One of the key tenets of permaculture is relationship. Everything gardens. In an actual garden, this is easy to observe, over time. Every element in a garden, whether it is a plant, an insect, a rock, a pond, animals, a tree or a structure, has an effect on the others. The effect, in most cases, is predictable just by observing the nature of the element placed.

For example, where I live in Northern California, a large rock in a garden covers the soil preserving moisture, creates habitat for frogs and lizards, provides shade at certain times of the day, and may even create a small micro-climate for some plants. The rock, by its very being, its relationships and its placement, is gardening. It might be fair to say that we, like the rock, need simply find our appropriate place and relationships to create a beneficial impact. And, like the rock, we might have a detrimental impact if we are not in the appropriate relationships or place.