Join us on Saturday 10th September - dedicated to forest gardens at this year’s Festival of Permaculture. Are you interested in forest gardening but don’t know where to start? Have you been nurturing a food forest but want to learn how to propagate your own trees? Do you need some one-on-one time with an expert to finalise your design? 

 

Adventures in creating forest gardens: Lessons from our 10-year trial

In 2010, Permaculture Association Britain undertook the first long-term study into the establishment of temperate forest gardens. Tomas Ramiarz and Karna Ponton will talk about the ecological, economic and social benefits of forest gardens, and present key findings, and design recommendations including biodiversity and crop diversity recommendations.

 

The joys of community forest gardening

Creating community forest gardens helps us to build a community where we can share and inspire each other to think about food sovereignty as well as its impact on our planet and how we can work together to create truly abundant systems for all. Rakesh Rootsman Rak will discuss the benefits of forest gardening to people and to nature as well as share examples of thriving community projects. If you have a community forest garden or want to start a community forest garden, or just want to find out more, come along and share in the joys of community forest gardening.

 

What Forest Gardeners do and why they do it: 200 gardeners tell their stories

Over 200 forest gardeners in the UK, Northwest Europe, and North America were asked what they grow, where they grow it, what motivates them, what's gone well and not so well, and what advice they'd give to other gardeners. Taken together, these surveys provide a unique resource on forest gardening as it is currently being practised. There are over 10,000 individual pieces of data and over 600 different plant species listed. Hear from Chris Warburton-Brown and Tomas Ramiarz about the data so far, how it will be published, insight into the findings, and to have your questions answered.

 

Forest Gardening in small spaces

A look at using a step-by-step permaculture design process to design forest gardens in small spaces to be both productive and beautiful. Pippa will be launching her new book ‘The Plant Lovers Backyard Forest Garden’ during the festival!

Pippa has designed, planted and managed permaculture gardens and forest gardens in West Yorkshire. Having trained with the RHS and spent time as Head Gardener of a large estate, Pippa is now self-employed and garden’s exclusively organically, to create beautiful spaces to enable wildlife to thrive alongside people. Pippa is focusing on engaging with a wider audience to demonstrate how you can grow a small-scale forest garden that is beautiful as well as productive.

 

Book Launch: 'The Plant Lover's Backyard Forest Garden' by RHS-trained Pippa Chapman

Pippa turned her grassy and paved back garden into an abundant, biodiverse, edible and beautiful forest garden that provides for her family and the local wildlife. Pippa shares her practical tips for transforming your own plot, whatever its size, and with limited time, money and resources. Pippa includes a detailed chapter on flowers, so the garden is both beautiful and productive, and gives advice on using perennials for structure and food, as well as info on guilds, polycultures and growing in containers.

Whatever the garden space you have, Pippa's real-life examples and years of experience will help you create your own multilayered, edible paradise that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

 

Propagate forest gardens from scratch

One great result of forest gardens is the very real prospect of starting many more forest gardens! If you're establishing perennial vegetables or herbs for a food forest you may soon discover you need a lot of plants. And shrubs and trees can be hard to source and pricey to buy. Ryan Sandford-Blackburn explores how to set up a basic nursery to grow your own plants, save seeds and take cuttings. And you will even do some plant propagating. This is a hands-on workshop!

 

Forest Gardeners’ Question Time

Bring your polycuture queries and discuss new developments and future perspectives for forest gardens with our four panellists, all steeped in permaculture and forest garden practice.

Panelists: 

  • Pippa Chapman, professional plantswoman with Those plant people and author of the new “Plant lover’s backyard forest garden”.

  • Rakesh Rootsman Rak of Roots n Permaculture is a permaculture teacher and designer of urban and community forest gardens in the UK and beyond.

  • Jennifer Lauruol of Carpe Diem Gardens has been a garden designer for over 30 years and is pioneering home and neighbourhood gardens in Lancaster.

  • Tomas Ramiarz, forest garden maker, designer and researcher and author of Forest Gardening in Practice, the first comprehensive review of temperate forest gardens.