posted 10 years ago
There is a tendency for permaculture to highlight the times it does things differently and not show so much of what it does 'conventionally'. Worth considering that you are seeing a somewhat skewed representation.
That said, straight rows are for the convenience of machinery. Permaculture tends more toward doing things on a human scale, rather than a mechanized one.
One consideration that frequently influences the appearance of permaculture plantings is water, and working with contour to maximize water retention. So you get the sweeping curves of Mark Shepard's New Forest Farm, as one prominent example.
Permaculture does tend toward planting in bunches, or patches, or clumps, but those are commonly aligned with contours, so the eye may pick up the curving line annd not recognize that it is made up of a series of collections (guilds of trees and vines and companion plantings in a food forest, or a couple of square feet of onions next to radishes next to fennel next to carrots, etc., making up a patchwork quilt in a raised bed curving along on contour).
Mandala designs are, as noted, another approach used sometimes in permaculture gardens. They can produce maximum amounts of edge, allow for packing more planting into less linear footage - and they can be highly aesthetic. Decorative gardens are almost never done in straight rows, because curves are prettier;) Vegetable gardens can be pretty, too. And offer practical efficiencies at the same time.
Keyhole gardens are another case where curves outperform straightlines. You can get some wild effects when you start combining some of these ideas. For example, you can do a series of beds on contour with keyholes to allow use of wide beds but still get access through the keyholes.
All of that considered, you are still going to find that when you get down to looking at the level of actual plantings, most permaculturists are going to favor clumps.
The beds may be laid in any number of patterns, but within them you will likely find patches of a given plant. They will be interspersed with an eye for what will work well together, so sunlovers near edges and with neighbors that will not shade them too much, and shade lovers toward the interior with neighbors that will provide shade. Widespreading types get room to spread, but may have tall sturdy types rising up among them (squash with corn, say).
I suspect that we could draw a correlation between how structured the plantings are and how far along the permaculture path the gardener is. Still doing straight rows, all the onions in one bed? Pretty new ;) Patches of different kinds of plants scattered about, with multiple patches of everything spread around? Been at it for at least a couple of years. A crazy random moshpit where you need to be a botanist to tell what is what and you cannot discern any plan at all? Way down the road, that is where you see people like Sepp Holzer and Michael Pilarski.
The pattern should fit the terrain, the climate, the plants and the gardener. I want a garden like Mike Pilarski tends to grow, but I do not have the knowledge to identify the plants in that kind of chaos - yet ;)
