Rosemoor’s garden in a forest

By Sheila Dearing, Garden Technical Services Officer, RHS Rosemoor

In 2012, the gardeners at RHS Garden Rosemoor began the process of creating a forest garden in the newly developed grounds of the Peter Buckley Learning Centre. The forest garden is not quite what the name suggests; trying to garden in a mature forest is somewhat challenging, with light crowded out and the demand for nutrients and water taken up by mature trees. A forest garden brings together a collection of plants that mimic the developing first stages of a forest, utilising the many layers you would see naturally, to produce a sustainable array of fruit, vegetables and other useful natural by-products.

In the early stages, it takes hard work and dedication to start a forest garden, requiring a lot of physical energy to clear ground, plant and weed. However, very quickly over the first few years, the system begins to take over and eventually results in a low input system with high yields of both edible produce and useful by-products. Many plants will have multiple uses. For example, hazel and sweet chestnut can be coppiced to provide firewood, hurdles and stakes as well as producing nuts. Bamboo will provide canes for plant supports and edible shoots.

The ground where our forest garden is sited lies heavy and wet, not ideal for creating a garden. To help combat this, the initial planting was of robust trees and shrubs capable of surviving the tough soil conditions while also providing crops of fruit and nuts. The plan here was that when established, the root systems would begin to open up the soil structure, helping to improve drainage, and in turn make a better growing environment for the smaller herbaceous plants to establish in the future.

Now we fast-forward nearly ten years to where we are today. Overall, most things have taken well and established quickly. The odd plant has struggled to find its feet, but there has still been a marked improvement in the soil conditions; although still not ideal, they are far better than they previously were. This has enabled us to get busy introducing new species and focusing on establishing the understory planting of herbaceous fruit and vegetable crops. Japanese butter burr, wild strawberries and edible day lily flowers are just a few we have planted.

We have included several Devon fruit trees and heritage varieties in the planting to display local varieties, including apples, plums and Mazzard Cherries (Prunus avium) which, historically, were a speciality of North Devon. These trees put on a lovely display of spring blossom in April and May.

Over the last couple of years, we have expanded the Forest Garden further. We have been able to plant larger trees and shrub species that we did not have room for originally, but will be beneficial to the forest garden system as a whole. These include Prunus insititia 'Shepherd's Bullace', Sorbus devoniensis, Corylus avellana 'Butler' and Ribes rubrum 'Rovada' AGM. This will give a wider variety of interest and, in years to come, will form a backdrop to the current forest garden.

The forest garden system can be adapted to any size of garden whether it be a backyard or a field of several acres, so why not consider giving it go?

Top tips for late spring

Earth up potatoes by drawing soil around the stems to form a ridge 20-30cm high. Earthing up will exclude light, preventing tubers from going green.

Plant out summer bedding from the end of May. There is a huge variety available for colourful displays in your border or pots.

Water early and late to get the most out of your water, recycle when possible and install as many water butts as you can.

Check for nesting birds before clipping hedges. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built. The bird nesting season is considered to run from March to August.

Hoe borders regularly to keep down weeds. Hoeing is effective for controlling weed seedlings. For maximum effectiveness, choose a dry day with a light wind, so that the seedlings will dry out on the surface of the bed rather than re-rooting into moist soil.

Prune spring-flowering shrubs when they have finished flowering. This allows the maximum time for development of young growth to provide the following year’s flowers before the end of summer.