Small home garden edible woodland garden laid out in a mandala.
Mandala food forest

We have a small home garden  in the centre of Gatehouse of Fleet. Only a few seconds walk away from the bus stop for the bus that goes between Stranraer and Dumfries. 

We did a thorough permaculture design for the garden which started with a year's observation - the recording of which you can see here:

Observation Garden design for Alderslowe garden - Google Docs

We created an overview design for the full garden:

Garden overview design - Google Docs

Other smaller designs have happened in the garden including of the composting system, the pond, and various workshops. Each year we host the Permaculture Design Course for Dumfries & Galloway here, for one of the modules. 

What we got: 5 chickens, a small dog, apple trees, plum, pear, cherry (not edible but mature), hedges, mill lade, alder, broom, nettles, lots of wild birds, compost, Hugel beds, pond, campfire, hammock, comfrey, rasps, currants, gooseberries, day lilies, and lots more including all sorts of plants I didn't plant!!!

I love teaching permaculture so I'm often away for weeks at a time and so the garden is ably neglected a lot, so it's low maintenance. I get involved in all sorts of projects including  children's permaculture, forest schools, outdoor maths (reaching 5000 children in 2024!), queer permaculture, food education, Propagate, and more... 

 

If you would like visits, how should people arrange their visit?
Send me a text message (on phone app e.g. SMS, messenger, signal, whats app).
Sustainable transport options
Bus no 500 or 431. On the #7 cycle route (Dumfries to Glasgow)
Type of project
Private (visits by arrangement only)
Physical Elements/Features
Forest garden
Garden
Services/Activities
Courses
Visits (by arrangement)
Volunteering
When the project started
Contact name
Lusi Alderslowe
Postal address of project

Church street
Gatehouse of Fleet
DG7 2JD
United Kingdom

Contact telephone
07787376475
Contact email