On 17th June 2024 I had a visit from Mihaela Tsarchinsk and Philip Varionov from the Green School Village and Permaculture Association of Bulgaria. We’d met previously at the European Permaculture Convergence in Bulgaria 10 years previously (she was the organizer). The purpose of the visit was to film my Permaculture LAND centre, The Edible Garden in Malvik. as part of a series of films of LAND centres in Norway, to inspire the establishment of a LAND network in Bulgaria. We visited all 3 gardens as they are all connected:We started at the Onion Garden Chicago at the NTNU Ringve Botanical Gardens, the Væres Venners community garden and last but not least The Edible Garden. Elin Tyse of Permaculture Association of Norway joined us. If you’ve got a bit of time to spare please join me on the tour which can now be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcCheUzMddQ WHAT IS LAND? There are now 5 videos available from different LAND centres across Norway made on the same trip: Eirik Lillebøe Wiken and Alvastien Telste; Robin Leeber and Holt Gård; Camilla Fauske and Nordre Holt Gård and Anne-Marit Skogly’s Hvaler Gjestehage at https://pab.greenschoolvillage.org/land-videos
Here are Elin, Mihaela and Philip in Trondheim during the visit:
Grand Opening of The Edible Garden Permaculture LAND Centre
(Thanks to Berit Børte, Kjell Hødnebø, Lone Dybdal, Elin Mar, Bell Batta Torheim, Inger Line Skurdal Ødegård and Margaret M. Anderson for the pictures )
Sunday 5th May was a cold showery day here in Malvik and the 3rd day of KVANN’s (Norwegian Seed Savers) annual meeting weekend in Trondheim and Malvik. This was also the day of the official opening of my garden as a Permaculture LAND centre, which was celebrated by a primula ribbon cutting ceremony and the LAND multi-species salad (how many ingredients? See below!). Meg had decorated the gate for the occasion, now a permanent feature:
25 participants from all over Norway met in the garden at 10:30. Due to the weather, we moved inside where I gave an introduction to how the garden had developed into a permaculture Forest Garden despite the fact that I knew nothing of permaculture principles! The rain eased off, so we moved outside for a walk and talk around the garden with focus on the plants. The album below shows some of the plants we talked about:
Lily White and blanched wild sea kale (strandkål)
The Legendary Moss-leaved Dandelion!
Hogweed has self-sown and is co-existing happily with some of my Hablitzias!
One of my Victory onions (seiersløk)
My collection of perennial kales, including my 6 year old Daubenton cross with Early sprouting broccoli producing masses of small broccolis! broccoli ee
Blanched Udo
My 16 year old Chinese walnut (Juglans cathayensis)
Ramsons (ramsløk)
In the most Forest Garden-like part of the garden!
Perennial kales
What’s happening here?
I had got up at 6 am to pick the ingredients for the multi-species salad we made for lunch (all 146 ingredients) to celebrate the garden’s LAND status!
LAND: Learning And Network Demonstration network – a network of permaculture sites. Sites are set up to show permaculture in practice to visitors and volunteers in a safe, accessible and inspiring way. There are a number of requirements to receive LAND certification, one of which was that I had to have a PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) which I took in 2017, sharing the teaching with Jan Bang (yes, I taught myself the plants part of the course!)
Before lunch, we had the official LAND opening ceremony for the Edible Garden, introduced by Eirik Lillebøe Wiken
of the Norwegian Permaculture Association,
The ribbon had been expertly made by Meg Anderson from flower shoots of Primula hybrids (cowslip, primrose, oxlip / marianøkleblom, kusymre, hagenøkleblom) :-)
David and Eirik presented me with two Sweet Chestnut trees and two cider apples. Thanks guys!
There was then a joint effort in my kitchen to put the salad together:
where I gave an introduction to how the garden had developed into a permaculture Forest Garden despite the fact that I knew nothing of permaculture principles! The rain eased off, so we moved outside for a walk and talk around the garden with focus on the plants. The album below shows some of the plants we talked about:
salad we made for lunch (all 146 ingredients) to celebrate the garden’s LAND status!
