I’d followed KVANN (Norwegian Seed Savers) member Per Hofsli on social media for some time for his interest in nut trees and I’d learned that he was even grafting for sale, not the easiest of genera to graft as the process needs warmth. I was therefore pleased to be given a tour of his garden in Asker (Oslo) on 20th August when I was in Oslo for KVANNs herb seminar at Linderud Gård. Although most are still young trees, it was truly impressive to see all the nut trees in his garden including many varieties of walnuts, heartnuts, buartnuts ( ), chestnut, hazel and almonds. However, most impressive was his amazing collection of fig varieties and my visit was perfectly timed to be able to sample some of the best tasting figs I’ve ever eaten, in particular one (Campaniere) that had a rich honey taste. He grows them in large pots and brings them in for the winter as outside they freeze back to the roots and don’t then manage to ripen by the autumn. There were also a number of varieties of aubergine and a wonderful “family” pear tree, to which he had grafted on 15 varieties!!! I came away with a dwarf walnut created by Lars Westergaard: Mini Multiflora #14, grafted by Per (thanks!), a variety I believe I saw when I visited Westergaard’s nursery in 2016: https://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=6438 I didn’t take many pictures as it was raining a bit. I hope I will be able to revisit in 10 years to see how this place has developed :)
Per and part of the fig collection
The apricots were unfortunately not ripe….
Walnut with galls caused by one of the walnut gall mites, a tiny, sap-sucking insect that causes blister-like swellings on the upper surface of the leaves. They don’t hurt the trees.
A family pear tree on which Per had grafted several varieties.
Almonds
One of the aubergines
Fig tasting, Campaniere is at the bottom and had an incredible taste!
An album of pictures from my short Perennialen II visit with Eirik Lillebøe Wiken and Hege Iren Svendsen at and around Alvastien Telste in Hardanger. Impressive nature, good beer and fruit, good company and just relaxing this time! It poured with rain on the morning that we’d planned to look properly around the Forest Garden, so that will have to wait for next year! Watch this space for the announcement of the next Perennialen event at this wonderful place, now a Permaculture LAND centre, next summer!! Hope to see you there!
Returning to nature
This climber had broken into the house, but it looks like someone has pruned the outside growth away from the window!
Hops
Steinstø “Fruit and cake shop” :) had a good selection of varieties of locally grown fruit!
Ramsons puree!
The road to Hege and Eirik’s LAND centre
The road to Hege and Eirik’s LAND centre
Eirik in the local beer drinking costume ;)
Bedroom view :)
Record rainfall recently and the waterfalls are full…there’s a minihydro scheme up there!
Old walls/terassing are protected
Stunning engineering, pylons way up on the mountainside…
Aralia elata (Devil’s walking stick / fandens spaserstokk) flowering in a local garden, one of the 80 in my book!
Aralia elata (Devil’s walking stick / fandens spaserstokk) flowering in a local garden, one of the 80 in my book!
Alvastien Telste
The forest garden…sadly, it was pouring with rain the next morning, so I didn’t get a proper chance to look around the garden!
The forest garden…sadly, it was pouring with rain the next morning, so I didn’t get a proper chance to look around the garden!
Juniper growing out of a rock!
Alvastien Telste from the other side of the fjord. Eirik and Hege own a wide strip of land up to and to the right of the waterfall near the top…must do the walk up to the mountain cabin next time!
Alvastien Telste
House on the rock!!
On the way to my next stop at Stussvik, where I’d been invited to spend the night with local organic guru Vidar-Rune Synnevåg and his wife, we stopped at Skarsvatnet Goldfish Lake!
Skarsvatnet is home to a number of introduced species including Golden Orfe, Crucian Carp, Eel and Three-spined stickleback…
Mallard with carp
Flowering Japanese knotweed, one of the 80 in my book!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
