Recently the Weber Basin Water Conservation Learning Garden (they need a shorter name) had a garden fair, and I thought it would be fun to go down there. I haven’t been there in years, and it has matured nicely since a visit while I was in college.

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I’ve been looking at permaculture methods for so long, I miss the water wise gardens that I used to work in/look at and love all the time. They aren’t exclusive at all either–permaculture just often forgets to make things look nice along the way of creating super productive gardens. Solely focused water-wise or xeriscaped gardens don’t.  It was a good reminder to me that even if I am exploring and working with permaculture, I can still remember to make the gardens pretty and not just productive.

Quick side note: A water-wise garden primary focus is to conserve water. It often includes edible gardens, native plants and other good gardening and environmental practices, but it zero-ins on water conservation the most. Many times, a water wise garden will simply tweak traditional garden practices to conserve water more. A permaculture garden would also include water conservation, but the primary focus is the three permaculture ethics: care of the earth, care of the people, and return of surplus. A permaculture garden tends to have more food production and doesn’t follow traditional gardening at all, but instead mimics and builds upon natural landscapes.