A decade old large suburban food garden on a north-east facing steep hill, Moss House is designed using permaculture principles to supply the household with fresh fruit, vegetables, medicinal herbs, plant fibres and eggs (as seen on Gardening Australia)
Very important parts of the garden design are rainwater storage and garden waste management. Together with soil growing and food and medicine production they contribute to the household’s low environmental footprint.
Moss House site serves as an educational facility for community groups and for the last seven years has been opened to the public a couple of times each year.
The main features of the garden are:
- rainwater storing trenches (‘swales’) planted with a food forest of fruit trees and perennials
- 12 raised vegetable beds (eight of which are self-watering) used to grow a wide variety of annual vegetables grown using a crop rotation system
- large composting bays and worm farms
- a flock of four hens enjoying a ‘chicken forest’
- two beehives of native stingless bees
- insectary gardens, native habitats, a habitat pond and more…
