The Moss House garden is a vibrant 15 years old permaculture property on a steep hill, created to provide food and medicinal plants for its owners. It shows how productive, small-scale gardening can support a more sustainable lifestyle by reducing reliance on transported, commercially grown food.
The garden is open to the public.
Annual vegetables are grown in raised beds, including self-watering wicking beds, with produce eaten fresh or preserved. The garden also features nearly 30 fruit trees, many perennial vegetables, flowering plants for beneficial insects and two native stingless bee hives, creating a rich and diverse ecosystem.
Rainwater is collected from the house roof and two garden structures, with 15,000 litres of storage supplying garden taps, the laundry and both toilets. Surface runoff is slowed and absorbed through swales, mulch and a composting pit.
Nothing leaves the garden unnecessarily: all non-edible material is composted, mulched or reused as plant supports.
Across the day, visitors can join guided tours to see permaculture design in action and sample produce grown on site. You can also visit the Permaculture Sydney North stall.
The 1938 double-brick house is not open to the public, but has been partially retrofitted. It uses grid electricity and 1.5 kW of solar panels. Eaves, double-glazed windows, awnings and shutters help keep the house cool in summer, while two slow-combustion wood heaters provide winter warmth using locally foraged firewood.
For more information, visit Moss House online or watch the ABC TV Gardening Australia episode from 21 May 2016, “A Productive Paradise”.
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