Category Archives: Garden tour

Edible flowers, Garden tour, Salad

Daina and Martina

Leave a comment

My latest garden helper is Daina Binde from Latvia (recently: UK) and has impressed me by her plant knowledge! Like my last helper Lorna Marie O’Lynn, she was recommended to me by Mount Stewart’s (Northern Ireland) wonderful Mr Neil Porteous!! Anyone recommended by Neil can stay here :)
She was joined by Martina who discovered permaculture through working for 6 months on farms in New Zealand. The girls decorated tonight’s permadiversity salad!

P1610658 P1610661 P1610662 P1610663

Garden tour, Permaculture

Visiting the Koster Islands

2 Comments

Really looking forward to visiting the beautiful tranquil Koster Islands again at the end of April and Helena von Bothmer‘s permaculture centre and gardens there.  See the following FB event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1567806430183747

Here are a few pictures from my last trip two years ago, just for a visit…
More about the Koster Islands here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koster_Islands

1

North Koster

2
The unmanned ferry between North and South Koster

 

4
The local “talent”… checking that her husband’s not on his way back from fishing?
5
Wild Apple in flower?

3

6
Our stop on the Strømstad to Koster ferry
7
The Early Purple Orchids (Orchis mascula) were beautiful! There are several species of orchid on the islands.
8
Primula veris / Cowslip / Marinøkleblom in flower
9
Blackthorn / Slåpetorn
10
Bohuslän-Dals svarthöna, an old race that were apparently brought to Sweden from Mozambique in the 1600s (http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohuslän-Dals_svarthöna )
11
Magnificent fig / fiken
12
Figs / Fiken
13
Rotekte..comes true from shoots
14
Galinsoga parviflora is edible although I’ve yet to try it
15
Wonderful site of many edible annual opportunistic plants (aka weeds) “intercropped” with squash….increasing the total yield significantly
16
Helena von Bothmer amongst the perennials sales plants…
17
Planting parsley on a raised bed; notice the luxurious crop of ground elder / Skvallerkål / Kirskål ready to harvest on the right
19
Beautiful pond…..Helena has plans to develop an area of marginal edible water plants!
21
Medlar / Ekte Mispel with masses of flower buds, this will be beautiful in a couple of weeks..
23
Lonicera edulis / Haskap / Blåleddved in the new Forest Garden
24
Lisbeth Svendsen from Hvaler explains a method to protect tree roots against voles / jordrotter
25
Typha, the supermarket of the swamps!!
26
Bocking 14 Comfrey / Valurt…I visited the Bocking research grounds (HDRA) in Essex, England in 1979!!
27
Wool mulch!!
28
Excellent large greenhouse for producing food for the restaurant!!
29
Guldkannan literally means “Gold can” …guess what it’s used to collect ;)
30
Helena von Bothmer with Lisbeth Svendsen and daughter Nina from Hvaler…
31
Arriving back on the mainland….where I did my first Harryhandel (a slightly derogatory term for trips made by Norwegians over the border to Sweden to buy cheaper food and alcohol….Ours was an Økoharrytur (Organic food is also a lot cheaper and more is available in Sweden).

18

 

 

 

 

 

20 22

Garden tour, Talks

Edible garden tour at the Tromsø arctic-alpine botanic garden

Leave a comment

I’ll be in Tromsø on 22nd and 23rd June. On the 22nd at 1800… I’ll lead a tour around the botanical garden :) The focus will of course be on what food we can find amongst the garden’s impressive collections! I’m not sure if you need to be a member to join this tour.
The next day, there will be a course/talk, probably at Holt, also in Tromsø. More later about this.
Books will be for sale at kr. 200!

Jeg skal være i Tromsø 22. og 23. juni! Det blir hagevandring den 22. juni kl. 18 i Tromsøs arktisk-alpine botaniske hage. Vi skal selvsagt se hva vi finner av spiselige vekster i samlingene :) Jeg er ikke sikker på om man må være medlem av venneforeningen for å være med?
Dagen etter (23. juni) blir det et kurs/foredrag, sannsynligvis på Holt, Tromsø – mer informasjon kommer!
Bøker blir å få kjøpt til kr. 200!

https://www.facebook.com/events/784813474965299