Based on Permaculture Principles

Our approach goes beyond aesthetics: it’s about building resilience, fostering community connections, and cultivating landscapes that are productive, regenerative, and life-supporting. Every project we undertake demonstrates how humans can work with nature, rather than against it, creating spaces that enrich both people and the planet.

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Close-up of a garden bed with blue flowering plants, brown mulch, and a brick and wood fence in the background.

Person wearing a large straw hat with beads, blue jacket, and red shirt, planting a potato in soil outdoors near a garden with tools and a blue wheelbarrow.

1. Observe + Interact

At Smart Yards Co-op, we encourage you to slow down and engage deeply with your environment. This principle allows us to design personalized solutions that resonate with your specific circumstances, integrating the life in your garden with the lives in your home and community. Through careful observation, we help you gain new perspectives on the inter-connectedness of your living space.

Colorful flowering garden with green plants, purple, yellow, and orange flowers, and potted plants, with a path in the background.

View of pink and purple flowers growing over a white planter on a porch, with a green patio and trees in the background.

2. Catch + Store Energy

Living sustainably means recognizing Earth’s abundant energy and finding innovative ways to capture and store it. Your garden is a vital component in renewing and restoring the energy of natural ecosystems—which includes your family. We design gardens that are not only beautiful but also functional, providing spaces for relaxation and rejuvenation to energize your daily life.

A lush vegetable garden with green plants, leafy vines, and tall grasses, bordered by a wooden retaining wall.

Fresh vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, and peppers in a woven basket.

3. Obtain a Yield

Permaculture revolves around three core ethics: earth care, people care, and fair share. We assist you in achieving tangible yields, whether through an organic vegetable garden that provides food, or through creating environments that foster improved health, joy, and well-being.

A person smiling and holding a large artichoke in a garden with a house in the background. Another person is visible in the garden, which has various plants, flowers, and shrubs, with a walkway made of stone slabs.

A Monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis hanging from a green leafy bush.

4. Apply Self-Regulation + Accept Feedback

Effective change requires self-regulation and openness to feedback. By examining your lifestyle choices and their alignment with sustainable living, we empower you with the knowledge to make adjustments. This self-assessment extends to every aspect of your life, questioning whether actions are beneficial for you, your family, and the planet.

Backyard garden with raised wooden beds, trees, and a patio area with chairs and a person standing nearby, surrounded by a wooden fence.

A landscaped garden with various green plants and shrubs, colorful flowers, a large gray rock in the foreground, and informational signs about sustainable landscaping and graywater systems.

5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services

By prioritizing renewable resources such as solar, wind, and water, and steering clear of wasteful practices, you contribute to a healthier planet and achieve self-sufficiency. Techniques like installing greywater systems exemplify how we can reduce waste and maximize resource efficiency, benefiting garden, budget, and much more.

Purple flowering plant with elongated green leaves in a garden setting.

Close-up of a garden bed with purple and white flowering plants, green foliage, and mulch, with a building and trees in the background.

6. Produce No Waste

Linked closely with valuing renewable resources, the goal of producing no waste is central to permaculture. Every output can be transformed into an input for another process, ensuring that resources are fully utilized and nothing is squandered.

A garden scene featuring a wooden raised garden bed filled with grapevines on the left and tomato plants on the right, with small white and yellow daisies in the foreground and a residential house in the background.

A detailed landscape design plan showing various plantings, trees, and garden features around a house. Includes labeled areas such as patio, lawn, and vegetable beds, with icons for different plants, shrubs, and trees. There are also annotated structures like raspberry trellis, cattle trough planter, and front fence, along with a key for plant symbols and decorative elements.

7. Design from Patterns to Details

Observing the larger patterns in nature and society helps to inform the design of your garden. We consider your family’s daily routines and environmental interactions to tailor a garden that truly fits your needs and desires.

A backyard garden with various plants, a stone pathway, a metal chiminea, and a house with a gray exterior and white window frames. A wooden fence encloses the yard, and there are trees in the background.

A backyard garden with purple and white daisies in the foreground, a mulch path, green bushes, tomato plants with ripening tomatoes, a wooden fence enclosure, and a yellow and white wooden bench on the right.

8. Integrate Rather than Segregate

Integration fosters strength and resilience. In your garden, as in your community, bringing together diverse elements creates a more dynamic and robust system. We design spaces that reflect this principle, promoting a cohesive environment where every element supports the others.

Group of people working in a backyard garden, some kneeling and others standing, with gardening tools and watering cans, in a sunny outdoor setting.

Plumbing pipes and fittings mounted on a wall in a laundry or utility room.

9. Use and Value Diversity

Diversity is a strength that should be embraced. Just as ecosystems thrive with a variety of species, human communities benefit from the integration of diverse perspectives and skills. Our designs reflect this principle, ensuring that your garden and living spaces are as varied and vibrant as the community around them.

People working together to plant shrubs and flowers in a garden bed near a parking lot, wearing rain jackets and hats.

A man building a wooden structure outdoors during daytime, with palm trees and a clear sky in the background; the right side shows the same structure at night with bicycles underneath, the man appears to be working on the construction.

10. Use Small and Slow Solutions

Small and manageable steps lead to sustainable change. We implement solutions that can be easily integrated into your lifestyle, focusing on local, recyclable, and reusable resources. This approach not only makes the transition to sustainability easier but also ensures that the changes are enduring.

A backyard scene with colorful stone pavers on the ground, a large metal water tank, and a wooden privacy fence, with trees providing shade and sunlight filtering through the leaves.

A garden yard with large rocks, smaller black stones, and various green plants, alongside a white sign with information about Smart Yards Coop, including contact details and social media icons.

11. Use Edges and Value the Marginal

Often, the most interesting and productive parts of a system are where different elements meet. We specialize in recognizing and utilizing these 'marginal' spaces—such as the areas between your sidewalk and street—to create productive and attractive landscapes.

A small tree with sparse leaves and a few yellow-orange leaves, surrounded by colorful flowers and ground cover plants in a landscaped yard. A decorative fountain and garden lights are also visible.

12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change

Acknowledging and adapting to change is essential for long-term resilience. We design with the future in mind, preparing your garden and home to adapt to seasonal shifts, evolving trends, and community changes. This forward-thinking approach ensures that your space remains relevant and resilient.

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