LivingGreen Gardening.
The first gardens were created some 8,000 years ago, in south-western
Asia, when humans began to abandon the nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle
for a more settled way of life, growing crops on a regular basis. When
the descendants of these people migrated to the flood plains of the
Middle Eastern rivers, they established extensive irrigation systems,
allowing food production to increase. With surplus production,
horticulture developed beyond the purely utilitarian - exotic plant
species were brought in from foreign lands, wild varieties were
transformed into domesticated cultivars grown for interest and pleasure,
and the first hunting parks were laid out. Gardens became places of
enjoyment and gardening and agriculture began to move apart, with the
division remaining in place to this day.
Of course, the mixed cultivation of food plants and ornamentals has always taken place on a small scale. In particular, the potager-style garden, which combines herbs, vegetables, flowers and fruit trees in formal, geometric beds aims to be both productive and pleasing to the eye. This form of garden originated in France during the middle ages but there are now many fine examples of it throughout the world, including some modern interpretations.
But even with the revival of interest in allotments in recent years, linked to a rising interest in organic growing, the current gardening and garden design boom has largely ignored the cultivation of plants for their usefulness. Instead, more and more emphasis is placed on the garden as an outdoor room.
All this may be about to change, however, as the global food industry becomes less sustainable in the face of rising production costs and ever greater demand. Already we are seeing increases in the cost of food linked to higher fuel prices, and it is predicted that climate change and the coming energy crisis will make the situation worse. For these reasons it is likely that growing at least some of our food at home will become a more attractive option.
So how can we integrate the growing of food plants into garden design on a practical level? While annual crops usually require separate beds, perennial plants, in the form of herbs, shrubs and trees can be interplanted with one another to create an edible landscape. One approach has been the so-called forest garden, based upon an original idea developed by Robert Hart on his Shropshire smallholding, after many years of studying forms of agro-forestry in traditional societies throughout the world. Hart's forest garden, once established, was self-sustaining and echoed the natural woodland eco-system. It consisted of seven layers of vegetation, from fruit and nut trees through dwarf trees, fruit bushes, a herbaceous layer and ground cover herbs, to root crops and a vertical layer of climbers. It also featured self-seeding vegetables.
The forest garden idea has provided inspiration for a new generation of ecologically aware growers and designers and has increasingly been applied to the domestic garden situation. After the initial planting it requires little labour input and provides a variety of fresh food throughout much of the year. In addition, it is wildlife-friendly, providing a host of habitats for birds and insects, while avoiding the build-up of pest species associated with large-scale, intensive food cropping.
So while the traditional English garden featuring lawns, flower beds and borders may be, to an extent, a thing of the past, the future will not necessarily be one of designer decking and paving. Indeed the typical 21st century garden may bear more resemblance to a woodland margin or the multi-layered African and Indian home-gardens which originally inspired Robert Hart!
Back to main page.
