
Best of all, once it’s established, an ecological garden will reduce or eliminate most of the backbreaking work that’s needed to maintain the typical lawn and garden.
Gaia’s Garden has sparked the imagination of home gardeners the world over by introducing a simple message: working with nature, not against her, results in more beautiful, abundant, and forgiving gardens. You can apply basic permaculture principles to make it more diverse, more natural, more productive, and more beautiful no matter what size garden or yard you have.
“An amazing achievement showing how we can and must live in harmony with nature!”—Paul Stamets, author of Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

From the Publisher

A graywater wetland

A forest garden for a rectangular yard

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chelsea Green
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 1, 2009
Edition ‏ : ‎ 2nd
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 313 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1603580298
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1603580298
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.7 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.65 x 10 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #21,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #21 in Organic & Sustainable Gardening & Horticulture #206 in Home Improvement & Design Books
Customer Reviews: 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (2,465) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers find this permaculture guide informative, packed with interesting tips, and easy to understand with clearly explained jargon. They appreciate its practical content, with one customer noting how it inspires readers to plan their own permaculture gardens. The book receives positive feedback for its writing style, with one customer highlighting how it builds on itself throughout, and its depth, with one review noting the extensive coverage of the subject. While the illustrations receive mixed reactions, with some customers wishing for more pictures, customers find the book worth its purchase price.