Can you design a garden that functions exactly like a self-sustaining wild forest?

Gardening · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the Yarra Valley, a dense one-acre food forest mimics natural ecosystems to produce food and medicine. By integrating over 300 plant species, this project transforms a former open paddock into a thriving, self-fertilizing landscape where every single plant serves a specific ecological purpose, from nitrogen-fixing to pest control.

Located about an hour northeast of Melbourne, this edible forest was initiated by Louise Ward on a site that began as a clear paddock with clay soil. To establish the garden, Ward and her husband enriched the ground with various types of manure. Today, the project functions as a productive food system, a wedding venue, and a living laboratory for permaculture principles. The garden is designed to mirror a natural forest, where plants are selected not just for their yield, but for their ability to contribute to the overall health of the environment.

Horticulturalist Jamie Sweetman, who has managed the site for nearly four years, notes that of the roughly 330 plants present, about 200 are edible. The remaining hundred plants are included to support the system, such as by attracting beneficial insects or fixing nitrogen. Nitrogen-fixing species, like the Persian silk tree, feature root nodules that convert nitrogen into a form accessible to other plants, effectively self-fertilizing the garden. To protect the harvest from deer, rabbits, and cockatoos, large sections are enclosed in netting, though the mesh remains porous enough to allow smaller wildlife like blue wrens, bees, and dragonflies to circulate freely.

The garden utilizes sustainable maintenance techniques, such as the 'chop-and-drop' method, where organic matter is cut and left on the ground to return nutrients to the soil. To manage green waste, the team uses wire cylinders to pile debris, which is later covered with mulch to build soil directly on-site. The diversity of the collection is vast, ranging from medicinal plants like gotu kola, rosehips, and elderberry to productive hedges like the chokeberry, which is noted for its high antioxidant content. This approach demonstrates how intentional design can create a resilient, low-input landscape that provides both sustenance and mental well-being for its caretakers.

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