The Alchemy of the Forest
Could medicinal forest gardens hold the secret to long life and productive, resilient landscapes?
Forest gardening techniques are considered a new quality in permaculture and form part of the growing trend of agroforestry. Forest gardening is grounded in fundamental ecological principles. Regardless of size, a forest garden is made up of five to seven layers, mirroring a natural forest. It begins with a layer of rooting plants, followed by a ground layer of edible herbs, herbaceous perennials, climbers and vines, shrubs followed by a mid-canopy of small trees and large shrubs, culminating in a high canopy. These layers work together to absorb and retain water, mitigating flooding and enriching the soil. They also capture carbon and maximise photosynthesis.
Edible Garden: before and after by Maddy Harland
The complexity and number of layers in forest gardens may sound daunting but the underlying principles are straightforward. Once established, these gardens can become self-sustaining, offering remarkable productivity potential.
Plants are living pharmacies that we have been exploiting for centuries. Teeming with flavonoids, alkaloids and essential oils, scientific advancements have enabled us to extract these beneficial compounds to help heal our human bodies. Kew Gardens has just released their latest database of medicinal plants which includes over 270,000 named plants and fungi. This invaluable resource is designed for industry, health practitioners and researchers to access and exchange information about health derivatives from the plant and fungi world. There remains a vast amount of knowledge yet to be uncovered.
With the ageing population ever increasing, it might be prudent to look at a more holistic approach to modern healthcare, combining conventional medicine with psychological, nutritional, lifestyle and complementary medicine, to help reduce the burden of aging-related conditions. Nature offers a blueprint for thriving resilient ecosystems through its diverse and layered systems. Around the world, examples of forest gardens illustrate how these ecological principles can be replicated, providing a means to safeguard our land against the impacts of climate change. The potential is there, we just need to cultivate it.
Island Botanicals Shetland