Mediaeval Gardening

Mediaeval Gardening the organic way for the benefit of Wildlife

With tadpoles and newts in the pond, Spring gets off to a good start for this organic mediaeval style vegetable plot and informal, almost cottage-like garden. By not using chemicals in the garden and working with nature the wildlife finds its own natural balance.

To see this garden in its full glory visit Nathanville's Wildlife Organic Garden.

This article has been written from personal experience in conjunction with information held on Wikipedia

Also known as an English Cottage Garden

The gardening practices of the medieval garden, also known as an English Cottage Garden, broadly spans from about the time the Romans abandoned Britain in the 5th Century until the beginning of the Agricultural revolution in the 16th Century.

Cottage gardens, of English origin, are typically random and carefree in form. Originally, these gardens were created by the peasants (workers) that lived in the cottages of the villages to provide them with food and herbs with flowers planted in for decoration (companion planting).

The more common flowers in the cottage garden, in addition to flowering herbs, were hollyhocks, delphinium and daisies. The method of planting closely packed plants reduced the amount of weeding and watering required.

Today, a cottage garden is often primarily flowers and completely free-form in nature. Many gardeners attempt to use traditional varieties of plants in their cottage gardens to preserve the antiquity of the method.

Organic Gardening

For the benefit of the wildlife

Organic gardening aims to sustain and enhance the health of ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil to the wildlife and to humans. Wildlife benefiting from Organic practices in the garden includes foxes, hedgehogs, squirrels, and birds, all of which can help with pest without the need for the use of chemicals.

Organic pest control involves the cumulative effect of many techniques, including:

* Allowing for an acceptable level of pest damage.
* Encouraging predatory beneficial insects and animals to flourish and eat pests.
* Encouraging beneficial micro-organisms.
* Careful plant selection, choosing disease-resistant varieties.
* Planting companion crops that discourage or divert pests.
* Rotating crops to different locations from year to year to interrupt pest reproduction cycles.

Organic gardening also helps to reduce pollution, is healthier for the soil, aids water conservation and can extend the growing season all of which is beneficial to wildlife.

Hedgehog's visit to the garden

Wildlife Gardening and the Wildlife Pond

Toads, Frogs, Newts (no fish)

Wildlife gardening aims to creating an environment that is safe for and attractive to native wildlife such as birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects and mammals. A wildlife garden is generally informal, often wild, and will usually contain a variety of habitats that have either been deliberately created by the gardener e.g. ponds to attract frogs, newts, toads and dragonflies; nesting boxes for birds and hedgehogs. Log piles can provide shelter for lizards and slow worms; dry-stone walls for frogs during the winter months and native plants to attract 'beneficial insect' such as ladybirds.

Many organic gardeners being sympathetic to the philosophy of wildlife gardening will often incorporate some aspects of the wild garden into their own gardens to both act as a means of biological pest control, and for its value in promoting biodiversity and generally benefiting the wider environment.

Some exotics planting may be included but the wildlife garden will often feature a range of native species and managed in a way that enhances rather than damages the natural eco-system.

As with other forms of gardening, aesthetics plays a central role. Wildlife gardens involves working with nature rather than against it and are therefore generally water-wise gardens by choosing species native to the area and by adopting other good practices that improves the micro-climate and reduces the dependence on watering e.g. ground cover plants, planting close together and mulching.

Raised Beds

favours plants over weeds and extends the growing season

A raised bed is a planting area above ground level to a convenient height. The sides can be made from almost any material durable enough to hold in the soul, wood or stone (bricks) are most commonly used.

The Nathanville Wildlife Organic Garden (the companion site to this lens) has several photos in its album showing raised beds made from brick walls cemented together and for the benefit of wildlife some natural stone dry walling.

Raised beds have a number of benefits, in particular they extend the growing season because they are warmer and offer good drainage, they reduce the need to rely on poor soil and if properly designed can reduce weeds.

Robin - The Gardener's Friend

The European Robin (Erithacus rubecula), also known as Robin redbreast.

As any British gardener well knows the Robin being relatively unafraid of humans is a friendly bird that likes to come close when the soil is being dug, in order to look out for earthworms and other food freshly turned up. And when the gardener stops for a break the robin is known to use the handle of the spade as a lookout point. On this occasion (July 2007) the Robin pictured here stayed within feet of me, sometimes only a foot away, while I was clearing and tidying up parts of the garden, and was happy to pose for the camera.

The European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

HERBS

Herbs in the Mediaeval Garden

In the newly built raised back border, and in containers by the wildlife pond, herbs are being grown to add to the diversity of the garden and for kitchen use. The herbs include Mint (black peppermint, lemon mint, Indian mint (Satureja)), Sage Icterina, Parsley, Bronze Fennel, French Marjoram, Feverfew, Laurus Lobilis (Bay Tree), Lemon Balm, Rosmarinus (a trailing form of Rosemary) and Thyme including Doone Valley and Thyme Silver Posie.

Culinary uses of wild Dandelion and Nettle, and making herbal teas from the garden are also covered in the Herb Garden.

Details of these and other herbs can be seen in The Herb Garden on Squidoo.

HANGING BASKETS
Also, in the gardening section on Nathanville, in an attempt to work with nature, are details of a novel approach to hanging baskets.

How Green is your Gardening

Organic vs Chemical Gardening

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Add your gardening tips or comments here

lhiller

Your lens is very informative. I love the English Cottage look and am trying to work towards that in one area. The English robin is beautiful. Thanks for all your work.

Posted July 16, 2008

dannystaple

I find that even in a window box garden, it is worth staying organic. However, where you are trying to attract Robins, I would like to attract Ladybirds. Never underestimate the effect of predators as organic pest controls. As FrugalWench points out, things have gone full circle, from chemicals being desirable right around to traditional organic methods being the better trend.

Posted July 13, 2008

Spook

I have a diploma in agriculture, so am more into the use of chemicals, especialy when doing things on a large scale, but am open to your suggestions and I also enjoyed reading your lens and a different point of view. Keep up the good work and the best of luck

Posted July 09, 2008

pyngthyngs

What a great resource your lens is; I am inspired to try organic gardening this spring.

Posted May 11, 2008

Snowrose

Great Lens! Organic Gardening Lots of work but results are worth it!
Thanks

Posted April 28, 2008

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Mediaeval Gardening - Organically for the benefit of Wildlife

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