No-Dig for Victory Garden

Fowey

No-Dig for Victory Garden

Dig-For Victory for the 21st century...

Food Forest concept created in Fowey, scaled down appropriately, using the combination of principles used in Edible Landscaping. Every single implemented plant is edible. Garden is comprised mostly of perennial edible planting schemes with some annual beds.

The goal is to grow as much sustainably produced, organic food as possible in an ecological way with minimal maintenance.

The result is a Willy Wonka-esc, Food Forest, ecosystem that supplies a diverse range of fruits, salads, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms and more. All the beds in the garden were created using a No-Dig method and the garden also contains bug hotels and bird boxes. An ecological garden that is also highly productive. Feature plants include; Brassica oleracea (wild cabbage,) Zingiber mioga (hardy ginger) and Morus matsunaga (dwarf mulberry.)

Tropical theme Edible Landscape with plants such as; Ficus 'Sultane', Musa basjoo, pineapple guava, blueberry, 9 star broccoli, tauntan dean kale, garlic chives, Allium nutans, tree onion, Rheum palmatum, Zingiber mioga, wild rocket, alpine strawberries, dahlias.

L-shaped Edible Landscape. also tropical themed. Featuring plants such as; Rhubarb, Musa basjoo, wild cabbage, lemon verbena, wild strawberry, Ficus 'Brunswik' Plum, Apple, Sea beet, tree onions, lavender and Tulbaghia violacea.

L-shaped Edible Landsape. Note the rhubarb proving balance to the scheme.

Before:

No-Dig For Victory Garden: Before

After:

No-Dig For Victory Garden: After

Tropical theme Edible Landscape. In late summer the edible dahlia 'Luwig Helfert' provides dazzling colour.

Woodland theme Edible Landscape. Featuring plants such as; Toona sinensis 'Flamingo', Plum 'Pink Candy', Chilean Guava, dwarf mulberry, welsh onion, Matteuccia struthiopteris, alpine strawberries, ox-eye daisy's, Caucasian spinach, wineberry.

Spot the privet hawk moth resting on the bug hotel in the L-Shaped Edible Landscape!

Design Concept:

The design is inspired by edible gardens, such Martin Crawfords edible forest garden: and adopts a different themes in each bed.

The planting was designed before it was planted. Each bed was allocated a theme and plants with forms synonymous with that theme were selected and repeated together to promote unity. Taking care to ensure that the planting distribution was well balanced. Some beds also have focal points. We also selected edible plants with ornamental value, such as; Allium nutans and Zingiber mioga to provide seasonal interest.

This style of regenerative crop production is well needed in the 21st century and the great thing about an Edible Landscape like the No-Dig For Victory Garden is that this style of planting could go anywhere.

Gardens, public spaces, verges, whatever.
Edible Landscapes provide food and habitats for wildlife, organic food for us, sequester carbon and can look like any ornamental garden.

What's not to like?

Brief:

The principal aim of the garden was to create an ornamental Food Forest, that not only produces lots of sustainability produced organic food but also looks ornamental.

The garden was designed using Edible Forest Gardening as well conventional garden design theory. The beds were created by categorising each plant by habit into forest "layers" and planting them to replicate naturally occurring forest ecosystems.

What makes the No-Dig For Victory Garden a unique Food Forest is that we also incorporated conventional planting design theory.