Permaculture Garden Design Services

I offer permaculture-based design and guidance for balconies, terraces, and gardens of all sizes. My approach is rooted in creating spaces that are not only beautiful and productive, but also deeply connected to the needs of their users and the unique characteristics of each location.

Design Services

Whether you have a small urban balcony or a spacious garden, I develop tailored designs that support biodiversity, comfort, and long-term resilience.
My design process is collaborative: I work closely with you (and all other users of the space) to understand your wishes, daily routines, aesthetic preferences, and functional requirements. The site’s specific conditions—light, wind, water pathways, microclimates, existing vegetation, and surrounding context—guide every design decision.

Installation & Initial Set-Up

If desired, I can assist with the initial installation of the design, helping you set up planting areas, containers, soil systems, composting solutions, irrigation, and plantings. This ensures your garden starts off healthy, well-organised, and aligned with the design vision.

Incremental Garden Development

Gardens evolve, and so can your project. I offer incremental servicing, including seasonal check-ins, planting updates, refinement of garden structures, or gradual expansion of your permaculture systems. This option is ideal if you prefer to build your garden step-by-step.

On-Site Tutorials & Workshops

For existing gardens, I offer customised tutorials or small workshops on topics such as:
– improving soil health
– pruning and plant care
– composting systems
– seasonal maintenance
– increasing biodiversity
– small-space growing strategies

These sessions are tailored to your space and can empower you or your household to maintain and improve your garden confidently.

Contact me directly at: studio@kristienring.com

Santa Maria Toscana aims to create a place to experience self-sustaining organic gardening and cooking, together with creative arts activities. The house has been renovated and the barn structure converted to studio spaces for creative arts activities. 

The design of the gardens focused on creating new edible, medicinal and flower gardens that complement the surrounding built and natural environment. The creation of natural spatial transitions, the definition of zones and specific spaces as well as water management were the key challenges.

Each garden area has a different character and relation to the surrounding landscape. Two new main patios were created to serve the house and studio as adjacent outdoor spaces. At the studio the small garden is peaceful, shaded and contained. The front of the house has an expansive panorama view across the olive orchard and the fields and valleys beyond—the terrace extending the entire length.  

A dry-wall system, using reclaimed local tuff stone, was implemented in order to terrace the steep hillside to the South-West. The terracing not only mitigates water use and distribution, but also forms plantable, accessible land area.

A new dry-wall terrace was created to the East in order to mitigate drainage problems, keeping water away from the house. This dry-wall frames the house and forms a border between the gravel covered work area, behind the studios, and the kitchen garden. 

Border gardens were created at the newly terraced areas. The planting consists of perennial Mediterranean (medicinal) herbs, flowers and bushes, with emphasis on very hardy, low water need plants. The border gardens are not watered additionally.

The kitchen garden has an open and an enclosed area. The enclosure protects from wild animals and serves for more sensitive crops—the structure was inherited and modified. The open garden area is planted with larger crops such as corn, potatoes, melon. A micro-drip system is installed at ground level.

Fruit trees are located in the area surrounding the kitchen garden and include figs, peaches, pomegranates, kaki and quince.

The 4 Ha land with 120 olive trees had been abandoned for over 15 years as well as all surrounding vegetation. Olives, without continual pruning, not only stop producing olives, but can perish. Part of the cultural landscape of Southern Tuscany, the decision was made to care for the trees. This meant a many year commitment and process, which is ongoing.

Olives need to be pruned in late winter, February/March. The quick rebounding and production of olives already in the first year (harvest is in November) was reassuring that this care had been needed—and will continue in Bio/ ecological production.

An Initiative for a collective neighbourhood Olive Oil Label was started.

The fields between the olives are used by the neighbour to grow hay. In turn the fields are kept free of woody growth and mowed only a few times a year. Cleaning under the trees is essential for their health.

The enclosed structure provides some protection against large wild animals (wild boar, porcupines) however, it was badly executed and unfinished. Over time, ever more of the structure was removed or replaced.

The soil was enhanced with a layer of compost, on top of crimped weeds and a cardboard covering. The type and also direction of plantings are changed in order to enhance  synergies.

Outside of the enclosed vegetable garden, two areas for growing larger crops were established.

Untreated wood chips were used for pathways to reduce vegetation and also in the beds as mulch to help with water retention. Reclaimed materials are used throughout.

Where does the garden start and nature stop? When is a landscape natural and when cultured? If trees in production are abandoned, are the being re-naturalised?

Nature can be the starting point of design. Thinking about the relationship between built space and nature and what kind of nature will be key for sustainable urban development.

The idea of permaculture looks at the garden in zones that surround a living space. Moving away from the house, we move into more natural environments, less and less regularly tended to.

How does this translate to an urban environment? Where are the thresholds and in-between spaces that allow for interaction and green?