I have to admit I had to look it up.
You were on the right track in your thinking. It does have a lot to do with mirroring the natural ecological patterns. Here is a definition from wikipedia:
Today, permaculture can be described as a “moral and ethical design system applicable to food production and land use,” as well as community design. It seeks the creation of productive and sustainable ways of living by integrating ecology, landscape, organic gardening, architecture, agroforestry, green or ecological economics, and social systems.
It is a little indepth but I also wanted to give you the link to this. It is a very interesting subject.