Sustainable Living at 'Melliodora' Herburn Permacuture Gardens, A Case Study in Cool Climate Permaculture 1985-2005

Throughout the first 10 years of the ‘Melliodora’ project (1985–1995), David Holmgren kept detailed records and photos, which have been collated into this very unusual 80 page book. It has A3 size landscape pages, so at a single opening it covers your desk! Each spread has a theme – such as house design, orchard, or animals with maps, plans photos and text. The book was written inside the property it is describing – it’s a kind of autobiography. It was written over a five year period, and with property “established” the text was revised with the benefits of hindsight. It is ideal for anyone seriously interested in sustainable living – both at a practical level and with a good dose of Holmgren holistic thinking. The meticulous detail allows the reader to trace the development of the property from the purchase of a steep weed-infested site, through the early stages of blackberry slashing, dam construction and tree planting to the “finished” product of family home, office, workshop, greenhouse, and integrated living systems with perennial plants and a range of animals fulfilling many functions. Hepburn is in central Victoria, 470 metres above sea level, in the Great Dividing Range, north of Melbourne. It is an arboretum for cool climate Permaculture and the book has an extensive species list (over 170 listings). Twenty years on from the first draft of “Permaculture One”, this book shows that Permaculture works...—Author website 'Melliodora' Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 2 Contents......Page 3 Prologue......Page 4 Introduction......Page 6 The Local Environment......Page 8 Land Use History......Page 9 Development Patterns......Page 12 The Natural Environment......Page 14 Site Evaluation......Page 17 Preparatory Works......Page 19 Site Planning......Page 20 House Site Selection......Page 22 Earthworks - House Site......Page 23 Earthworks - Dam......Page 26 House......Page 29 House Design......Page 30 Solar Design Features......Page 35 Bushfire Resistant Design......Page 37 House Construction......Page 38 Building Materials......Page 43 Infrastructure......Page 46 Outbuildings......Page 47 Fuel Management......Page 49 Water Systems......Page 50 Access & Fencing......Page 55 The Growing Environment......Page 58 Soil Development......Page 59 Perennial Planting Strategy......Page 62 Planting Zones......Page 65 House Garden......Page 71 Orchard......Page 75 Livestock......Page 80 Poultry......Page 81 Other Animals......Page 84 Aquaculture......Page 85 Beyond the Boundaries......Page 87 Public Land......Page 88 Appendices......Page 92 Development Timeline......Page 93 Perennial Species Index......Page 95 Herbarium List (Wild Plants)......Page 100 Bushfire Safety Procedures......Page 102 Inputs and Yields at Mellidora......Page 103 References & Resources......Page 105 The Second Decade......Page 106 Development Timeline......Page 107 Livestock Update......Page 108 House Update......Page 112 Looking at Melliodora......Page 122 Catalogue......Page 131 Current Titles in Print......Page 132 Forthcoming Title......Page 133 How to Order......Page 134 The Seasonal Cycle......Page 135 The eBook includes all the original book text Melliodora: Ten Years of Sustainable Living (1985-1995), along with high resolution zoomable graphics and full colour high resolution versions of the photos as well as linkable new photos of key views showing the changes and growth over the following decade (1995-2005). Built in navigation bar, jump buttons and text links allow you to cross reference, move around the eBook and get back to where you were.