http://www.care2.com/greenliving/forest-gardens.html
Forest Gardens
posted by Annie B. Bond Feb 2, 1999 5:48 am
Forests in nature are stable, productive, and biodiverse. The forest garden
emulates how forests grow, using the same principles. Forest gardens are not
necessary gardens in forests—one can be established in a small backyard—but
the model is the same.
The pioneer of forest gardening, Robert Hart, has identified the following seven forest
layers that combine to make a healthy forest ecosystem:
- Canopy: Trees and shrubs are the backbone of the forest garden. The canopy
consists of the tallest of these. Fruit trees are a great edible choice
- Understory (low-tree layer): Dwarf fruit and nut trees.
- Shrub Layer: Woody plants such as raspberries.
- Herbaceous Layer: Herbs and perennial vegetables.
- Vertical Layer: Climbing plants and vines.
- Ground layer: Groundcover creepers, no more than half a foot tall.
- Rhizosphere: Root plants such as carrots, beets, and Jerusalem artichokes.
While your forest
matures, your plants will change, just as happens in nature. To find species
native to your region, look in the native plant database at
The Wildflower Center.
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3 comments
add your comment »I have started a forest garden, though i already grow most of my own food.....I'm thinking of less work really, less mowing, I live just beside a wild forest and it is magical most times of the year. when i started planting my garden, it was a bare field and really saw more or less no wildlife, what a difference there is now, it is teeming with birds, butterflies, insects etc.
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my garden resembles a mini forest and all the neighbours gardens look so bare and empty. I love it, its getting hard to find somewhere else to plant more trees, but I always manage to find a little space. in summer its magical, woudl recommend this to anyone.
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This is a great idea, i had never thought about it before. i wanted to have a program where people pay my org to make there homes and yards green as part of our go green project. Thanx we will try this!
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