strawberry fields

I felt so lucky to get good advice and some wonderfully thriving plants from our neighbour! She came with a whole wheelbarrow filled with plants for my garden! I did not mind to alter some of my plans and integrate her presents into my garden. Besides columbine, garlic, forget-me-not, common mulein, and linaria, most of the treasure consisted of strawberries. I do not yet know which variety she gave me, but the plants look strong and healthy.

I created two strawberry "fields": one as part of the little orchard and a central one close to my future herb, veggie, and flower garden. In both fields, I inserted their best friend: borage (borago officinalis, komkommerkruid, hjulkrone). 

Borage (borago officinalis, berganie, hjulkrone)

Borage has several advantages for strawberries:
- it attracts pollinators
- it attracts predators, like mantis and wasps to get rid of pests 
- it is a good nutrient accumulator (e.g. K, Si, Ca and P)
- it improves the flavor of strawberries!

Additional advantages: 
- it is a pretty flower
- the flowers (and leaves) are edible and look very pretty in a salad
- the bees love it
- it is one of the host plants of the painted lady butterfly 
- it is an excellent mulch plant 

Knowing that I would not be there to manage the beds for two months, I had to plant the strawberry plants and borage seeds immediately. I chose for two strategies: 
1. for my bed on a slight slope, I removed the grass sods and added white clover seeds as a future ground cover (see photo below).
2. in the other bed, situated between the fruit trees, I just removed the moss between the grass and threw my white clover seeds in between on the cleared spots.

One of my strawberry fields with borage and clover, with thanks to Karina

For a week or so, I irrigated both beds thoroughly each day and then, with a small heart, I left them for themselves... 

Then, my kind sweet neighbour gave me another present. When I told her about my frustration to have to leave my plants and seeds for some months, she said: "the birds might eat some, the slugs might take some, and the lack of rain might kill some, but some of the seeds will survive and they will be strong". To let go. I will try!

the guild for our little plum tree

Our little plum tree is also situated in the fruit orchard. I have been told it is a "Victoria", which is one of the self-fertile old English varieties.

Our little plum tree to the left

The tree will be protected from the north-western wind by a ribes sanguinum and some pine trees in the neighbour's garden. I also added three sea buckthorns. I love the sight and powerful taste of their berries. When I found out that they also are excellent nitrogen fixing plants and wind barriers, I did not hesitate. We bought one male and two female bushes and hope that will do the trick to get some berries.

sketch in my notebook on the little plum tree guild

The plants we added to create our little plum tree guild are:

- sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides, duindoorn, havtorn): nitrogen-fixing, edible berries, wind barrier, shrub layer, berries and shelter for birds, host plant for butterflies, medicinal, pioneer plant
- vetch (vicia lathyroides, lathyruswikke, vaar-vikke): ground cover, nutrient accumulator, nitrogen-fixing
- red clover (trifolium pratense, rode klaver, roed kloever): ground cover, nutrient accumulator, pollination insects, nitrogen-fixing
- wild strawberries (fragaria vesca, bosaardbei, skov-jordbær) : edible fruit, ground cover, nutrient accumulator
- borage (borago officinalis, berganie of komkommerkruid, hjulkrone): herbaceous layer, supporting the taste of strawberries, edible flower, pollination insects
- nasturtium (tropaeolum, Oost-Indische kers, tallerkensmækker) : vine layer, attracts aphids, pollination insects, edible flowers, mulch, barrier
- gooseberry (ribes uva-crispa, stekelbes, stikkelsbaer) "Invicta" and "Rolanda": shrub layer, pollination insects, edible fruit
- chives (allium schoenoprasum, bieslook, purloeg): herbaceous layer, edible, pollination insects,
- phacelia (phacelia tanacetifolia, bijenvoer, honningurt) : pollination insects, nutrition accumulator, ground cover, aeration of soil

 Or to list them by some of their functions:
- nutrient accumulator: sea buckthorn, vetch, phacelia, red clover, strawberries
- mulch: nasturtium, vetch, red clover
- edible fruit: strawberry, gooseberry, sea buckthorn
- edible flower: borage, nasturtium, chives
- edible leaf: chives
- attracting pollinating insects: phacelia, chives, berries, nasturtium, red clover
- ground cover: strawberries, phacelia, red clover, vetch

It sounds pretty impressive, but most of the plants mentioned here were planted as seeds. I have no idea which of these plants will ever reach the full grown size. In addition, other challenges might turn up, so we will need to monitor the guild and add or maybe remove plants as we go along. 

Victoria plum

our hedgehog hill

While making the butterfly mandala, we created a huge pile of grass sods. What to do with all of those sods? The kids opted for a little hill to bike over and to use it as a slope to sledge on in winter time. While we started piling up the pieces of grass, I got the last minute idea to make a hedgehog shelter inside the little hill.

drainage and dried leaves inserted in the flower pot

In the shed, we found a large damaged terracotta  flower pot and made an entrance big enough for a hedgehog. Inside the upside down pot, I added some gravel and odd stones to provide for drainage. On top of it, I piled up some cozy dried leaves. With the help of my son, we designed an entrance tunnel out of plastic left over flower pots strong enough to hold the weight on top.  Fortified with half circle shaped beams and with branches and a couple of tests, we were satisfied.

Fortified tunnel and then some branches in the length on top

The entrance was turned towards the east to avoid rain and wind. Then we added more sods until we had a little hill. The last layer of sods, were turned with the grass side up. We hope the hibernating hedgehogs will not mind some small and bigger kids to bike and sledge over their heads once in a while...

Our hedgehog hill

Finally, I made some holes at the bottom of the iron fence surrounding our garden to provide many little gates for our slug and snail lovers. Welcome hedgehogs!

the butterfly mandala

The initial idea was to make a horse-shoe shaped veggie bed with a wild flower bed around it. With the summerhouse being far away and the urge for low maintenance garden, I first want to make a butterfly mandala shaped bed and add veggies later on. I love butterflies. One of my main goals for this garden is to attract many of them and this includes providing for host plants for their eggs and caterpillars. Many of the host plants, like nettle, are regarded as weed, but I intend to make sure they will have a space somewhere.  

Butterflies love to flutter from one plant to another while being protected from wind. The north-western wind will find a barrier with our maples, firs, and elderberries. I will increase the barrier with two extra fruit trees which will be planted later in what is now designed as our wild flower area. In addition, they prefer flowers in several heights, like in steps. Finally, the more species of flowers, the more butterflies and species one will attract. 

Mandala flower bed almost ready to sow

The challenge was to create the bed and sow the seeds before the summer. I did not opt for a mulch layer, because that would take to much time to decompose and make the soil right to sow. We simply removed the grass surface. All the grass sods were used for our hedgehog hill, which I will show in another post.  

During the past months, I had carefully collected some seeds beneficial for butterflies. I made a first sketch to place all the lower flowers on the south-east side and making the mandala gradually higher towards the north-western side.   



Sketch in my notebook of the future flower mandala

The plants I have selected for the mandala are the following:

- spring vetch (1)
- flax (2)
- red clover (3)
- flax, different from (2) and slightly higher variety (4)
- cornflower (5)
- common vervain (Verbena officinalis, ijzerhard, læge-jernurt)(6)
- sea holly (Eryngium) (7)
- echinops (8)
- borage (9)
- purple coneflower, (echinacea purpurea) (10)
- cornflower (11)
- white coneflower, (Echinacea alba) (12)
- yarrow (a. millefolium) (13)
- echinops ritro (14)

echinacea purpurea, photo: ©Janus

The numbers between brackets correspond with the area numbers in the drawing above. I also have added some white clover in those beds where the seeds were scarcely spread. I hope this will keep the unwanted weed, like grass, at bay. Around the entire mandala, my daughter planted giant sunflowers which will follow the sun with their pretty heads. I doubt the bed will ever look like the drawing...

verbena officinalis, photo:©Janus

I admit, I have no idea, whether this flower bed will be successful. There are many challenges in leaving such a freshly sown bed on its own for two months: drought, birds, slugs, cats, and invasive weeds, just to mention a few. But there is nothing I can do about it and I will just need to let go! With a bit of luck, I might be able to sit in the midst of my butterflies and flowers during the summer months. In my mind, I am already sitting there...

a mini hugelbed for heather and blueberries

My husband loves blueberries. The kids and I planned to surprise him. We selected a good place for the future blueberry bed: a sunny site at the base of some pine trees. I read that blueberries do not like to have too wet feet, but that they cannot survive drought either. On a permaculture website, I found the solution, a mini hugelbed.   

Trench with branches of wood to keep soil moist

First we dug a trench which we filled up with some branches. This is supposed to keep the soil moist. I was not sure how deep to dig and how many branches to add, but I hope this will do the trick (see photo). Then we removed some of the grass sods along the trench and topped it all up with a more acid compost. There was a bag of fertilizer for rhododendron standing in the shed (when we bought the house), so I used this, moderately mixed up with soil. I also added some sand and pine needles from our garden. Once the plants were inserted in the mounted bed, we covered the bare soil with pine bark chips.

At the garden centre, we found different species of blueberries. We went for four high blueberry bushes, four different varieties in order to spread the harvest and to create more diversity and hopefully resilience. In between, we planted some low blueberry bushes, spring and autumn heather for the bees and bumble bees, and we added some cranberries:

-high northern blueberries (vaccinum corybosum, blauwe bes, Storfrugtet Blåbær): "Elisabeth", "Liberty", "Birgit Blue", and "Darrow"
-European blueberry or bilberry (vaccinum myrtillus, bosbes, almindelig Blåbær)
-common heather (calluna vulgaris, struikhei, hedelyng)  "Loki" (autumn) and "Jysk naturform" (spring)
-spring heath (erica carnea, sneeuwheide - een soort dophei, vår-lyng)  "Challenger" (autumn) and Erica x stuartii "Irish lemon" , a natural occurring hybrid (klokkelyng)
-large cranberry (vaccinum macrocarpon, grote veenbes, storfrugtet tranebaer)

Now, we'll just need to wait and see whether this will work. Later on, I hope to find some small cranberries (vaccinum oxycoccos, kleine veenbes, almindelig tranebaer) to add to this swale.
 

My little blueberry and heather swale

We do not know how many blueberries we will get the first years, but I am sure each of them will be enjoyed with 100%.

the guild of our apple tree “rød aroma”

Our red apple tree is a Danish variety called “rød aroma” (red aroma), which is a cross between two “old” Danish species (“Ingrid Marie” og ”Filippa”). It is a dwarf tree with big red apples (see photo at the bottom) which can be harvested in September. Just next to it, a tall elderberry (sambucus nigra, vlier, hyld) and an English dogwood (philadelphus coronarius, boerenjasmijn, uaegte jasmin) are protecting it from a Western wind. Since I will not be able to add a tall tree on this side of the garden, the nearby maple tree will have to act as canopy layer. The shoots of the autumn raspberries under the elderberry are spreading towards to the apple tree. It is quite shady under the tree, because of the shed on the Southern side. All these ”inherited” elements form the basis of my future guild. Now let us add some good plants to create a proper guild...

Our red aroma apple tree in early spring 2014

The first thing I did was to cut the grass underneath the tree and then cover it with cardboard and grass clippings. Then I inserted wild strawberry plants, borage, and nasturtium into some holes in the cardboard. Around the cardboard mulch, I added comfrey and bear’s garlic to one side and pot marigold and daisies to the sunny side.  On one side, I added a gooseberry bush with some chives, and on the other side red and white currants. All the berries will be surrounded by phacelia.

A sketch of the guild in my garden notebook



Here are some functions of the plants added:
- comfrey (symphytum officinale, smeerwortel, kulsukker). : herbaceous layer, nutrient accumulator, nitrogen fixing, pollination insects, mulch, ground cover, tonic for other plants, composting element, (medicinal)
- wild strawberries (fragaria vesca, bosaardbei, skov-jordbær) : edible fruit, ground cover, nutrient accumulator
- borage (borago officinalis, berganie of komkommerkruid, hjulkrone): herbaceous layer, supporting the taste of strawberries, edible flower, pollination insects
- nasturtium (tropaeolum, Oost-Indische kers, tallerkensmækker) : vine layer, attracts aphids, pollination insects, edible flowers, mulch, barrier
- gooseberry (ribes uva-crispa, stekelbes, stikkelsbaer) "Invicta": shrub layer, pollination insects, edible fruit
- white and red currant (Ribes rubrum, aalbes, have-ribs): shrub layer, pollination insects, edible fruit
- pot marigold (calendula officinalis, goudsbloem, have-morgenfrue): herbaceous layer, edible, pollination insects, medicinal
- bear’s garlic (allium ursinum, daslook, ramsloeg): root layer, ground cover, barrier
- chives (allium schoenoprasum, bieslook, purloeg): herbaceous layer, edible, pollination insects,
- phacelia (phacelia tanacetifolia, bijenvoer, honningurt) : pollination insects, nutrition accumulator, ground cover, aeration of soil
- daisies (bellis perennis, madeliefje, tusindfryd): ground cover, edible flower, crafts for kids ;-)

Or to list them by some of their functions:
- nutrient accumulator: comfrey, strawberries
- mulch: comfrey, nasturtium
- edible fruit: strawberry, gooseberry, white and red currant
- edible flower: borage, nasturtium, bear’s garlic, chives, pot marigold, daisy
- edible leaf: bear’s garlic, chives,
- attracting pollinating insects: phacelia, chives, berries, nasturtium, comfrey, pot marigold
- ground cover: strawberries, phacelia, bear’s garlic, comfrey

After some observations, I will decide whether these combinations work and if more plants can be added. I think, I still would like to add a proper root vegetable, like parsnip or horseradish. 


rød aroma (source www.dyrkfrugt.dk)

on forest gardens and plants to choose

We have quite a few dwarf fruit trees in our garden: 5 in the little orchard and 3 more spread over the garden. With a little creativity, I might be able to use the model of forest gardens or food forests using these trees as a starting point. A forest garden is an easy maintenance and bio-diverse food producing garden - somewhere between a natural forest and an orchard - with a healthy eco-system supported by companion planting and inter-planting.

With the so-called "seven layer system" (term introduced by Robert Hart), one can mimic a natural forest:

Seven layer system of a forest garden as developed by Robert Hart

Some general guidelines for the selection of all my plants:

1. to choose perennial above annual plants;
2. to give preference to plants with many functions (e.g. shelter for birds, shade, food, green manure, wind barrier, aeration of soil, ground cover, prevent erosion, provide building materials, nitrogen fixing or nutrient accumulator, pest repellent, lovely fragrance, medical use, attracting beneficial  insects for pollination or predators of harmful insects, etc.);
3. to find locally thriving and non-invasive species;
4. when possible, to find several varieties of one species in order to get more biodiversity;
5. when possible, to choose “old and forgotten” species;
6. to avoid double flowered hybrids (not easy/possible for pollinators to enter) and of course GMOs;
7. when possible, to opt for plants and seeds from organic garden centres.

I collected a lot of seeds over the past half year

With several fruit trees at hand, I was able to design different guilds. With the little orchard being so close to the neighbour’s garden, I will not be able to plant taller trees next to them. Some individual low fruit trees elsewhere in the garden might be luckier. The first thing I did was to use some rope to fence off the future paths around the dripping line of the canopies and to use cardboard and grass clippings to suppress the grass close to the stems.

The fruit tree orchard with our five little trees in early spring 2014 

In my next posts, I will present each guild of the five trees in the orchard and then the tree individual ones.

setting up permaculture from a distance

The main challenge for our plot of land is that it belongs to our summerhouse abroad. We live in Belgium and the summerhouse is situated in Denmark. We will not be able to monitor our work and efforts regularly and will need to rely on a good amount of good luck. This is the hardest past for me: to sow all the seeds and then leave the place for the next two months hoping there will be something left when I return. Birds, slugs, drought, invasive weeds, and even cats are among those challenges that might threaten my project and I need to accept this. I will need a lot of courage and strength... to let go.

a lot of patience needed

To make my project more resilient to all these challenges, I opted for using several strategies in order to have some chance for success:

1. Instead of one type of fruit tree guild, I created different guilds for each fruit tree.

2. I used several techniques to suppress the grass in different places: either mulching and insert plants or seeds on top, or sowing onto removed sod (top layer of grass with roots), or just removing the moss in between the grass and sowing directly on the freed space.

3. I planted a great variety of species: e.g. three different species of pot marigold instead of one.

4. I experimented with different ways of protection from slugs: grounded coffee, slug trap plants, slug repellent plants, etc.

5. I tried to build in water harvesting techniques, like swales and hugel culture.

I hope to tell you more on each of these in my future posts.

For about 2 ½ weeks, I worked in the garden (with some help of my family). Most of the layout of the new garden has been established . Now we need to be very patient and wait to see the garden again in two months from now. Time to share with you what we did so far and to reflect on possible improvements and the next steps to take.   

All feedback is welcome, through public comments here on this blog, or by email: ibeesgarden @ gmail.com (the two spaces  in this email address should not be used, just hoping to avoid spam).

the compost area: to be or not to be

One of the first things I did was to identify a spot for the future compost area. At first, I was thinking along the lines of a typical compost space: 3 compost piles each with layers of brown and green organic material. In order to get started with the kitchen waste, I made one out of iron chicken wire enforced with some branches. 

Our first compost bin, with a front panel which can be opened

However, the big amounts of autumn leaves, grass clippings and cut branches already started piling up next to it and after reading some books on permaculture, I changed my plans. I decided I wanted to have a compost area to gather organic material separately, but not necessarily turn it all into ready-to-use compost before applying it in the garden.

I learned that mulching and using living green manure on the spot would save me a lot of work and would create far more nutritious compost. If one turns compost, airs it, let it shrink, and then move it, one has already used some of its energy and nutritions and one disturbs the micro organisms at work. It is apparently better to add the layers of brown and green material, the manure and final mulch cover on the spot where you need it. Even kitchen waste can be tucked under the mulch layers: with the help of all the tiny soil animals it will be turned into compost on the spot.

This implied that I would just need a place to temporarily store some surplus leaves, branches, manure, etc. Nevertheless, I decided to leave my first compost bin in use for the time being and gradually get used to the new way of composting/mulching.

In any case, I wanted to cover the compost area from sight. We opted for a natural little fence made of branches.

The first layers of branches filling up our natural fence up to half its future height

We gathered our cut raspberry stems and some pretty reddish branches from our neighbour's birch trees which had flown into our garden during the last storm. We tried to make the fence a little curved to give it a more organic look. We still need to fill it up to the top, but that will only happen next time when we get some more branches. In front of the fence, we will plant our giant sunflowers.

I might even wait with finalizing the fence for a while, because just behind it there is a pile of big branches, grass and leaves which would make a good hugelculture base. Hugel culture is a permaculture technique reusing rough garden waste as a bed for planting veggies. You make a kind of trench and fill it up with branches and then layers of organic material. On top of it, you have the perfect spot to plant pumpkins and alike! This is where I will try to plant pumpkins this year, combined with nasturtium to protect them from pests like squash bugs and aphids.

The compost area will also be used to make liquid plant tonics (gier, udtraek). I will use plants like nettle, dandelion, comfrey, elder and rhubarb, but other plants are also possible like fern, tansy, and tomato. I will post more on this topic later on.

first harvest of dandelion in a bucket ready for the rain to fill it up and 
to be used for a plant tonic after two weeks of fermenting

the little orchard: a plan and the first steps

The first step is to lower my ambition on the speed and amount of things I want to do. It still needs to be fun and I hope to engage my teenage kids and my husband's grandchildren in the project, which will require patience and a slow pace. In addition, this first week we do not have a car, so I will have to aim for finding everything for the garden locally either in the garden or in the neighbourhood. I have been hamstring the seeds I want for this garden for some months now, but the bulk of these will only arrive later this week.

We already got some cardboard from a local supermarket, so the first apple tree got a layer in order to suppress the grass underneath it.

First layer of cardboard to suppress grass

I let the rain do the next step: making the cardboard wet. This is necessary before applying the next layer, which will be grass clippings (plenty of it in this garden) and then bark chips, branches, or compost in case one wants to add ground covering plants. This technique is the very simple version of mulching as used in permaculture. Ideally, you would add more layers, but this will do for the time being. 

Grass under fruit trees is not good, because the roots compete for the same water and nutrition. It is better to plant some companion plants which will form a "guild" with the fruit tree (which is explained below). Turning over the soil disturbs the soil and its thriving micro eco-system and it breaks my back. So the easiest and the best way is the mulching. It suppresses the grass and weeds, it is like composting your green and brown organic material on the spot providing fresh nutrition for the plants or trees, and it will be easier to maintain in the future. 

It is my intention to add some cover plants on top of the mulch layer: first white clover (trifolium repens, witte klaver, hvid-kloever) and nasturtium (tropaeolum, Oost-Indische kers, tallerkensmækker) and later maybe wild strawberries. Around the cardboard and still under the dripping line of the tree, I planted some wild garlic (allium ursinum or bear's garlic, daslook, ramsloeg) and on the other side some comfrey (symphytum officinale, smeerwortel, kulsukker). Around and in between the trees, I will add white and red clover. All of these plants mentioned are recommended to support fruit trees. 

An example of an apple tree guild. 
Source: Hemenway, Toby. Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, 2001

Adding a diversity of supporting plants in several heights below the fruit tree turns it into a "guild", in this case an apple guild. For each type of tree there are specific companion plants, plants which attract pollinators, nitrogen fixing plants, green manure, weed suppressing plants, plants acting as wind barriers, nutrient plants etc., which contribute to a healthy eco-system around the tree. Above, you can see a drawing from the excellent book, I based myself upon, "Gaia's Garden" by Toby Hemenway. Here, I will describe my own selection of plants, which hopefully will form a good guild together.

I think nobody would object if I call comfrey a key plant in permaculture.  The more functions one plant can offer to other plants, local wildlife, or humans, the better ("stacking functions"). Comfrey is a green manure (P, N, K, Ca, Mg, Fe), which can be composted on the spot once or twice a year, it fixes nitrogen into the soil, it is an excellent slug trap, it provides nectar and pollen for bees and other beneficial insects, it suppresses weed, it covers the soil, it can also be used as a compost starter. In some places I will plant it as a temporary soil improver and then cut it on the spot. Afterwards, I can then plant bushes on top of the cut leaves. 

I chose the wild garlic for my future salads, as a support for the fruit trees, while deterring aphids, weevils, and slugs. Again, it does not go well with beans and peas, so if I want those, they clearly will need to go in another part of our garden. Just to confirm my correct choice, I just read that the first evidence of the human use of A. ursinum comes from the Mesolithic settlement in Denmark (Barkær)!

The next day, I already found a good amount of baby slugs hanging on underneath the cardboard. I think planting the comfrey and wild garlic next to the cardboard was a good idea, if I ever want to have a wild strawberry left for me in future.

We already planted some nasturtium (tropaeolum, Oost-Indische kers, tallerkensmækker) in small seed pots to make sure the first shoots are not eaten right away by the slugs. I would like to plant these under the fruit trees and next to my future pumpkins to help to protect them from pests. The flowers are very beautiful and edible. (The pumpkin and sunflower seeds are not for the orchard, but for the compost area, and the forget-me-nots are for the raspberries, both see next post).

Clover is another multifunctional plant and I love it. A clover field is always buzzing with bumble bees and honey bees! It is a perennial plant which is appreciated in permaculture gardens (it is less disturbing to have permanent plants and of course easier for the gardener) and it can take frost.  It provides nectar and pollen, fixes nitrogen for other plants, works as an excellent ground cover, it aerates the soil (and thus can be used as a pioneer plant to air tight soil for future veggies), and it is a green manure (N and P), which can be used as a on the spot mulch layer. It fits well with fruit trees and strawberries, as well as veggies like potatoes and parsnip, but I read it does not go to well with beans and peas. I will plant both white and red clover in between and under the trees.

 

Later on, I would also like to add phacelia (phacelia tanacetifolia, bijenvoer, honningurt), again, a fruit tree supporting plant. It can be used as green manure, it is a nitrogen fixing plant, it provides air to compact soil, and attracts bees and other insects. Borage (borago officinalis, berganie of komkommerkruid, hjulkrone) is also on my wishing list. Its flowers are edible and very pretty in a salad, it acts as a green manure (K and Si), and is an excellent pollinator attracting plant. 

In a next phase, I hope to add a Northern wind barrier of shrubs like sea buckthorn (excellent nitrogen fixer); to add excellent orchard herbs like lemon balm (melissa officinalis, citroenmelisse) and mint (not yet sure which species); to add berries, like gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa, stekelbes, stikkelsbaer) and black currant (ribes nigrum, zwarte bes, solbaer); and even root veggies like horseradish (armoracia rusticana,  mierikswortel, peberrod).

I hope the selection above will be a good apple guild for a Northern temperate climate like we have here in Denmark.

our future garden

The first remark I got was "Why change anything? The garden with lawn surrounded with bushes looks fine as it is." The main reason for me is that I long for creating and enjoying a mature, balanced, and diverse eco-system beneficial for both humans and wildlife! I hope to show through this blog that a lawn with isolated bushes and trees do not correspond to this description.

our garden as we inherit it

Our current garden has a lot of lawn, also underneath all the bushes and trees which are all situated along the fence (see map below). There is a little fruit tree orchard at the Northern side of the house (low apple, plum and pear trees) and on the West side there are some trees (a mix of Acer, birch and willow). In Denmark, protection from North-Western wind is rather important, so I am happy with this starting point. I will not be able to plant high trees on the Northern side, because of the neighbours, but some low wind barrier bushes will be possible. There also are some pine and fir trees, two isolated cherry trees, and a big plum on the Southern side.

current garden (click on image to enlarge)

As one can see from the drawing, I have not yet identified all bushes, but I hope I will know them all soon. I am not sure yet what to do with all the cherry laurel (prunus laurocerasus, laurierkers, laurbær-kirsebær, marked with a capital "L" on the map), since I am not so fond of them. They grow very tall and the leaves are hard to compost. I am not sure about their merits for wildlife compared to other bushes, but for the time being I will leave them where they are. The same goes for all the pine trees (which I think are pinus mugo) on the South-Western side of the house, which are not so well placed.

With many family members of different ages with different wishes using our summerhouse, I will not be able to get rid of all the lawn. To keep everyone happy, a big rectangle on the South-Western side will be kept for lawn games and a big wooden swing-climbing construction. Of course, it will be a lawn of grass mixed with "weed" and without using chemicals.

An interesting challenge will be to seduce deer into parts of our garden while protecting some of the plants we ourselves would like to harvest! One of the big challenges will be the slugs!

the pillars of our future garden

Once I had a good overview of the existing plants, the basic wishes and challenges of the garden, I eagerly started studying some basics on permaculture techniques and companion planting. I really love the notion of creating a healthy and self-sustaining garden which provides many functions both for wildlife and people.

a selection of the books I read to learn and get inspired

Then I made a first rough design of the future garden, which I guess will be a dynamic one adapted along the way based on observations and learning processes.
 

I created several main areas: the little orchard (North side), a little terrace area with a wall towards the South (South side of the shed), and the forest garden (North-West side), and the grass lawn with swings (South-West side). My main focus will be on the first three, but in between I will also try to improve the latter part.

My main aims are:

1. to turn the existing fruit orchard into a more self-supporting and healthy eco-system and replace the grass with guild plants (for protection, support, pollination, nutrition)

2. to create a quiet little terrace with a South wall (of the shed) with lots of bees and butterflies, lovely scents, and more sun loving plants, protected from the wind with shrubs and climbing plants, with shelters for solitary bees and butterflies

3. to make a small forest garden with horse shoe shaped beds (and maybe some swales), ending up in a herb spiral and a wild flower area for bees, butterflies and beneficiary insects

4. to reduce the grass covered area under trees and bushes as much as possible and use mulch layers and ground covering plants and bushes (many berries!) to achieve this 

5. to plant some extra bushes along the Southern fence for privacy and for wildlife

6. to make a compost area where I can store leaves, wood, grass, and plant tonics (and where I hope to make a hugelculture pile) covered from view by a low fence made of cut branches

7. to gather the rain water from the roof (and in the long run also re-use grey water) to water the plants

8. to install bird feeders and baths which can be moved around in the garden to fertilize soil where needed

9. to make piles of dead wood for wildlife and open the lower part of the fence for hedgehogs

10. to make nice constructions with willow branches for the grandchildren to play in
11. to connect to the neighbours and local similar initiatives

I know it sounds very ambitious, but with a little help from my teenage kids and with a long term perspective there is no need to get stressed. With a plan in mind, it is so much easier to take the first steps, like planting some pioneer plants and make the outlines of the future beds and paths.

I am not sure I dare to share my design and drawing of the future garden: it became quite difficult to decipher the scribbling on the different phases. At least for me it is readable and a nice item to frame one day ;-)