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I have been spending some time recently reading about the forest gardening movement in the U.K and was curious to see what peoples perspective of it was?

For those not familiar with what it is, it is essentially a permacultural gardening movement with the goal of producing more sustainable food systems in a small area (0.25-10 acres). It's the construction of a semi-mature woodland, with a species composition made up of edible, medicinal and materially useful species. It is designed by applying ecological theory to create a 'self sustainable' garden with high biodiversity and low maintenance. By applying ecological theory it looks to work with nature rather than constantly fighting against it, which modern day conventional food systems do.

By no means is it an answer to the world food production issues we face, but it is a positive and ethically sound movement that can contribute as one way of moving towards a more sustainable future. It is a way of food production that is heavily relied upon in many developing areas of the world and has been used for millennia, when edible forest gardens have been discovered in Brazil, researchers have initially thought they were in a natural forest before realising it was a man managed garden.

For me I feel it is a more romantic approach that for sure has its appeals. It is far from being a traditional garden, in the sense of being planted for visual appeal, tidy and the use of straight beds. It is meant to be a natural untidy feeling man made semi forest ecosystem, so has more for a early successional woodland feel than a garden.

There are a few popping up around the UK now, and am interested to here whether people believe there is potential for this type of garden to become more mainstream in years to come? I wonder whether their could be growth for it within the private sector for garden designers and soft landscapers to integrate into?

The link below provides a basic introduction to the movement for anyone who is interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8owF5E4FaWY