At the Væres Venner community garden on the outskirts of Trondheim at Ranheim in an area we hope will remain a green belt, I have been working to create what we call Verdenshagen (The World Garden) in collaboration with KVANN (Norwegian Seed Savers) and Schübelers nettverk. This is a network of gardens throughout Norway which is being launched in June 2021 in honour of Fredrik Christian Schübeler (1815-1892) was a botanist and professor at the University in Christiania (now Oslo) and director of the Botanical Gardens for nearly 30 years from 1863. He established a network of gardens throughout Norway, often in collaboration with prestegård (rectory gardens) to test out new plants of economical importance (both ornamentals and edibles). Our new network is also planned centred around rectory gardens and other gardens to demonstrate and inspire to grow new plants but also to conserve old varieties of food plants and ornamentals. See more at https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=no&u=https://kvann.no/schubeler The World Garden is basically a 12 m diameter circle where the centre represents the North Pole and houses a garden of Arctic food plants. Largely perennial vegetables are being planted geographically around the circle, currently some 80 plants, many of which can be read about inspired by my own book Around the World in 80 plants (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=30). The garden is surrounded by over 100 old and new fruit, berry and nut trees and another demonstration garden for annual crops. The intention is to add pictures to the album below throughout the year from the World Garden. Our focus is also in creating and improving the habitat at Være for other wildlife, so there will also be pictures of insects, birds and other creatures.
Drone picture from summer 2020
A new sign was put up in spring 2021!
060621: The king of vegetables Sea kale / strandkål (Crambe maritima)
060621: Sea kale / strandkål (Crambe maritima)
060621: Cusick’s quamash / stjernehyasint (Camassia cusickii “Zwanenburg”). Camassias were important staple food plants for various Native American peoples although this species didn’t have the best tasting bulbs.
060621: Hydrophyllum appendiculatum (Great waterleaf); Indian salad is from North America
060621: The garden pebble / Kålpyralide Evergestis forficalis (the larvae feed on leaves in the cabbage family)
060621: Probably the beetle Oedemera virescens on dandelion
060621: Probably the beetle Oedemera virescens on dandelion
080621: Udo / Japansk asparges (Aralia cordata) in the Ginseng family is my largest vegetable and can reach 2-3m tall in the course of a few weeks in early summer. I’ve planted 4 in the World Garden and they are growing well!
080621:First flowering of Hemerocallis middendorfii (Amur daylily / Amurdaglilje) is one of the species cultivated for its edible flowers.
130621: Hemerocallis dumortiei (en botanisk daglilje)
130621: Hemerocallis middendorfii (en botanisk daglilje)
130621: Mitsuba / Japansk persille (Cryptotaenia japonica “Atropurpurea” er en viktig grønnsak i Japan.
130621: Allium victorialis is now in full flower
130621: The base of the Voss Angelica (Vossakvann) plants
130621: Musk mallow / moskuskattost (Malva moschata); I love the unopened flower buds in stir-fry dishes
130621: Musk mallow / moskuskattost (Malva moschata); I love the unopened flower buds in stir-fry dishes
130621: Scorzonera / scorsonerrot eller svartrot
130621: Ostrich fern / strutseving symmetry
130621: Noticed this green hairstreak ( grønnstjertvinge resting on the fern
130621: Noticed this green hairstreak ( grønnstjertvinge resting on the fern
130621: Angelica flowers are very popular with insects; here a honey bee / honningbie
130621: White-tailed bumblebee / lys jordhumle (Bombus lucorum) on Angelica
130621: One of the tumbling flower beetles / blomsterbille (Anastis spp.)
130621: Diamond back moth / kålmøll are back
130621: Slugs and snails are naturaland important parts of the ecosystem; here a friendly svartskogsnegl / black slug
130621: I’ve not seen this species in my own garden. I’m pretty sure it’s a Common garden slug / gulsåleskogsnegl (Arion distinctus); it can sometimes be a problem in gardens
130621: I also found a great grey slug or leopard slug / boasnegl eller leopardsnegl (Limax maximus); this species is also generally a helpful slug
It was the first time I cycled to my office at the Ringve Botanical Garden today and I took the opportunity to see how the new Væres Venner community garden was looking (starting this year east of Ranheim at Være) . The snow had gone! At the entrance to the garden (Væres Venner) we will plant our World Edible Garden (Verdenshage) – large circular bed with the centre representing the north pole and mainly edible perennials distributed according to where they grow or are used in the Northern Hemisphere (see the first video below, where you can see an inner circle where we planted temporarily some 60 different plants in the autumn…and some are still ALIVE)!!
We have also purchased a couple of hardy walnuts and various hazel cultivars which will be planted along with many other fruit and berry bushes! I’m helping to design and develop the garden with a great group of enthusiasts and I hope that it will be formally adopted as one of KVANNs Vegetable Sanctuaries (KVANN=Norwegian Seed Savers)
Hablitzia tamnoides (Caucasus!) has survived!
Moon garden?
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden