Overview
This project transforms the neglected garden of the house I grew up in into a productive, low-maintenance urban forest garden. After moving out in 1989, the property was let to tenants who never maintained the garden. For over twenty years the only "management" was a contractor visiting a few times a year to cut everything back to bare soil.
When I finally gained access in Autumn 2011, I had the opportunity to redesign the space properly. The analysis of the adjacent permaculture garden (next door) had already identified this garden as a zone 3–4 space — somewhere not visited daily. A forest garden, which sustains itself once established, was the obvious and fitting solution.
Methodology
Because a forest garden design is inherently simpler than a full permaculture design — the layered structure itself provides the framework — I chose the lighter CEAP methodology rather than the more elaborate SADIM or OBREDIM. The simplicity of CEAP matched the nature of the task well.
Working Through the Design
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1
Collect — Site Survey & Information Gathering
A thorough survey was conducted using mind maps (Xmind) to systematically look at the site from multiple angles: geology, soil, history, sun/shade, wind, and existing plants.
Site History
Goodmayes was largely arable land until urbanisation between 1898–1910, coinciding with the opening of Goodmayes Railway Station in 1901. Remarkably, historical maps show that Talbot Gardens remained as orchards and tree nurseries as late as 1944 — three of the last streets to be built over. This orchard history is a positive indicator for tree growing on the site.
1803 — Arable land 
1944 — Still an orchard & nursery 
2010 — Built up suburbia Geology & Soil
Using the iGeology app, I identified the bedrock as London Clay Formation (clay, silt and sand), with 6–10 metres of superficial Hackney Gravel (sand and gravel) above it. Soil samples showed a sandy-silty loam with naturally high groundwater and a pH of 6.5–6.7 — well-suited to a wide range of fruiting trees and shrubs.
Bedrock: London Clay 
Superficial: Hackney Gravel 
Soil analysis results Base Maps & Microclimates
I used Google Sketchup to produce accurate base maps and to model wind and frost patterns. The forest garden sits immediately adjacent to the permaculture garden, and two mature trees — a 60-year-old apple at the back and a pear near the shed — were already present, along with an elder overhanging from a neighbour.
Both gardens — context map 
Forest garden basemap 
Wind statistics overlay 
Frost pocket analysis Sun & Shade Analysis
Sketchup sun/shade models were generated at the equinoxes and solstices (8am, midday, 4pm, 8pm) to understand light availability across the seasons.
Base position 
Sun/shade model 
Annual sun/shade animation 
Full survey mind map (Xmind) — click to enlarge -
2
Evaluate — Making Sense of the Data
With site information gathered, I moved to evaluation: identifying what the data means for plant selection, layout, and management.
A PASTE analysis (Plants, Animals, Structures, Tools, Events) was conducted for existing conditions, which was then compared against what was desired. The high groundwater, orchard heritage and good soil pH all pointed strongly toward a productive forest garden being viable with minimal soil amendment.
PASTE analysis of existing conditions 
Full evaluation mind map — click to enlarge 🌿 Permaculture PrincipleThe existing apple and pear trees — estimated at 60 years old — are not obstacles to work around but gifts to design from. Keeping and working with what is already thriving is core to permaculture: use and value diversity and use edges and value the marginal. -
3
Apply — Design Development
With the evaluated data in hand, I applied Rak's Forest Garden Design Methodology — a step-by-step approach for layering a forest garden from canopy down to ground cover and root layer — along with the permaculture principles.
Applying Rak's Forest Garden Design Methodology 
Permaculture principles applied to the design 
Summary of all elements chosen for the design 
Final design plan Plant List
Full plant list for the forest garden -
4
Plan & Implement
The implementation plan was created, then followed as closely as practical. In practice, some adaptation was needed as materials and timing evolved.
Implementation plan mind map 
What actually happened during implementation 
Early implementation 
Planting in progress 
Garden developing 
Layers establishing 
Garden view 
Garden maturing
Reflections & Outcomes
Turning a long-neglected strip of ground into a productive forest garden demonstrates a core permaculture principle: working with nature rather than against it. The site's orchard history, combined with good soil and two mature fruit trees already present, made the forest garden approach not only logical but almost inevitable.
The CEAP methodology proved well-matched to the project — simple enough not to over-engineer a design that was essentially about selecting the right plants and laying the groundwork for a self-sustaining system.
Overview
This is a private commission for an Indian family living in a large suburban London house with a medium-sized garden. The clients wished to become more self-sufficient and make productive use of their garden space. At their request, certain personal details remain private, though they are happy for the design itself to be shared as an example — particularly for the Asian community they hoped to inspire.
I was initially reticent about taking on private work (preferring community projects), but the clients made a compelling case and proved to be excellent and enthusiastic collaborators.
Methodology
A custom methodology developed specifically for forest garden design, working through layers systematically: Collect info → Evaluate → Map → Canopy → Understory → Water → Paths → Nutrients → Shrubs → Guilds → Implement → Manage. This layered approach ensures each element is placed with full awareness of its relationship to every other layer.
Working Through the Design
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1
Initial Meeting & Proposal
I visited the site for an initial evening meeting, conducted a basic interview, and surveyed the space. The clients were open to all suggestions; their main wish was for as much food diversity as possible, including unusual or valuable plants that could save money or be used for exchange. They wanted to keep an existing green chair and were enthusiastic about the idea of greywater treatment and a pond.
The proposal sent to the client the following day -
2
Collect — Site Survey
Client Wants
The client brief was refreshingly open: as much food as possible; unusual or expensive plants; herbs, medicines, fruits, green leaves, roots and salads; a pond and greywater system; keeping the existing magnolia tree and the neighbour's overhanging apple.
Base Maps
The clients provided rough hand-drawn maps which I verified on site and then modelled accurately in Google Sketchup.
Client's hand-drawn map (1) 
Client's hand-drawn map (2) 
Verified Sketchup basemap Soil Sample
Soil was sampled across the site and tested. The soil is silty clay — it needs organic matter to improve structure and drainage — with a reasonable pH.
Sample locations map 
Soil sample Wind Statistics
Annual wind summary 
January 
June 
December -
3
Evaluate — Zones, Sun & Soil Assessment
The site is very sunny throughout, apart from directly in front of the shed. The silty clay soil needs organic matter additions. Zones were mapped to identify planting intensity areas.
Basemap 
Zone 1 
Zone 2 
Zone 4 -
4
Design — Canopy, Understory & Structures
Working from the canopy downwards, trees and understory plants were placed on the map, then structures were added. A key design feature is a central seated area, around which a half-hugel (raised mound bed) curves on each side — creating an intimate, productive social space at the heart of the garden.
Canopy and understory planting plan 
Structures added — including the central seating area with hugel mounds -
5
Water — Greywater System
The garden's water supply comes from shower greywater. Rather than redesign a greywater system from scratch, I adapted an existing pattern I had already developed and refined the detail for this site's specific conditions.
Water system overview 
Greywater system detail 🌿 Design PatternReusing an existing, proven greywater pattern is itself good permaculture practice — use and value diversity and apply self-regulation and accept feedback. Refining a working pattern is more efficient than reinventing from scratch. -
6
Paths, Hugelkultur & Nutrients
Paths were designed to give access to all planting areas while keeping compaction to a minimum. Hugelkultur mounds were incorporated to improve soil structure and water retention. A nutrient calculation was carried out to determine fertility requirements as the system establishes.
Paths and hugelkultur design 
Nutrient calculation — determining fertility strategy -
7
Sections & Guilds
The garden was divided into sections, each with a designed guild incorporating herbaceous plants, climbers, creepers and root-layer plants around and beneath the trees.
Sections and guild planting plan -
8
Implementation
Implementation took place over multiple visits. The photographs below document the transformation from a conventional garden into a layered forest garden.
Early works 
Planting 
Hugel mounds 
Establishing 
Growing 
Progress
Reflections & Outcomes
This commission demonstrates how a forest garden approach can work beautifully in a conventional suburban setting. An open client brief, combined with a systematic layered design methodology, produced a design rich in diversity — herbs, fruits, unusual edibles, medicines, and wildlife habitat — within a manageable, attractive garden.