The 10 Best Books on Permaculture

To begin, it may be helpful to define permaculture, as the term itself dates back only to 1978. The word is simply a portmanteau of “permanent” and “agriculture,” and was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren to coalesce a series of ecological design principles and sustainable ways of gardening and living under an umbrella category, in direct opposition to modern industrialized methods. Many wisdoms intrinsic to permaculture long predate the term—it cannot be understated how much stems from indigenous knowledge and was passed down from generations before, from these ancestral stewards who listened to, and trusted, the land.

Permaculture is about learning from and working with planet earth. The idea is quite straightforward: nature knows best how things grow. A permaculture garden strives to mimic natural patterns and systems, in its soil, water and plant designs, that allow natural processes to, in some sense, maintain the garden: the watering, fertilizing, planting, the survival through hard weather and even changing climates. In other words, permaculture, using concepts learned from natural ecosystems, seeks to minimize the gardener’s work.

There are three ethics central to permaculture, that is: earth care, people care, and fair share. Perhaps most interestingly these concepts are intended to be universally applicable, and the following ten texts demonstrate that permaculture is not only about gardening, it is about life, too, for all of us. There is something to permaculture’s wisdom whether you are a gardener or not. This list is designed to be useful and expansive for all, the new and old to permaculture, and those merely seeking perspective.

This list was made with the thoughtful help of three experts in permaculture: David Holmgren, co-originator of permaculture, Claudia Joseph, who founded the New York Permaculture Exchange, and Tony Rollison, of Permaculture magazine. They each shared a list of the ten best books on permaculture, in their expert opinion. As such, every text on this list was endorsed by at least one expert; in fact, most had two. Their bios can be found at the bottom of the list.

Bill Mollison, Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual (1988)

Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual is known as the permaculture bible, and for good reason. Mollison, alongside David Holmgren (one of our experts), originated the field of permaculture itself. This book serves as its holistic reference at 600 pages, covering everything from the philosophy (work with nature not against) and ethics (the three principles: care for earth, care for people, fair share) to the practical design and implementation, whose ideas are still evergreen today.

“At once revolutionary, scholarly and practical, it was a call to arms for the environmental movement, a challenge to begin building the world we all want to see from the ground up.” –Rob Hopkins, in Permaculture magazine

Recommended by 3 experts and 1 editor*

Toby Hemenway, Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture (2001)

Gaia’s Garden beautifully applies permaculture technique and design to the home garden. Hemenway draws on the sciences to teach the basics of permaculture design and apply them to a home garden of any size. As the book’s introduction states, “[ecological gardens] are more than the sum of their parts. An ecological garden feels like a living being, with a character and essence that is unique to each.” Hemenway’s work is accessible to the beginner without compromising detail and nuance. The revised version includes a chapter on urban gardening.