Photos by Richard Maack Michele and Mark De Simone’s straw bale house is nestled within a sea of native brittlebush. Mark designed the residence, and the couple built it by hand with the help of a friend.

Michele and Mark De Simone follow Mother Nature’s example in their Arizona landscape

Inspired by sustainable living concepts learned at a permaculture workshop, Michele and Mark De Simone decided to put those ideas into practice at their Cave Creek, Arizona, property. “Permaculture helped us design and build our home and landscape as an interactive system, rather than individual entities,” explains Mark.

Permaculture is a system of observing
and copying Mother Nature, using di-
verse techniques and materials depending
on regional characteristics. Permaculture
principles integrate human needs for food and shelter within a region’s existing relationships among plants, animals, soils and climate variations.

Assisted by an experienced friend, the
De Simones built their straw bale house over a period of three years, starting in 1997. Throughout construction, they strived to
leave as much untouched native desert as possible and encouraged construction suppliers to watch their footprints. “Seeing other properties that had been bladed bare before construction, we were very conscious of the tremendous value of native vegetation,” Mark comments. The couple left a small area around the home’s building site, with just enough space to accommodate a small construction vehicle.

Mark, Michele, Oscar, Anna Lucia and Luca (kneeling) De Simone pose in their garden

“We wanted our surroundings to look as natural as possible without a stark line between the landscape and distant views,” Michele notes. “We retained native plants that had to be removed during construction to revegetate the property later.” The De Simones also eagerly accepted plants that friends and neighbors removed from their own properties, such as cholla cacti from a horse corral and agave pups (offshoots).

“Some of the revegetation plants did not survive, but we left their skeletons in place to provide shade for something else to grow,” Michele says. It took about three to five years for plants to fill in and hide “scars” that developed in the land during the building process, but the result is a home that appears to have been set gently in the midst of native desert.

Permaculture design takes into account the status of rainfall as a precious commodity in a desert that averages 7 to 10 inches annually. The De Simones planned their home’s roof to act as a catchment surface to direct rainwater into a nearby vegetable garden. “One big rain shower can produce 20,000 gallons from our rooftop,” states Mark. “Rain is channeled to scuppers, then flows down rain chains to a gutter, and eventually into below-ground irrigation tubes that trickle rain into different areas of the garden.”

“We don’t store rainwater in cisterns, but the thick layer of straw on top of our garden helps retain moisture for long periods, basically storing it in the soil,” Michele says. She used a soil-building technique learned at the permaculture workshop to develop organically rich beds in which to grow edibles. Knowing they would plant only cool-season vegetables and herbs, the couple positioned their garden with a southern exposure to receive maximum winter sun.

Opuntia ficus-indica cacti, rosemary, yellow bird of paradise and decorative pots accentuate the front entry of the home.

Throughout the cool growing season, they harvest arugula, beets, bok choy, cabbage, carrots, leeks, lettuce, onions, snow peas, strawberries and Swiss chard, as well as herbs such as cilantro, fennel and sage. The De Simones interspersed vegetables around desert-adaped flora, including brittlebush,
fairy duster and Mexican bird of paradise, which provide colorful blooms and nectar for bees when winter vegetables are finished. These taller ones, as well as a palo verde tree at the garden’s edge, provide shade to help seedlings get started in early fall. It isn’t necessary to plant open rows of vegetables, where the sun will burn tender seedlings, Michele explains. “I utilize the taller plants to provide protection for the younger ones to get started, just as it happens in the native desert.”

Spent vegetables are allowed to go to seed and self-sow. The couple never has to replant greens such as arugula or lettuce, which produce thousands of seeds. Plentiful seedlings pop up to provide food for the De Simone family as well as “Peter Rabbit’s” family, which burrows beneath the garden gate. Michele admits she can’t figure out how to stymie the rabbits without a more secure enclosure, but she doesn’t want to view fencing from the patio or the home’s windows. As long as the garden produces enough food for everyone, rabbits are allowed to glean.

A landscape wall made of straw bale beckons visitors toward the front door and creates sheltered planting beds for cacti and succulents.

In addition to fresh, tasty food, the yard provides lots of fun for the De Simone children: Luca, 11, Oscar, 7, and Anna Lucia, 5. “It’s exciting to spot the first seedlings popping out of the ground, and the kids also learn to appreciate the growing cycle,” observes Michele, who volunteers at her children’s school garden. “And worms are a big thrill, at least when kids are young,” she jokes.

Mark suggests designing a landscape to simplify tasks. “If it’s too much work, you won’t want to deal with it.” For example, the De Simones allow easy-to-grow natives such as brittlebush to self-seed wherever they come up. In spring, the couple is rewarded with views of cheerful yellow blooms; later, native birds are drawn to the seeds.

Single aloe or agave plants in courtyard beds filled with native soil are allowed to spread into thick clumps. Michele prefers not to thin them, as she likes both the appearance of massed flower stalks and their low maintenance. “If there’s little or no space between plants, weeds don’t gain a foothold,” she notes. “We spend very little time on our landscaping now. As much as possible, we let it run itself.”

Photos - from left : Straw mulch maintains soil moisture around a leafy cabbage plant; A colorful mix of edibles and ornamentals in the landscape includes arugula and snow peas interspersed with blooming aloe, brittlebush, cape honeysuckle and penstemon.

Learn More About Permaculture
• Australian Bill Mollison is credited with starting the permaculture movement, coining the term “permaculture” from “permanent agriculture.” His books include Introduction to Permaculture and Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual.
• Check out the Phoenix Permaculture Guild’s Web site for classes and events at phoenixpermaculture.org.