I've been wanting to read about forest gardens for a while, but I was intimidated by the size of the books I saw. This one is slimmer, mentions some permaculture principles without feeling the need to recapitulate them all (there are so many places where you can find them) and goes straight to the point. I love how the chapter about limits (surface, time and money) gives the reader concrete examples of what they can expect depending on their budget and availability.

I've been volunteering in a community garden for the second time, and it feels like both gardens started the same way: a lot of space is devoted to annual cultures plus a few trees (apple, pear, peach and cherry trees). But annual cultures take so much time: plant the seeds at specific times, babysit them, plant them, water them, prepare the soil, do some weeding (A LOT OF WEEDING actually). And these fruit trees are prone to diseases and also need a lot of care. Since everybody is volunteering, we're not always available all the time and the results are sometimes not there. It can be exhausting and demotivating.

I really want to explore what we can do with less annual cultures and more perennial bushes and trees that produce edible leaves and/or fruits, like chestnut trees, elder trees, goumi etc.