Case Study: Community Garden

This case study (from last month) is a concept for an existing community garden in north eastern Scotland, which wishes to improve the smaller existing space and expand into an adjacent site. The area shown to the west of the site, with the annual beds, currently has a number of raised beds. This design maximisesContinue reading “Case Study: Community Garden”

Harvesting Wild Blackberries

The first of the wild blackberries in my immediate area are ready to pick, and over the next few days I plan to make the most of this abundant wild harvest. Over the summer months, there have been plenty of wild foods to harvest. But the autumn is when foraging in my area really takesContinue reading “Harvesting Wild Blackberries”

Case Study: Healing, Herbal Perennial Garden

This is the concept design for a domestic forest garden and herbal garden for a ‘wise woman’ in Northern England. The client approached me to come up with a design which would provide as many perennial food sources and as many culinary and healing herbs as possible. She plans to set up a workshop atContinue reading “Case Study: Healing, Herbal Perennial Garden”

Soil Health and Fungal Ecology

A lot of people have been talking about fungi recently – some introduced to the topic by a recent documentary film. Fungi are amazing organisms and we should pay them more attention – for a range of reasons. Fungal ecology is important in a garden, but it is an element which is often overlooked. AContinue reading “Soil Health and Fungal Ecology”

Tips for Choosing Fruit Trees for Your Garden

As I wait for the fruit to ripen on the plum and apple trees in my own garden, I thought this would be a good time to share a few simple tips for choosing fruit trees for your own garden. Think about which fruits you actually like to eat. (I am not a particular fanContinue reading “Tips for Choosing Fruit Trees for Your Garden”

Grow More Fruit in Less Space

As you may have gathered from previous posts, I love to grow plenty of fruit in my garden. In my forest garden, I have many fruit producing plants – from trees, to shrubs – even fruiting ground cover plants. And I have plans to add even more. I recently purchased a few extra additions (includingContinue reading “Grow More Fruit in Less Space”

Lammas Harvesting and Planting

On Lammas, or Lughnasadh, it seems fitting that I spent some of my day in the garden. But on this traditional holiday of the harvest, I have not just been harvesting, but also planting too. This time of year is a time of year when many new gardeners who sowed in spring will be harvesting theContinue reading “Lammas Harvesting and Planting”

Case Study: Subtropical Australia Permaculture Garden

This higher level concept plan is for a garden in greater Brisbane, Australia. The clients were keen to develop a plan that would allow them to make the most of their garden – currently mostly laid to lawn. They wanted a lush and tropical feel and a space that they could use for recreation –Continue reading “Case Study: Subtropical Australia Permaculture Garden”

A Few Photos From the Forest Garden

It is a beautiful and very warm day today, and I thought that I would take the opportunity to take a few photos in the forest garden. Without much comment then, here are some images of my wild little food-filled ‘paradise’: Yes, it is wild and very overgrown at this time of year. Yes, thereContinue reading “A Few Photos From the Forest Garden”

Stocking the Pantry – The Redcurrant and Raspberry Harvests are Here

I recently wrote an article on preserves in my pantry for Treehugger, and I am now anticipating another busy weekend picking and preserving. While the raspberries outside are not quite ready yet, there are still lots of wild raspberries to pick in the polytunnel, I’ve picked the first few red currants and will be pickingContinue reading “Stocking the Pantry – The Redcurrant and Raspberry Harvests are Here”