[Image description: a snow covered trail peeks through between the snowy branches of pine trees]
The rest of the album is here
Oh, I’m SO jealous because having a forest garden is my dream. Do you have to put in a lot of work to keep it in shape?
It’s been mine for a while too. I hope you’ll find a path towards stewarding your own!
I’ve put in a fair amount of money and labor, but the money has mostly been for building a stock of some exotics and natives to reintroduce. The labor has been focused on reducing material costs, managing access, and nudging the site towards better forest dynamics. Those stairs were made from one of the trees that we removed, for example, and all of the paths are woodchipped to prevent compaction. Besides tree removals the upkeep isn’t arduous, but I do spend quite a few hours managing down some of the invasive species in our area. The rest of the work can be performed with low impact movement so I find it pleasant. Then again I think it’s fun moving forty yards of mulch by hand so ymmv.
That sounds lovely! Thank you for your insight, it’s already taught me something new (I didn’t know that woodchips prevent compaction, or that it was an issue in the first place). And if your garden looks this pretty in the winter, it must be absolutely stunning in the summer <3
Thank you, this whole comment made my heart swell with joy. It’s beautiful in the summer as well, though it doesn’t always translate well; there’s a “green wall” effect that can happen that makes discerning what’s being seen difficult and photos can flatten and exacerbate that.