Written October 30th 2022:
Our permaculture project is located in Southern Snowdonia, North Wales,st the foothills of Cadar Idris.
Instagram @permaculture_orchard
We are slowly renovating a 2.2 acre orchard & terrace garden which had been left unmanaged for more than 50 years.
The Orchard part of the area includes 17 very old apple trees & 3 pear trees which we think were planted aroound 1870 when Penmaenuchaf Hall was built as a large private house (now an upmarket hotel) by a wealthy chap called Charles Reynolds Williams on a site previously known by the English name Cliff House.
I have been slowly (& gently) pruning the old fruit trees over a period of 4 years. They were in a very sorry state when we first bought the site, with ivy completely covering the canopies, lots of dead branches, fallen limbs & lots of mistletoe (which I quite like!) I have also removed lots of brambles from the ground around the old fruit trees & sown a wildflower mix of shade loving wildflowers.
An area next to the old orchard now includes the beginnings of a Forest Garden. I have planted the top canopy & shrub layers & these are starting to become more substantial now they're in their second & third year of growing. More layers still to be planted. I have been sheet mulching with cardboard & straw & woodchippings.
Now I have been establishing a wild lawn area between the new forest garden & the old orchard, I have been strimming the lawn & also using the clippings as a mulch on the forest garden beds.
The area also includes a 5 terraces which were very uneven & overgrown with ground elder, self sown trees such as Ash & :
1- Raised beds for annual vegetables, pond & willow fedge
2- Polytunnel
3- Outdoor kitchen
4- One day we will have raised beds for annual & perennials
5- Orchard cabin (accomodation) fire area & one day we will have more forest garden planting
We have a lower terrace which is still very overgrown with self sown Ash, Willow & Sycamore which will eventually have more forest garden planting & a classroom.