On this page....

• Mandala Garden
• Forest Garden
• Companion Planting
• Guilds
• Dynamic Accumulators

 

The Mandala Garden

 

It started in the Fall of 2007 when we had been reading about permaculture ideas and heard about Mandala gardens.   We are trying to “reclaim” lawn and turn it into garden, so the idea struck us as being very beautiful and practical and in line with our growing ideas, and we decided to try to make a Mandala of our own.

 

In the Spring and Summer of that same year, we had developed “Sally’s Garden” in memory of our beloved dog who had died in the April.  It looked as though there had once been a circular garden there, edged with stones.  It was overgrown with grass and weeds and there didn’t seem to be anything in it, other than a bush which we have yet to identify.  We filled the garden with flowers and a birdbath and it quickly became a riot of colour, frequented by birds, hummingbirds, butterflies and bees - a fitting tribute to Sally.  We felt that this circular garden would be a wonderful centre to the Mandala.  We would surround it with a path and then work outwards to a larger circle with a series of keyhole paths.

 

We began by laying down cardboard around Sally’s Garden to make a path, edged this with stones and then covered the cardboard with grass clippings.

 

Then came the job of fetching stones from all corners of the yard by the wheelbarrow-load.  This took days and days of hard work by both of us! 

 

Eventually we created a garden which was a central circle within a circle.  From the centre radiate paths creating a garden in eight segments.

 

In May, 2008 we planted Lovage, Gladioli, Foxgloves, Hollyhocks, Lilies, Sweet Williams, Bee Balm, Thyme, Borage, Echinacea, Yarrow, St. John’s wort, Spiderwort, Penstemons, Pansies, Scottish Bluebells, Meadowsweet, Harebells, Campanula, Lemon Balm, Spearmint, Peppermint, Oregano, Sedum, Hyssop, Blackberries, red Welsh Onions, Leeks, Alyssum and probably more I’ve forgotten!

 

We'd also sown seeds of Bush and Pole beans, Asparagus, Celery, Garlic Chives, Bunching onions, Peas, Jerusalem Artichokes, Radish, Amaranth, Flax, Buckwheat, Corn & Carrots.

 

In July we had lots of lush growth and jumbo-sized produce.  I’ve never seen such large radishes or mangetout peas!  It is such a joy to see it coming together and that the sheet mulching has actually worked and things are growing well.   

 

It seemed like the entire Mandala was buzzing with bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. It was a feast for all the senses for its beauty, sounds, fabulous tasting (& supersize!) vegetables and sweet perfume.

 

I don’t think we ever really expected it would be that good!

 

Forest Garden

Back in Wales, people talked about the wonderfully inspirational forest garden of Robert Hart.  We never made it down to Shropshire to see it, but we were lucky to be living very close to the Bangor Forest Garden (BFG) where we learned a lot and implemented ideas into our own 1/3 acre plot.   By adopting forest gardening principles, we became completely self-sufficient in fruit, vegetables and eggs. It didn’t take long for us to become sold on the principles and practices which helped to turn a barren mountainside garden into a lush, productive growing space full of wildlife.   When we came to Canada, we left our little garden behind, but only after spreading plants and cuttings throughout the village!  We decided to start all over again here, although it did seem rather daunting to start from absolutely nothing.

 

These pictures were taken at the beginning and after 1 years growth.

 

We obtained some excellent advice and a few plants and trees from The MacPhail Woods ecological forestry project.  These were mainly native species like our beloved black Elder, some Red Osier Dogwoods, various Maples, Serviceberries, Wild Apples, Wild Grapes, Hawthornes and two beautiful Witch-hazels.  And so the forest garden started to take shape.

 

Later, we dug between the two tilled rows and added more bushes including blueberry and gooseberry, then used strips of old carpet between all the rows to provide some respite from the ever-encroaching weeds.  Normally we would be nervous of using carpet in case of chemicals leaching into the soil, but this had been used in the organic garden of some friends for many, many years before coming here. 

 

We traded some work in exchange for 7 rhubarb plants.  The seven broke up into 32 when we came to plant them out and  we now have more rhubarb than we can handle, although we make and sell a few pots of rhubarb and ginger preserve.  

 

The strawberries grew, produced a little fruit in their first year, and so many runners that our stock of strawberry plants reached well over 200.  By 2008 we were overrun with strawberry plants and had to pick berries twice a day because there were so many!  In 2008 they were interplanted with garlic, spinach, chives, peas and borage.

 

Now that the berries and fruit trees are in-situ, we have started to add perennial vegetables and herbs, like good king henry, rocket, cardoon, salad burnet and feverfew. 

 

Companion Planting Notes

 

The following table summarises things which we feel grow well together or don’t seem good together. We’ve collated the companions over the years from our experience, the internet, books and from what people have told us work well together. We use this table to help design our planting schemes.

  

Crop	Compatible	Incompatible
Apple Trees	Climbing Nasturtiums, Chives to deter apple scab and aphids	Not known
Asparagus	Tomato, Parsley, Basil, Marigold	Onions, Garlic, Gladiolus, Mint, Potatoes
Basil	Repels flies and mosquitoes and attracts bees for Tomato, Pepper, Marigold, Asparagus	Rue, Sage
Beans	Potato, Cucumber, Corn, Strawberry, Celery, Summer Savory, Radish (loved by pole beans), Cosmos Broad bean loves corn.	Onion, Kohlrabi, artichokes, gladiolus, tomato, sunflower
Beets	Cabbage, onions, radish, bush beans	Pole Beans
Borage	Strawberries, lettuce, Tomatoes, Squash, cabbage, roses, caraway, a good mulch, attracts bees, produces calcium, potassium, vitamin C, flowers are edible.	Not known

 

Cabbage and Broccoli	Celery, beets, onions, chamomile, spinach, chard, mint, nasturtium, dill, sage, hemp, thyme, mustard greens, cucumbers, peas, rosemary (repels cabbage flies), basil, corn, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, geranium (traps cabbage worms). Use mint as a mulch	Strawberries, pole beans, tomato, pepper
Carrots	Lettuce, rosemary, chives, bean, leek, onions, pea, sage, tomato	Dill, Parsnip
Cauliflower	Mint, sage, thyme, beans, oregano, celery, rosemary, radish, chamomile, lavender, onion	Cucumber, Tomato, Strawberries, Peas
Celery	Onions, cabbage, tomato, beans, nasturtium, leeks	Not known
Chives	Apples, Roses, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, fruit trees, parsley, beetroot, radishes	Peas, Beans, Mustard
Coriander	Potatoes, Carrots	Fennel
Corn	Rosemary, peas, beans, tomato, radish, mint, larkspur, marigolds, potato, cabbage, parsley, lupin, pumpkin, melons, cucumbers, geranium, radish, squash, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, dill, beetroot	Tomato
Cabbage & Broccoli	Celery, beets, onions, chamomile, spinach, chard, mint, nasturtium, dill, sage, hemp, thyme, mustard greens, cucumbers, peas, rosemary (repels cabbage flies), basil, corn, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, geranium (traps cabbage worms). Use mint as a mulch	Strawberries, pole beans, tomato, pepper

 

Cucumber	Beans, Corn, Pea, Sunflowers, Radish	Potato and aromatic herbs
Eggplant	Beans, Marigold, potato, marjoram, catmint, pumpkin, peas, tarragon, thyme, carrot, peppers, broccoli, celery, chives, cabbage, lettuce, radish, tomato	Not known
Garlic	Roses, Raspberries, Lettuce, Beans, Fruit Trees	Not known
Grapes	Hyssop, beans, peas, blackberries, chives	Radish, Cabbage
Leeks	Carrots, Celery, Strawberries, Apples	Onions, Peas, Beans, Broccoli
Lettuce	Cucumber, onions, strawberries, borage, chervil, dill, spinach, cabbage, carrots, radish, tomatoes, basil	Celery, cress, parsley
Melons	Corn, Nasturtium, Radish, Beans, Peas, Lettuce, Pumpkin/squash, marigold	Not known
Onions	Summer Savory, beetroot, cabbage, carrot, lettuce, potato, strawberry, tomato	Peas, pole beans, peppers, parsley
Parsley	Tomato, asparagus, celery, leek, pea, rose, basil, chives, carrots, broccoli, corn, caraway	Mint, Lettuce
Parsnip	Onions, feverfew, corn, radish	Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Celery
Pea	Carrots, Radish, Cucumber, Corn, Peppers, caraway, spinach, celery, sage, eggplant, potato, lettuce, cabbage, strawberry, tomato	Potato, onion, gladiolus, chives, garlic, cauliflower, beans
Pepper	Basil, Parsley, tomatoes, geranium	Beans, Cabbage
Plum	Blackcurrant	Not known
Potato	Horseradish, eggplant, broad beans, corn, cabbage, Brussels, marigolds, watermelon, lettuce, onion, radish, alyssum	Tomato, cucumber, raspberries, rosemary, dill, apples, asparagus, cauli, celery, sunflower
Pumpkin	Corn, marigold, beans, eggplant, marjoram, peas, radish, cucumber, lettuce, mint, nasturtium	Potato
Radish	Nasturtium, cukes, chervil, squash, lettuce, grapes, beans, spinach, melon, peas, beets, carrots, parsnip, pumpkin, cauli, tomatoes	Bruassels Sprouts, Kohlrabi, turnips, grapes
Raspberry	Garlic	Not known
Rhubarb	Roses, Brassicas, Wallflowers, garlic, onions	Lovage
Rosemary	Cabbage, Beans, Corn, Sage	Potato, Tomato
Spinach	Peas, beans, strawberry, fruit, radish, lettuce, cauli, cabbage, celery, eggplant, onion, parsley, sage	Potato
Squash	Nasturtium, Corn, Marigold, Beans	Potato
Strawberry	Chrysanthemum, dwarf beans, lettuce, peas, spinach, borage	Cabbage, Brussels
Thyme	Cabbage, salad burnet, brussels, eggplant	Not known
Tomato	Basil repels tomato worm, chives, Bee balm, mint, Onions, asparagus, lily of the valley, borage, garlic. lemon balm, nasturtium, chives, marigolds, chervil, cucumber, peppers, parsley, lettuce, carrot, celery, onion, sage, peas	Potato, fennel, cabbage, dill, rosemary, corn

 

 

 

Some other Companions!

 

Guilds

 

From the companion planting and dynamic accumulator tables we have designed “guilds” of plants which we think work together very well in this climate.  A guild is another step beyond companion planting, using a set of plants to aid and assist each other in a number of different ways.

 

In each planting guild we try to incorporate the following components: Food plants, Nitrogen fixers, dynamic accumulators, groundcover/living mulch (if not available then organic mulch), Climbers, support for climbers, protection (insect repellents, attracting predators, thorny barriers), attractors for pollinators (e.g. flowers, water, seeds, perching places) and green manures.

 

FOREST GARDEN GUILD

 

	The basis is fruit trees, shrubs and groundcovers (nut trees are on the wish list!).  Interplanted in any spaces are salad burnet, summer savory, winter savory good king henry, garden sorrel, French sorrel, catnip, feverfew, parcel, angelica, beans, cardoon, seakale, perennial bunching onions, perpetual spinach, comfrey, arugula (Turkish rocket).              Within the forest garden area, there are three distinct areas
Strawberry beds.   Strawberries, Garlic, Spinach, Borage, Peas, Chives.  Besides proving food, the strawberries give groundcover, their leaves accumulate iron and are medicinal.  The borage attracts pollinators, is a dynamic accumulator of Si, K, Vitamin C, is a good mulch, it's a medicine and has edible flowers).  The spinach provides food, the peas provide food and fodder and they are nitrogen fixers.  The chives provide tasty herbs and protection from some insect pests.  In this guild we use coppice sticks for pea support.
Fruit Trees   Trees, nasturtiums, lupin, chives, currants, strawberries, flower bulbs, lavender. Trees provide food and support for climbers, e.g. nasturtiums run up trunks and provide a living mulch whilst fixing nitrogen.  A lupin near the base of the tree fixes nitrogen and attracts pollinators.  Chives repel aphids and borers and provides calcium.  A currant bush is often beneficial to fruit trees (especially plum) and provides food, medicine and dyes.  Strawberries provide food and groundcover and an iron rich mulch.  Planting a ring of bulbs around a tree is very attractive.  They remove excessive nitrogen in spring and attract pollinators when fruit is in blossom.  We are hoping to plant lavenders to repel pests and attract pollinators.	Rhubarb Area   Rhubarb, Roses, Walking Stick Kale, wallflowers, garlic, onions and borage.  Rhubarb provides food (too much sometimes!) and the leaves, whilst poisonous, provide good cover mulch.  The root is said to be medicinal.  Rhubarb leaves can be used to polish tarnished metal.  If allowed to blossom it is attractive to pollinators and beneficial insects.  Rhubarb leaves can be used as a lining material and also to cover and protect fruit in baskets and a bright yellow dye is obtained from the root, Roses provide beauty and rose petals.  The Walking Stick Kale provides some support for climbers, food and sheep fodder.  Garlic is a food, protector, accumulator of sulphur, flourine and manganese.

 

POLYTUNNEL GUILD

Melons and greens, coppice poles (support), chives (protector), peppers (food), sage (protector, medicinal), marigolds (protector, accumulates phosphorus), lemon balm (dynamic accumulator of phosphorus, medicinal), nasturtium (ground cover and nitrogen fixation) tomatoes and peas.

 

MANDALA GUILDS

 

Asparagus Mandala	Asparagus, outdoor tomatoes, bee balm, wild foxgloves, marigolds, basil, parsley, nasturtiums, seaweed mulch
Jerusalem Artichokes Mandala	Jerusalem artichokes, snow peas, radish, cucumber, garlic, lupin.  The Jerusalem artichokes provide food, medicine, support for peas, coffee substitute, sweetener substitute, fuel alcohol, summer shading or windbreak, foliage/tubers for animal fodder, snow peas provide food and nitrogen fixation
Pole Bean Mandala	Pole Beans, Radishes, melons, celery, marigolds
Grape Mandala	Grapes, hyssop, bush beans, peas, blackberries, chives, cosmos, geranium
Three Sisters Mandala	Corn, beans, squash, alyssum, watermelon, borage
Carrots & Outdoor Tomatoes Mandala	Carrots, Rosemary, chives, leeks, peas, tomatoes, sage, borage, coriander

 

VEGETABLE PLOT GUILDS

Potatoes, Horseradish, Comfrey, Coriander, Broad Beans, Dandelions.  Comfrey is a green manure and dynamic accumulator of Si, N, Mg, Ca, K, Fe.    Other vegetables include sqashes or pumpkins, herbs, onions, carrots and brassicas.  The hens and ducks love the vegetable plot and very kindly eat pests in there.  Look carefully - see if you can spot them!

Dynamic Accumulators we use

 

A dymanic accumulator is a plant that mines nutrients from the soil and makes them available to other plants.  They can be used within the guilds, or used as green manure.

 

Dynamic Accumulator Plant	What it does
Alder	Nitrogen Fixer
Alfalfa	Nitrogen fixer, accumulator of Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorous and Potassium plus the young growth is delicious and nutritious
Bladderwrack	Iodine, Magnesium & Iron
Borage	Silica, Potassium and those beautiful blue flowers
Bracken	Potassium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Iron, Copper. A lot of people here eat the fiddlehead greens from the wild ostrich fern
Carrot Leaves	Magnesium, Potassium. When thinning carrots we use the tiny carrots in salads and leave the leaves on the ground
Chives	Calcium
Clover	Nitrogen, Phosphorus. These were planted by the previous farmer after a grain crop, so are prolific on the property
Comfrey	Silica, Nitrogen, Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Iron
Dandelion	Sodium, Silica, Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorous, Iron, Copper.
Garlic	Sulphur, Fluorine, Manganese
Lamb's Quarters	Nitrogen, Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorous, Manganese. These are a local “weed”. I usually add a few to my green smoothies.
Lemon Balm	Phosphorus
Lupins	Nitrogen, Phosphorus
Marigold	Phosphorus
Mint	Magnesium, Potassium
Salad Burnet	Sodium, Sulphur, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron. It self-seeds very well.
Sorrel	Sodium, Calcium, Phosphorous
Summer and Winter Savory	Potassium
Strawberry Leaves	Iron
Yarrow	Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Copper