Livestream—Design

Forest Garden Livestream — Design your garden

 Nature Works

"Sign the #PeatFree petition!" text on photo of peatland

Wednesday 18th August, 10am BST

Design your forest garden

Following on from last week’s livestream, this week I will be looking at how to design your forest garden using the Open Source QCAD software. I will cover creating basic shapes, adding features, observations and paths.

For those allergic to technology or without the time to learn yet another software package (I feel your pain), I will also be showing how to go through the same process using pen and (5mm grid) paper.

If I have time, I will look at how to incorporate trees into the design, always remembering that tree spacing is key to a forest garden.

As always, at 10.30am there is an informal Zoom chat, all welcome. Please do bring along any plans, maps or questions about your own forest garden.

Simple shapes in CAD, including a couple of tree circles

Livestream

Zoom chat

  • Zoom chat

  • Password: cad

  • Time: 10.30—11:10am

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Beautifull scented UK native Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum

Screenshot from livestream slide

Last week’s livestream: Measure up 

The video is up on my Nature Works YouTube channel.

Screenshot of Plant Atlas website

 Plant Atlas of the British & Irish flora

As I’ve mentioned quite a few times, native plants are a natural fit for a forest garden. Pretty much every single native wild flower that I’ve considered for an ornamental aspects of a forest garden has an entry in the fantastic Plants For A Future database. If you can guess which flower I couldn’t find on PFAF, I will send you a free Good King Henry plant!

The main resources I use for researching native plants are the BRC Plant Atlas website, PFAF.org and the excellent guide book Harrap’s Wild Flowers. Occasionally I’ll use the native plant filter on the RHS online plant finder as well.

The Plant Atlas is a good botanical reference and it has huge coverage but the search facility isn’t very generous, as it doesn’t cover all common names. Having said that, it’s definitely a tool to add to your UK native plant toolbox. Also take at look at the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland.

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