Some pictures taken on the beach and rocks below the house while being filmed yesterday harvesting seaweed!
Monthly Archives: July 2017
Low rainbow
Siskins and birch
Birch seed scales are currently falling in the garden thanks to the feeding of siskins (grønnsisik)….
Added videos of a siskin feeding on fallen birch seed next to the entrance to the garden…this one allowed me to stand only 2m away and film:
…and above the siskins were feeding in the birch trees
…joined briefly by a Robin
…and showing the proximity to the road
Filmed extreme salad!
This weekend, I have a film crew in the garden (more later) and a multi-species salad was of course on the agenda. We made this last night and it was served wild salmon that they had brought with them!! The resultant feast can be seen below! Apart from Begonia flowers, Stevia and Cuban oregano, everything is harvested outdoors and almost all are cold hardy perennials! A salad totally free of tomatoes and cucumber!
Early morning stars
Allium bouquet
La Ferme des Quatre Temps
The reason for my trip to Canada in March / April 2017 was because I was invited by Jean-Martin Fortier to visit and give a talk and discuss perennial vegetables at La Ferme des Quatre Temps, an amazing farm near Hemmingford, Quebec (south of Montreal and near the US border). Jean-Martin is well-known for his book “The Market Gardener” which has sold more than 80,000 copies! This album of pictures gives my impression of my short visit on the farm in very early spring, where a whole area is devoted to trialling permaveggies for the market, the best commercial operation I’ve seen! Thanks for the invite Jean-Martin!
This is the Wikipedia entry on the farm: “In the fall of 2015, Fortier was recruited by André Desmarais, Deputy Chairman, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation and son of Paul Desmarais Sr, to design and operate a model farm, La Ferme des Quatre-Temps, on a 167 acres property in Hemmingford, Quebec. The mission of the farm is to demonstrate how diversified small-scale farms, using regenerative and economically efficient agricultural practices, can produce a higher nutritional quality of food and more profitable farms. The farm consists of four acres of vegetable production; sixty acres of animal grazing rotation including beef, pigs and chickens, ten acres of fruit orchards, a culinary laboratory for processing and creating original products and a huge greenhouse to produce vegetables throughout the year. The principles of permaculture were applied to ensure ecosystem balance: flowers were planted, ponds were dug to accommodate frogs and birdhouses were built to naturally control the proliferation of pests. Ten bee hives have also been installed on the property to promote pollination and mobile chicken coops allow hens to roam from one pasture to another to feed the worms in manure from cows.”
Knut Langeland was here!
It was a thrill to suddenly find Knut Langeland on my door step, on the way to Tromsø! We spent a pleasant couple of hours chatting and looking round the garden!! It’s a few years since our paths last crossed, I know him best for his work on old Norwegian gardens and traditional garden plants for the Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre and others. He’s written and translated many books, written for gardening and other magazines etc (see https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knut_Langeland).
Perfect timing as I needed to talk to someone about Hurdal’s rectory garden (prestegårdshagen)….more of which later!!
Taraxacum “Hurdal Broad-leaved”
The Masonic Hall in Montreal
On 11th April 2017, I gave a talk to chefs, friends and with wine and good food in Montreal’s masonic hall ;)
Thanks to Michel Lachaume for organising! Many of the pictures below were taken by my new friends Nabaty (https://www.facebook.com/nabatyhomestead)
The pictures were first published on this album on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1380221232041612.1073741830.1011549635575442&type=1&l=571295504b