Permaculture: how to create a plant guild

What is a plant guild?

Created in the Middle Ages, guilds were mutual aid associations among merchants, craftspeople or members of the bourgeoisie; their cooperation enabled them to work towards a common goal. In permaculture, the aim is to recreate ecosystems that allow plants to develop in harmony within a diverse environment, and guilds are associations of beneficial plants. Every component of the ecosystem created fulfils one or more functions that support and complement one another. This results in a harmonious grouping, a stable coexistence in which the gardener is nourished, while the garden is mulched, the soil fertilised, pests controlled, pollinators attracted and nutrients accumulated.

In this ideally self-sufficient polyculture system, trees, shrubs, plants, insects and small animals “work” together to ensure the productivity, health and long-term sustainability of the whole.

→ Note that the botanical discipline which studies plant communities and their relationship with the environment is called phytosociology.

What is it used for?

• Planting guilds or plant associations helps to create balance in the garden. Each plant contributes something to the others and to the whole for greater fertility.
• We create a food garden, a forest garden, a vegetable garden or plant a fruiting hedge by using plant guilds to provide food, but we also share this space with other forms of life, such as birds, insects and certain mammals, all of which are beneficial.
• Planting plants in combinations based on what they can provide for one another also limits the care required for the planted area. At planting time, this ecosystem is immature, so you will need to plan interventions such as watering, weeding, pruning or mulching, but the plants and their entire community will then become self-sufficient.
• In the event of a problem (climatic conditions, attacks by parasitic organisms, diseases…), the system’s resilience will develop and the garden will be better equipped to defend itself against or recover from these attacks.
• As well as avoiding the carbon emissions linked to transporting what we grow and consume on site, plants capture CO2 as they grow and also help to combat climate change.

Key points for successfully creating a guild

Understanding the particular features of your garden and soil

First of all, take the time to get to know your garden, its soil and its aspect, as well as the prevailing winds it is exposed to. If you have a small space, it is still possible to create this type of guild, by choosing species with limited growth and self-fertile plants, which have the advantage of needing only one plant to produce a harvest.

You should choose plants with the same water and soil requirements, as well as root systems that are more or less deep and spreading, so that they do not compete with one another.

Defining your needs and the type of plant guild

Next, think about your wishes and needs: would you prefer to create vegetable-growing guilds, a fruiting hedge or an edible forest? Define what you would like to harvest (vegetables, fruit, berries…) and therefore consume, and in what quantities.

Creating different layers

In permaculture, the space where plant guilds are established imitates the way natural ecosystems function. In forest gardens and edible forests in particular, plants are organised into different layers, where everything is edible or has a use for the plant community:

• the tree layer, made up of standard trees
• the shrub layer, containing the largest shrubs
• the scrub layer, which includes smaller shrubs
• the herbaceous layer, containing groundcover plants

The Different Components of a Plant Guild

Plant associations are generally organised around a main plant that is taller than the others and is accompanied by other plants within what is known as a plant community.

For these associations to be effective, you should group together plants that fulfil as many of the following functions as possible:

Food-producing plants

When creating a guild, the idea is to maximise the benefits for health and nutrition. To be able to eat a wide range of foods, you need to plant a wide diversity of food-producing plants. This means including fruit, vegetables, legumes, herbs, berries and nuts. Other needs can be met with medicinal plants, building materials, useful fibres… etc.

Fertilising plants

All plants need nutrients to grow, and nitrogen is one of the main nutrients plants use for growth. An easy way to introduce nitrogen into the soil is to plant nitrogen-fixing plants. What makes them specific and useful to gardeners is the presence of nodules on their root system. These are outgrowths that work in symbiosis with bacteria and can metabolise atmospheric nitrogen; the plant supplies carbon to the bacteria, while the bacteria supply nitrogen to the plant. This nitrogen can be fixed and used by the roots, as well as returned to the soil. The leaves and other organic matter from these plants can also be used as mulch or added to compost to increase its nitrogen content.

Nitrogen-fixing plants include legumes or fabaceae such as beans, peas, peanuts, liquorice, and green manures such as clovers, lucerne, blue and yellow false indigos, and lupins. At the end of their life cycle, they are mown and left to decompose in place so that the organic nitrogen produced is mineralised and returned to the soil. Nitrogen-fixing trees can also be planted, such as black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), black alder (Alnus glutinosa), Chinese mahogany or Chinese toon (Toona sinensis), American persimmon or common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) and beech (Fagus sylvatica). Shrubs include false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), Siberian peashrub (Caragana arborescens), Elaeagnus (E. angustifolia, Russian olive, Japanese goumi) and sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides, male and female).

→ Discover in our article how to improve your vegetable garden soil with legumes

Soil-loosening plants

Deep-rooted plants, such as trees, penetrate deep into the soil and bring minerals to the surface (like a miner). These deep-rooted trees are excellent diggers, loosening the soil and allowing air and water to be absorbed more easily. Some “excavator” plants also take the form of tubers or root vegetables: carrots, beetroot, sweet potatoes, cassava, yams, etc. In the garden, diggers can also be insects and animals that burrow into the soil, such as ants, earthworms, moles, beetles, etc.

Groundcover plants

Groundcover plants protect the soil from the sun’s heat, help retain moisture and prevent “weeds” from growing. There are many types of edible groundcover plants, such as squashes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, strawberries… and anything that grows along the ground. Mulch is also a form of groundcover and can be made from a wide variety of organic materials, such as grass clippings, leaves and woodchips…

Climbing plants

Climbing plants maximise food production by making use of the vertical dimension and are particularly useful when ground space is limited. Think of climbing beans, cucumbers, Luffa Cylindrica or vegetable sponge, and fruiting climbers such as grapevines, kiwis and passion fruit… etc. 

Aerial structural and support plants

These provide shade and protection from the wind. These solid vertical elements also act as natural supports for climbing plants and make the best use of the available space. Supports can be trees, upright bushes, or stems of sweetcorn or sunflowers. Simply choose the right support for the right climber. 

Attractive and protective plants

To protect the guild as a whole from harmful insects, repellent plants are very useful. Tansy, basil, onions, chives, lemongrass and a host of herbs can help repel insects. Natural predators can also be very useful for controlling insect problems in a guild. Some nectar-rich and pollinator-friendly plants can attract these predators to protect neighbouring plants. Also attract beneficial animals and insects to your garden, such as birds, amphibians, lizards, ladybirds, praying mantises and pollinating insects, by providing different types of habitats and suitable plants. Thorny plants can help protect crops from larger pests (wild boar… etc).

Fruit trees such as pear trees for food, Japanese goumi to help fertilise the soil, root vegetables such as beetroot to loosen the soil, sweet potato plants to cover it, kiwis as fruiting climbers to make use of the vertical space, sweetcorn to act as natural supports, and lavender to attract pollinating insects and repel harmful insects

Some examples of plant guilds for the vegetable garden

There are many classic combinations to use, and by showing creativity and common sense, you can create increasingly complete and productive groupings. Finding lists of companion plants online is easy and from there, all you need to do is try to establish logical connections, then experiment. Bear in mind that taller vegetables provide shade for shorter ones, so place them accordingly. Make a point of adding flowers to the vegetable garden, and also plant herbs such as dill, tansy or fennel to attract pollinators, as well as predatory insects such as ladybirds and lacewings, which control insect pests. 

Here are a few plant combinations to try in the vegetable garden: 

• Sweetcorn, beans and squashes are the classic example of a well-known guild that works very well. This combination is known as the “three sisters” or Milpa. It has traditionally been used by Indigenous communities in North and Central America. The sweetcorn plants provide support for climbing beans, while the beans fix nitrogen, enriching the soil for the following crop. Squashes spread their broad leafy growth across the soil, creating a mulch that greatly limits weed growth and retains moisture in the soil. From a dietary point of view, the three sisters provide a balanced diet for growers. These three elements work very well together and can be considered a complete guild in their own right, but it can be improved by planting comfrey, a deep-rooted nutrient accumulator, a plant that attracts pollinators and an additional mulch. Traditionally, the three sisters are also often accompanied by chillies and sweet potatoes.

Association of the “three sisters”—squashes, sweetcorn and beans—when planted and at maturity

• Tomato plants do not necessarily provide much for the plants around them, but they are immensely valuable in the kitchen. Basil releases a scent that repels pests and goes very well with tomatoes on the plate. Basil clumps fill the space between tomato plants and you can add nasturtiums, which are attractive and prolific groundcover plants with pretty edible flowers. Their seeds can be pickled to make “poor man’s capers”. In addition,  borage is ideal for attracting pollinators, adding nutrients to the soil and repelling tomato hornworms. Its leaves and flowers are edible, with a slight cucumber flavour. It is an annual that self-seeds and can be returned directly to the soil to enrich it.

• Carrots and onions (which protect against carrot fly) grow well alongside lettuces or spinach, which provide excellent groundcover and help retain moisture. You can add buckwheat as a green manure, as well as Swiss chard. A Japanese goumi will provide shade and nitrogen to the soil, but it is best to prune it if you do not want it to take all the light and space. Its fruit is edible. 

A few examples of plant guilds for a forest garden

• In sunny, sheltered positions protected from strong winds and subject to some drought, but avoiding heavy, damp soils, plant the guild of plum (Prunus domestica), combined with rowan (Sorbus aucuparia). As nitrogen-fixing plants, you can plant either broom (Cytisus scoparius) or bladder senna (Colutea arborescens). Add Amelanchier alnifolia ‘Saskatoon Berry’ as a berry shrub alongside Lycium barbarum , which produces the famous goji berries. Plant asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) as tuberous herbaceous plants and strawberry plants as groundcover. You can also add perennial vegetables such as Daubenton’s kale, perpetual leek or rhubarb. 

Plum, Sorbus aucuparia, bladder senna, Amelanchier ‘Saskatoon Berry’, goji berries, strawberry plants and Daubenton’s kale

• Another guild could include a particularly productive variety of juneberry, selected for its medium-sized berries with a mild, sweet flavour, an excellent alternative to blueberries: Amelanchier alnifolia ‘Smoky’. It can be combined with beech (Fagus sylvatica). At their foot, plant raspberry plants as berry-producing companion shrubs and Schisandra chinensis, or five-flavour berry as an edible climbing plant. Finally, violets and strawberry plants as groundcover.

• Alongside an apple tree, plant a whitebeam (Sorbus aria ‘Lutescens’) and rowan ‘Sheerwater Seedling’ as companion trees. It is distinguished by its large, scarlet-red decorative fruits, much appreciated by birds. Add male cornelian cherry ‘Schönbrunner Gourmet Dirndl’ which produces fairly large red fruits in late August. They have a sweet flavour and can be eaten raw or made into jams, jellies or juice, along with a hazel. In the lower strata, you could find St John’s wort. The honeysuckle and ivy are interesting companion climbing plants. Wild sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a perennial forming a clump of leaves with refreshing properties, eaten in soups or served with fish and white meats. 

A few examples of plant guilds for a fruit hedge

• In a fruit hedge, there is no need to plant tall trees. At the highest level, you can plant fruit trees such as apple trees, pear trees, plum trees, fig trees or peach trees, favouring heritage and local varieties. Dwarf varieties are also useful for creating beautiful edible hedges.
• Between the fruit trees, you can plant berry shrubs that will be pruned regularly to the desired height: common dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) attracts birds and beneficial insects, but its fruit is not edible. black elder (Sambucus nigra) attracts birds and hoverflies, which prey on aphids, and its fruit can be used to make jam. autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is a nitrogen-fixing shrub, and its edible fruit is rich in vitamins and antioxidants. Other shrubs are also suitable, including hazel, medlar, serviceberry and feijoa.
• Between the shrubs, you can plant small-fruit shrubs, with culinary herbs at their base (rosemary, thyme, sorrel, lemon balm…)
• Finally, by installing posts at regular intervals with taut wires, you can plant an edible liana approximately every 5 metres, such as kiwi, grapevine or thornless blackberry…

Peach tree, black elder, feijoa and redcurrant bush

For further reading...

→ Discover how to create a forest garden

→ Follow all our advice on creating a forest garden on a budget using bare roots