Permaculture Principle #11: 'Use Edges and Value the Marginal'

"Edges connect and create abundance."

Understanding Edges

Let’s talk about this cool concept edges. It’s not about cliff edges or anything like that. It’s more about the borders or boundaries where different things meet.

What's super interesting about these edges is that they tend to be really busy and productive spots in nature.

When I say busy, I mean there's a lot happening there—lots of energy and material being exchanged.

Think about the edge where the sea meets the land. There's so much life there, right? You’ve got the waves crashing, the tide coming in and out, birds swooping down to catch fish, and all sorts of sea creatures like crabs and starfish.

This is a prime example of an edge. There's a lot of action because it's where two different systems—the sea and the land—come together.

It creates this unique environment where things are always changing, which leads to a ton of diversity and productivity.

Edges aren't just at the beach. They’re everywhere. For instance, in forests, there's an edge where the trees meet the meadow or a field.

These spots are super rich in plant and animal life because they provide a bit of everything—shelter from the trees, open spaces, and a mix of different plant species.

If you want to make a garden or any kind of productive landscape, you should create as many edges as possible. Because when you have edges, you have more room for things to interact, which means more diversity and better outcomes.

The Importance of Edges in Cultivated Landscapes

Traditional farming landscapes, like those found in old England, were incredibly rich in edges.

They had hedgerows separating fields, small woodlots scattered around, and ponds dotting the landscape.

All these features increased the amount of edge or border areas between different elements.

Edges are crucial because they provide diverse habitats, support a greater variety of plants and animals, and increase overall productivity.

Another example is the terracing done in Mediterranean regions centuries ago. People built terraces on hillsides, creating designed edges between the flat terraces and the sloping terrain.

This increased the amount of arable land and made farming on slopes possible. The edges created by these terraces also helped with soil retention and water management.

In permaculture design, Bill Mollison suggests incorporating features like keyhole garden beds, which maximize the accessible edge for planting.

He also recommends ponds with irregular shorelines, peninsulas, and islands to increase the water-land interface, which boosts productivity.

Windbreaks and hedgerows are other examples of designed edges that can benefit a permaculture system.

Urban Edges

You know how we always seem to be drawn to the outskirts of the city, where the suburbs meet the countryside?

That urban-rural fringe represents a really valuable edge between the human-made world and nature. It's like a transitional zone that gives us the best of both worlds.

Another fascinating example of edges in urban areas is the shopfronts on city streets. These seemingly ordinary storefronts actually act as interfaces between the public space of the sidewalk and the private interior of the shops.

Have you noticed how older neighborhoods in cities often become hubs for artistic and entrepreneurial activities?

That's because these areas provide affordable spaces like old warehouses or shops where creative types and small businesses can get started.

These marginal urban spaces act as fertile grounds for innovation to emerge and flourish.

Permaculture Applications of Edges

You know those keyhole garden beds that are getting popular? The cool thing about them is that they maximize the amount of accessible edge for planting.

Instead of a straight row, the keyhole shape gives you way more perimeter to work with in the same area. More edge means more opportunity to pack in plants!

And have you seen some of the ponds and dams on permaculture properties? They're designed with curved shorelines, little peninsulas jutting out, and even islands in the middle.

This increases the land-water interface, which might seem like a small thing, but it actually supercharges the biological productivity of the whole system.

More edge means more habitat for aquatic critters that become food for fish and wildlife.

On the farming side of things, smart revegetation strategies using shelterbelts and alley cropping systems optimize the use of edges between trees and crops.

Instead of just flat fields or forests, these designed edges create microclimates and connectivity that benefit both the trees and crops.

One of the key principles is to incorporate curved, wavy edges and mixed plantings wherever possible in gardens and farm designs. Straight lines and monocultures are really just wasted space from nature's perspective.

By using spiral patterns, wavy borders between elements, and mixing trees, shrubs, and veggie patches together, you create a ton of intricate edges on multiple scales.

Valuing the Marginal

In traditional societies, before modern agriculture, things like wild foods from the forests, berries from hedgerows, even weeds and roadside plants - these were absolutely crucial for survival, especially for the poorest people.

During famines, entire communities depended on these marginal resources to make it through. But we tend to look down on them as inferior compared to cultivated crops and gardens.

Another example is in cities undergoing urban renewal. There's often this mindset of cleaning up and getting rid of rundown, marginal neighborhoods.

But those areas actually provide really affordable spaces for artists, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to get started. Removing those marginal zones can kill off the cultural and economic vibrancy of a city.

Then you have rural areas and small towns that are viewed as pretty dispensable by the big urban centers and corporations.

The countryside gets exploited for its resources, but is increasingly seen as a leftover margin that modernity has moved beyond.

But those are the places where so much ecological wisdom and sustainable practices are still alive.

This idea of valuing the marginal is really core to the permaculture approach. Utilizing every marginal resource available - using weeds for mulches, planting edible crops on neglected verges, finding uses for waste materials that others discard.

It's about recognizing the potential in things that the mainstream economy overlooks.

The margins are where a lot of the diversity, resilience and opportunities are found. Whether it's woods, roadsides, or rundown neighborhoods, cherishing and making use of these marginal systems is so important for our societies and landscapes.

We just have to open our eyes to see the wealth that's right in front of us.

Edges and Innovation

It's really fascinating to think about how some of the most innovative and transformative ideas often emerge from the fringes and margins of society, rather than the mainstream.

Take Permaculture itself as an example - it was basically conceived in Tasmania, about as far as you can get from the centers of power and institutional knowledge.

But it was that distance from convention that allowed the concept to germinate and challenge mainstream agricultural practices.

Things like organic agriculture, renewable energy, alternative medicine - a lot of that started on the margins with people rejecting mainstream paradigms.

It makes you wonder if there's something about being on the periphery, away from the weight of institutional dogma, that frees up unconventional thinking.

We're seeing more and more examples of independent researchers and scientists working outside the constraints of universities or corporations, and coming up with groundbreaking ideas as a result.

So in a way, actively valuing and nurturing those marginal areas, both physically and intellectually, might be one of the keys to driving positive change in society.

If we can resist the urge to "tidy up" and gentrify everything, we allow the really innovative stuff to emerge organically from the edges.

Conclusion

Edges are like the in-between zones where two worlds meet, and that's where all the magic happens. In permaculture, these edges create diversity, productivity, and innovation.

Think of coastlines or city fringes—the mix of elements fosters more growth, more life. When designing with permaculture in mind, creating edges in landscapes and gardens is key to maximizing benefits.

Not only do they support increased variety, but they also invite creativity. Mollison, the mind behind these ideas, encourages us to see the beauty in the marginal and embrace the unconventional. It's in these edges that new ideas take root and flourish.

References

1. "Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability" by David Holmgren

2. "Permaculture: A Designers' Manual" by Bill Mollison

3. Certain images in this article were created using AI.