I was chuffed to be asked to be “support act” along with Anders Borgen on the last date of landrace gardener Joseph Lofthouse’s European tour in Copenhagen on 20th October! I therefore broke my decision not to travel outside of Norway to give talks, in particular as I can get there by train Looking forward to a great day and meeting old friends again! See you there?
More information:
https://hrs.dk/future-heirloom
Around the garden in 40 plants
To celebrate 40 years since I and my then wife Eileen bought Bergstua (literally house on the rock) and the garden that became The Edible (Forest) Garden, I endeavoured during the second of the two garden tours (as part of økouka – organics week) to talk about 40 of the plants in the garden during the 90 minute tour (see below)…and underway I discovered two firsts for the garden! Next time I must do an Around the Garden in 80 plants tour (it’s soon the 10th anniversary of my book!)….but would anyone come to a 3 hour tour?
Curious about what plants I talked about on this mid-September day, then scroll down as I list and have added notes about all 40!
…and another lovely group of participants took part on this special Saturday garden tour:
Here are the plants and subjects I talked about:
1. Urtica dioica, stinging nettle / brennesle and plant #1 for biodiversity in the garden: 60+ moth and butterfly larvae feed on this plant and various birds like bullfinch and redpoll (dompap og gråsisik) feed on the seeds in winter; I don’t cut down this patch in good view of the kitchen window for winter bird watching:
2. Urtica gracilis, California nettle, slender nettle is considered a subspecies of dioica and reaches over 3m in my garden on dry soil:
3. Salix caprea, goat willow / selje; even though not edible for us, it’s another key species for biodiversity important for wild bees, bumble bees and other insects, including 60 moths feeding on the catkins in mid-April and as a larval food plants and in turn for insectivorous birds, many of which like the chiffchaff (gransanger) arrive as the flowers open. I have several large trees in the garden:4. Vicia faba, broad beans / bondebønner; the authorities recommend that we eat more climate friendly / healthy vegetarian and vegan foods, yet much of this food is imported. Broad (fava) beans were the original hummus / felafel bean and we should be growing them in a big way, even here along the Trondheimsfjord where I live; this is the diverse local grex I’ve developed here, currently drying for seed and winter dishes:5. Phaseolus coccineus, runner beans / løpebønner; I’m also developing a local early land race that produces ripe beans here:6. Cichorium intybus, chicory / sikori; one of my favourite vegetables with bitterness lacking in modern diets. It’s a versatile vegetable and salad crop with hundreds of varieties that I’m trialling; is easy to save seed from and when in flower in late summer is loved by hoverflies – I also have perennial plants that have naturalised here:
7. Allium cernuum, nodding or Chicago onion / prærieløk is probably my favourite and most used perennial onion; it’s super-hardy, can be harvested all winter, tolerates also heat and drought, is a fast grower and is one of the best edientomentals (edible, pollinator friendly and ornamental):
8. Allium wallichii, Sherpa or Nepal onion / Sherpaløk; see my book and search on this blog for much more about this great Allium; I talked about the pleasure of the Nepalese botanist and his wife who visited my garden and met this onion (Jimmu) for the first time, despite having eaten it all their lives – they had never been to the high elevations where this plant grows and is grown for markets, destined for lentil soup.
9. Allium stipitatum, Persian shallot is one of the ornamental onions that are commonly sold in garden centres in autumn; they are productive, quickly multiplying here. They are used in the Iranian national dish yogurt and Persian shallot dip (Mast-o Mooseer) and often spiced up with the delicious ground seeds of Tromsø-palm (Heracleum persicum) or golpar! I showed both the spice and seeds of another Heracleum species that we use daily in various dishes, replacing cumin.10. Heracleum sphondylium, hogweed / kystbjørnekjeks: probably the most important plant in the garden for a wide range of pollinators – several rare hoverflies, wasps and wild bees have turned up in the umbels; it also flowers over a very long period and provides me also with golpar (see #9) and delicious spring shoots. It’s flowered this year continuously in the garden from June this year:
11. Allium victorialis, victory onion / seiersløk; see my book and search the web site for more information. Another great edientomental!
12. Hosta sieboldiana “Big Daddy”; the perennial vegetable that really shows the benefits, attractive, tasty plants that can be grown in places like the shady, north side of your house where you wouldn’t dream of growing annuals, never need irrigation, may well outlive you and are, surprisingly, very nutritious and productive. Cultivated as sansai vegetables in a big way in the mountains in Japan. See my book and search this web page for much more. 13. Malva moschata, musk mallow / moskuskattost is my favourite Malvaceae; can be used throughout the summer (flowers and young seed pods can also be eaten).
14.Malva alcea, hollyhock mallow / rosekattost; as Malva moschata
15-16. Aster scaber and Aster yomena are two tall autumn flowering species currently brightening up the garden; the former is a very important cultivated pring vegetable in Korea (see more in my book), the latter is wild foraged in Japan:17. Rudbeckia laciniata, Cherokee spinach, sochan / kyss-meg -over-gjerde, gjerdesolhatt; perhaps the most commonly grown ornamental in Norwegian gardens since 1900 is the most important vegetable for the Cherokee people of the Appalachian mountains; is now being cultivated commercially in Korea.
18. Vitis coignetiae, crimson glory vine, Japanvin (can be seen in the background of the picture above); the grapes are small and my plant hasn’t produced any – leaves can be used as wraps.
19. Ligularia fischeri; gomchwi, Korea-nøkketunge; an important cultivated vegetable in Korea (king of the sannamul or mountain vegetables). More on my web site.
20. Dahlia, georginer; came to Europe originally as a tuber crop but was outcompeted by potato.
21. Secale “Mountaineer”, perennial rye / flerårige rug: we talked about the benefits of perennial grains which can give large savings in fuel, watering and fertiliser as with all perennial crops (both perennial barley and wheat have also been created but developments are slow)22. Solanum lycopersicum, tomato / tomat; we talked about two varieties (shown in the picture) that I’d recently harvested: large German Pink was the first edible to be saved and offered through Seed Savers Exchange in 1973. I was gifted seed through SSE when I visited in 2019 and it is now greenhouse grown by several in KVANN (Norwegian Seed Savers); mine were grown indoors. The smaller tomato is probably the best early, cold tolerant variety I’ve grown (starting with 10 varieties 3 years ago, these along with 42 days and Turbo Reaktniy ripened outside in mid-August). 23. Fagopyrum tataricum, tartary buckwheat / vill bokhvete; I collect the seed which are used to produce buckwheat sprouts in winter in the living room; I’m also trying different varieties looking for best varieties for popping!
24. Fagopyrum acutatum, perennial buckwheat / flerårige bokhvete; used as a vegetable rather than a grain plant.
25. Campanula rapunculoides, creeping bellflower / ugressklokke; this is the only flowering bellflower at the moment, but isn’t the best edible bellflower – my favourite is giant bellflower / storklokke Campanula latifolia which has a long history of use in Norway, in particular, the sami people in the south and, historically, also Norwegians in my area harvested leaves to use in springtime soups.
26. Gunnera tinctoria is known as nalca in Chile where the leaf stems are sold on markets, used in the national dish curanto, a fish and meat stew; at this time of year the stems are rather fibrous, but can be used to quench the thirst. We sampled one of the stems and the taste was rather neutral with no sense of sweetness or sourness I’ve tasted before (participants got the quenching the thirst thing!):27. Actinidia deliciosa, kiwi fruit; I germinated some seeds from a supermarket kiwi 30 years ago, accidentally left the resulting young plants outside all winter and they survived and are still alive today on the house wall – no chance of any fruit here as our summers are too cold and you need two compatible plants, but the one surviving plant flowers every summer.
28.Staphylea pinnata, bladdernut / blærenøtt; it’s 17 years now since I planted this tree and it produces many small nuts that taste a bit like pistachios, but they are really too small to be useful. On the other hand, the young shoots and flowers are very tasty.29. Taraxacum sp., dandelion / løvetann; I showed these boxes which contain 22 dandelion species which I received as seed from a dandelion specialist in the UK, all formally identified this will allow me to more easily follow and learn the ID key in the Field Handbook to British and Irish Dandelions :) 30. Hablitzia tamnoides, Caucasian spinach / stjernemelde – as usual I told the story of my favourite perennial vegetable, still after 23 years as productive as ever and reaching 3m each summer on this shady wall (more in my book and this web site); I here introduced the role of Fredrik Christian Schübeler botanical garden in Oslo in the late 1800s in our knowledge of this plant as one of the best perennial vegetables today; this also lead to my involvement in recreating Schübelers hager, a network of inspiration gardens in Norway inspired by Schübelers own network of rectory gardens to which all my 3 gardens belong; see https://kvann.no/schubeler/om-schubelers-hager:31. Ribes divaricatum “Worcesterberry”; all participants sampled my Worcesterberries which will hang on the bushes until the first hard frosts:
32. Arctium lappa, greater burdock / storborre is one of the best edi-ento-avi-mentals – edible roots and flower stems, pollinator friendly and bird friendly as well as being an attractive (interesting) plant. The plant in the picture was planted there easily seen from my living room in winter when goldfinches / stillits arrive to feed on the oil-rich seeds:33. Scorzonera hispanica, scorzonera, scorsonerrot; the last flowers on this great long-lived perennial vegetable (much more in my book):34 – 35. Aralia cordata, udo is my largest perennial veg and is seen here at 23 years old with Aroma apples (Malus domestica) in the part of the garden that is most like a mature productive forest garden with all the layers of edible plants – lesser celandine / vårkål; ground elder / strutsevinge; ostrich fern / strutsevinge; giant bellflower / storklokke; Aralia racemosa, cordata and elata; redcurrant and blackcurrant etc. and goat willow / selje towering above. Ironically, I spent a whole summer terracing above this part of the garden, the steepest and now most productive! I talked also about how the first permaculturists visiting the garden in the mid-2000s after an appearance on Norwegian TV and a 3 part article on the Edible Garden in the national gardening magazine Hagetidend, told me that I had a forest garden! The garden is now also part of the permaculture LAND Centre network.
36. Castanea sativa, sweet chestnut / edelkastanje; as I was showing the participants this part of the garden my eyes rested on my first sweet chestnut on a tree I planted, from woodland in Southern England, in May 2008 at 4 years old.37. Received as Juglans cathayensis , Chinese walnut / Kinesisk valnøtt (the tree is laden again this year with the chestnut seen at the far left)38. Corylus colurna, Turkish hazel / Tyrkisk hassel:39. Rhus typhina, staghorn sumac / hjortesumak (we tasted “lemonade” bush)40. Malus fusca, Oregon crabapple, Pacific crabapple; I don’t think fruits on this tree had fully ripened before and I thought the taste was quite pleasant:
.
Garden tours in Økouka
We’ve opened the garden many times over the last 25 years as part of Økouka (organics week) and before that as part of Økologisk Hagebrukskampanjen (the organic gardening campaign). Last night (18th September 2024) was the first of two garden tours in my Edible (Forest) Garden this week and once again a great group of folk had signed up. In addition, Beatrice from NIBIO took part to make a short film with focus on soil as part of the EU project Prepsoil. There’s still a few places left on the second tour on Saturday at 11 and there will also be a garden tour at my main focus at the moment, the Væres Venners Felleshagen (community garden) at Ranheim on Sunday at 1400 (just come along if interested). All tours are in Norwegian with English plant names if necessary.
Plant sale, perennial vegetables including many Alliums!
Mine Økouka Trøndelag arrangementer 2024
(Note that there will be an extra tour for English speakers on Tuesday)
Det blir en travel uke i neste uke for KVANN Trøndelag med hagevandringer i alle mine 3 hager, hjemme i The Edible Garden, i Væres Venners Felleshagen på Ranheim og i Løkhagen Chicago i Ringve Botaniske Hagen i Trondheim!
VEL MØTT!
15. september, kl 11-15 KVANN (Margaret, Judit og meg) deltar med stand under Natur- og hagefestival på Ringve førstkommende søndag 15. september fra 11-15. Vi skal stå like ved løkhagen og jeg skal også vise rundt i Løkhagen Chicago kl 1400; vi selger som vanlig et mangfold av flerårige grønnsaker med fokus på Allium og særlig natur og pollinator vennlige grønnsaker!
17. september, kl 17 Garden tour at Væres Venners Community Garden at Ranheim for English speakers. THIS IS AN EXTRA TOUR BY REQUEST AND NOT ANNOUNCED YET BY ØKOUKA! Just turn up if you’d like to join us! For location see https://www.google.com/maps/place/63%C2%B025’56.8%22N+10%C2%B034’08.9%22E/@63.4324562,10.566571,682m
18.september, kl 17 Hagevandring #1 i Den Spiselige Hagen. For flere informasjon og påmelding, gå til https://www.okouka.no/lokale-oekouker/oekouka-troendelag/program/hagevandring-1-i-den-spiselige-hagen
21.september, kl 11 Hagevandring #2 i Den Spiselige Hagen. For flere informasjon og påmelding, gå til https://www.okouka.no/lokale-oekouker/oekouka-troendelag/program/hagevandring-2-i-den-spiselige-hagen/
22. september, kl 14 Hagevandring i Væres Venners Felleshagen på Ranheim. For flere informasjon gå til https://www.okouka.no/lokale-oekouker/oekouka-troendelag/program/hagevandring-i-vaeres-venners-felleshagen/
78th Birthday Party Salad
In connection with my daughter Hazel’s birthday yesterday, she wanted me to make a salad for her and her friends she’d invited for dinner, so no birthday cake, it was a birthday salad with candle, and 78 ingredients was the plan! 78? Well, it was a double celebration as this week was also 40 years since the titles to my house were signed over to us by the previous owner Ragnhild Austvik. I told Hazel it would be a 78th birthday party and didn’t reveal all until we were at the dinner table! She didn’t guess why, believing I’d miscalculated as the combined age with her brother (his birthday is on Monday) would be 79, although on her birthday it was still 78, so it could have been that! So, here’s the over-the-top flowery salad I put together with ingredients list below the pictures (yes, I miscalculated and it turned out to be more than 78…40 more in fact ;))
Ingredients:
FLOWERS
1-3. Dahlia; Georginer (3 varieties)
4-6. Begonia (3 var.)
7. Malva alcea (hollyhock mallow; rosekattost)
8. Althaea officinalis (marshmallow; legestokkrose)
9-11. Raphanus sativus (rasish; reddik) (3 var.)
12. Apium graveolens (celery; seller)
13. Spilanthes oleracea (toothache plant; tannpineplante)
14-17. Lycopersicon esculentus (tomato; tomat) (4 varieties: Tante Cis, Linda Sibirsk, Sjokolade Plummer and German Pink)
18. Oxalis triangularis “Rubra”
19. Impatiens glandulifera (Himalayan balsam; kjempespringfrø)
20. Pelargonium
21. Brassica nigra (black mustard; svart sennep)
22-26. Hemerocallis (day lily; daglilje) (4 varieties / species)
27-28. Allium wallichii (Sherpa onion; Sherpaløk) (2 var.)
29. Sedum
30-32. Hosta (3 var.)
33. Calendula officinalis (marigold; ringblomst)
34. Fedia cornucopiae (African valerian)
35. Fuchsia magellanica
36. Diplotaxis tenuifolia (perennial rocket; flerårig rucola)
37. Oenothera biennis (evening primrose; nattlys)
38-39. Chrysanthemum coronarium (shungiku; kronkrage) (2 var.)
40-41. Mentha sp. (2 var.)
42-45. Allium schoenoprasum (chives; gressløk) (4 var.)
46. Tulbaghia violacea (society garlic)
47. Allium montanostepposum
48. Allium thunbergii
49. Allium cernuum x stellatum “Hammer”
50. Allium fistulosum “Salatniy” (Welsh onion; pipeløk)
51. Allium spirale
52. Allium nutans x senescens
53. Allium suaveolens
54. Allium cyaneum
55. Allium moschatum
56. Allium lusitanicum (German garlic; kantløk)
57. Allium boreale (Arctic chives; sibirgressløk)
58. Taraxacum officinale (dandelion; løvetann)
LEAVES
59. Aegopodium officinale (dandelion; løvetann)
60. Allium x cornutum (St. John’s onion; Johannesløk)
61-62. Allium thunbergia agg. (2 var.)
63. Allium schoenoprasum
64. Allium tuberosum (Chinese chives; kinagressløk)
65. Allium spirale
66. Allium fistulosum “Mysusæter” (roof onion; takløk)
67. Allium nutans x senescens
68. Allium schoenoprasum ssp. sibiricum (Japanese chives; Japangressløk)
69. Allium x proliferum (walking onion; luftløk)
70. Allium fistulosum x pskemense (Wietse’s onion; Wietsesløk)
71. Allium lusitanicum (German garlic; kantløk)
72. Allium hookeri var muliense (yellow Hooker’s onion; Gul Hookersløk)
73. Gynostemma pentaphyllum (sweet tea vine)
74-76. Brassica oleracea (perennial kale; flerårige kål) (3 var.)
77. Oxalis tuberosa (oca; oka)
78. Spilanthes oleracea (toothache plant; tannpineplante)
79. Coriandrum sativum (coriander; coriander)
80. Artemisia dracunculus sativa “German” (German tarragon; tysk estragon)
81. Anethum graveolens (dill)
82. Aegopodium podograria (ground elder; skvallerkål)
83. Stellaria media (chickweed;
84. Lactuca sativa (lettuce; salat)
85-88. Apium graveolens (celery; selleri) (4 var)
89. Oxalis sp.
90. Vitis vinifera (grape vine; drue)
91-94. Pisum sativum (pea; ert) (4 var.)
95. Petroselinum sativum (parsley; persille)
96-97. Cucumis sativus (cucumber; agurk) (2 varieties: Passandra and Epleagurk)
98-99. Brassica rapa (turnip ; nepe) (2 var.)
100. Plectranthus amboinicus (Cuban oregano)
101. Basella rubra
102. Oenanthe javanica (seri)
103. Angelica archangelica “Vossakvann” (Garden angelica; Vossakvann)
104. Brassica oleracea “Ragged Jack kale” (kale; grønnkål)
105. Campanula rapunculoides (creeping bellflower; ugressklokke)
106. Malva moschata (musk mallow; moskuskattost)
107. Sanguisorba minor (salad burnet; pimpernel)
108. Campanula punctata
109. Rumex patientia (patience dock; hagesyre)
110. Rumex scutatus (French sorrel; Fransksyre)
111. Sonchus oleraceus (common sow thistle; haredylle)
112. Nasturtium officinale (watercress; grønn engelskkarse)
113-114. Mentha sp. (mint; mynte)
115. Ribes divaricatum (Worcesterberry; Worcesterbær)
116. Rubus idaeus (raspberry; bringebær)
117. Prunus domestica “Sviskeplomme” (plum; plomme)
118. Ficus carica “Bornholm” (fig; fiken)
Nytt fra KVANNs hager og samlinger hos Væres Venner i Trondheim
KVANN Trøndelag med meg selv i spissen har etablert en del samlinger av nytteplanter og driver også en del forsøk og prosjekter med støtte fra Sparebankstiftelsen gjennom Schübelers hager
Her finner dere en oversikt over det som skjer i hagen denne sommeren.
Besøk
Hagen er fritt tilgjengelig for publikum og vi arrangerer hagevandringer, kurs og friluftsdager. Sommeren 2024 tok vi imot grupper av innvandrere fra både Trondheim og Malvik. Det er arrangert to hagevandringer for medlemmer av Trondheim Sopp og Nyttevekstforening i mai og august samt for deltagere av Nyttevekstreffet i juni. Den siste planlagte hagevandring arrangeres søndagen 22. september kl 14 som en del av Økouka. Det ble også arrangert Pollinatortelling i samarbeid med La Humla Suse i begynnelsen av juli.
Se også Arche Noah besøker Trøndelag
Verdenshagen
Hagen fortsetter å vokse seg til og det er plantet en god del nytt denne sommeren og det er laget flere planteskilt.
Av mer eksotiske nytteplanter er det plantet en kuldetolerant variant av sukkerrør, søtpotet samt Kinesisk yams (Dioscorea polystachya) og adlay / Jobs tårer Coix lacryma-jobi (en sort fra Japan). Sistnevnte er en flerårig kornvekst Poaceae. To sorter Cyperus esculentus (chufa eller tigernøtter) fra starrfamilien er også plantet: knollene er søte og gode.
KVANNs Grønnsaksreservat og forsøksfelt
Det var en kald vinter og ingen av våre flerårige kål overlevd ute. Heldigvis har de fleste sortene overlevd som stiklinger og et nytt felt med 9 sorter er plantet samt en vill art, Brassica cretica. Interessant nok resisterte sistnevnte angrepet av kålmøll – smaken er mer bitter enn de øvrige sortene.
Etter vi startet med utprøving av ca 15 sorter gamle nepesorter for 3 år siden satser vi nå videre med følgende sorter som vokser bra hos oss (frøoppformeres lokalt fremover): Korova fra Sverige (veldig store neper med god smak), Norsk Elite, Målselvnepe “Væres Venners”-linjen (utgangspunkt var 5 sorter fra Nordgen), Svedjenepe “Væres Venner” og en lokal Snøball-nepe. Nytt i år er at vi tester sorten “Gränsrova” fra Sesam, en sort som var / er dyrket nær grensen til Norge på Østlandet.
Vi tester videre 3 kålrotsorter som er lovende fra tidligere forsøk: Bangholm Sandnes, Bangholm Vereide (fra Nordgen) samt svensk Baggens fra Sesam.
I år var det dyrket 21 sorter erter inkl. følgende norske sorter: Norrøna, Carlinert, Askerert (Ringeriksert?), Tidlig Lav, Engelsk Sabel Grimstad, Lomsert, Slikkerter fra Våler , Tidlig Sabel fra Kvithammer, Tidlig Grønn Sabel og Japansk Margert fra Tingvoll (sistnevnt oppdaget vi ifjor, hadde kommet til Tingvoll rundt 1920 fra USA).
Medlemmer av felleshagen har ikke lov å dyrke med noen form for plastdekke (ingen fiberduk er tillatt pga mikroplast) og da kan dyrking av gulrot og pastinakk være utfordrende pga angrep av gulrotflue. Derfor har vi et forsøk i samarbeid med medlemmer hvor vi bruker og sammenligner forskjellige metoder for å slippe eller redusere angrep: vi kjøpte inn forskjellige sorter som skal ha en viss resistens: Fly Away, Maestro, Ibiza og Resistafly; det dyrkes i opphøyde bed (pallekarm) fordi fluen skal fly lavt og på den måten ikke oppdager plantene; samplanting med Tagetes lucida.
Vi prøver to sorter bindsalat (celtuce) som er en variant av vanlig salat (Lactuca sativa) som er selektert for de tykke stilkene. Den kinesiske sorten “Kinesisk Keule” har vokst best og jeg håper at frøene modnes før frosten!
Forsøket med frilandstomatene fortsetter (dyrkes ved siden av en steinmur som magasinerer varmen). De tidligste sortene fra forsøk de to siste årene er med videre: 42 days, Linda Sibirsk og Turbo Reakivny som alle har gitt gode avlinger fra midten av august.
Det er satt igang forsøk med tidlige lave sorter solsikker med tanke på at frøene vil modne slik at fuglene og særlig stillitsen kan få lokal produsert mat til vinteren.
Vi fortsetter seleksjon av en fargerik landsort bondebønner og et nytt forsøk med tidlige sorter bondebønner med tanke på en sort som kan dyrkes enda lengre nord. 7 sorter var sådd i slutten av mars, både kommersielle sorter som Hangdown, Express og De Monica og fra den tyske genbanken IPK Gatersleben. Feltet var høstingsklar allerede i midten av august! De øvrige bondebønnene var sådd i slutten av mai for å unngå at sortene fra de to forsøkene krysset seg med hverandre.
Vi fortsetter også i år med seleksjon av en tidlig landsort løpebønner (Phaseolus coccineus) som tok utgangspunkt i bønner som modnet ifjor fra ca 20 tidlige sorter fra IPK Gatersleben og andre kilder.
Vi oppformerer to nye gamle virusrenset sjalottsorter fra Anders Nordrum – Ørskog og Luntvika
Vi fortsetter dyrking av spennende sikori sorter, både en lokal Witloof landrase (for innedriving vinterstid), rotsikori sorten Soncino som brukes som rotgrønnsak og diverse andre spennende bladsikori sorter som ikke går i stokk hos oss. Vi dyrker videre til frø i 2025.
Vi fortsetter dyrking av ettårige (tidlig) svartrot (Scorzonera hispanica).
Det er også igangsatt et forsøk med 36 sorter pipeløk (Allium fistulosum) sådd og plantet ut i august og høstet til våren som ekte “vårløk”.
Bærbusker, frukttrær og nøttetrær
Områdene i felleshagen satt av til frukt, bær og nøtter nærmerer seg fullt. Det siste området i sør plantes opp nå i august og september deriblant Hjertenøtt sortene Kalmar og CW3, Valnøtt Haratun og Goumi (Elaeagnus multiflora) sorten Red Cherry.
North American Forest Garden
On the Eastern boundary at the Væres Venner community garden in Trondheim, I wanted to develop a small forest garden devoted to edible plants of the first peoples in North America. Two years ago I planted two of them which now have berries for the first time!
They are
a) Purple flowering raspberry / rosebær (Rubus odoratus), a species which is often planted as an ornamental in Norway, usually a single clone so most are not aware that is has tasty fruit. With this in mind I germinated seed from the NARGS seed list, sown in January 2022 which germinated late May the same year and were planted out in May 2023, so just two years from seed to the first berries.
b) Black hawthorn / Douglashagtorn (Crataegus douglasii): this is given 4 out of 5 stars at https://pfaf.org/User/plant.aspx… and after my first taste I agree with their assessment: they would make a good addition to a mixed fruit salad. No wonder this berry was widely used by native americans including the Cheyenne.
I now plan to prepare the area around the trees for perennial vegetables from the same area!
More fruit and berry leather
The least scarce moth is the Scarce Silver Y
Back from the UK and the first night I put out the moth trap on 15th / 16th August (they are released again) I was surprised to find that scarce silver Y moths / skogmetallfly (Syngrapha interrogationis) were everywhere and a count yielded 53 moths of this species. My previous highest count was 22 in August 2022, so I wondered how unusual this was. A quick check on our national species reporting database artsobservasjoner.no and it turns out this was the highest number ever recorded in Norway – next highest was 50 in 1997 in southern Norway and then 25 in Namsos, north of here. This is a moorland species and the larvae live on heather, bilberry and bog bilberry (røsslyng, blåbær og blokkebær) although a Swedish page mentions that they can also live on birch; see https://vilkenart.se/Art.aspx?Namn=Syngrapha%20interrogationis
This is a regular visitor in my garden in small numbers and both the high counts were made with the moth trap very close to a large Buddleja davidii in full flower. I haven’t yet seen them on the Buddleja, but I found at least one picture of this species on Buddleja, see https://www.lepidoptera.no/omrade/?a_id=1018865, so I guess this is what is attracting them as my garden is a few kilometres away from its moorland habitat, unless they have adopted birch in the garden.
At the same time there are less than normal numbers of its cousin silver y (gammafly) and large yellow underwing (hagebåndfly) both of which frequent the Buddleja, sometimes in large numbers! Scarce silver Y is largely a night flyer as is large yellow underwing whereas silver Y flies both night and day!
Edible Plants at RHS Wisley Gardens; June 2013
A visit to RHS Wisley near Woking just outside London on 28th June 2013, one of my favourite gardens for edibles spotting….I’m resurrecting this album which I only posted on Facebook at the time.