Ornamentals are the icing on top of the cake. Making a food forest attractive to work in.

There is no reason why a food forest based on permaculture principles cannot be attractive. Flowers and foliage attract the pollinating insects and birds and make it a pleasant spot for us to visit and work, .... it works for us anyway. The actual time taken to care for many ornamentals can be minimal.

Bougainvillea - Wikipedia

November, more and more productive

Nectarine

 I massacred a Nectarine tree to reduce the size and the few fruit produced this season are now larger.

Cherry of the Rio Grande

Midsummer in the Fernmount Food Forest

Temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsious have burnt off a few leaves but generally the plants are growing strongly.

Our three year old, perennial capsicum, a capsicum with a bite, provides sufficient chili flavour for our meals.

Perennial Capsicum

Very early Summer in the Fernmount Food Forest

A wander in the Fernmount Food Forest at present is refreshing. We have had some good falls of rain and the weather is regularly between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.

Cranberry Hibiscus

 The Cranberry Hibiscus is putting out new growth. In very wet weather a pruning cut will quickly turn rotten. Some complain that this plant seeds wildly, but not here. Only a few seedlings pop up close by and they are welcome. The raw leaves add a lemon taste to salads. This plant can grow to three metres tall in our food forest.