Forest Gardening: Establishing the Ground Layer

Reader Contribution by Maddy Harland
Published on October 12, 2011
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Working our way down from the top storey, the final two layers of a forest garden are the herbaceous perennial layer and the root zone, the rhizosphere, plus the climbers.  

I do not plant many roots mainly because I do not want to dig up much of my forest garden. I prefer it to be a semi wild zone that I wander through and harvest at above ground level. Martin Crawford at the Agroforestry Research Trust suggests you can grow useful roots like liquorice (Glycyrrhiza spp) and the barberries (Berberis spp) whose roots provide a good dye and medicinal products. The tincture of the latter can be used as a powerful cleansing tonic. I grow horseradish, a feisty root enjoyed in a creamy sauce with roast beef and in Japanese cookery.  

Herbaceous Perennials

Perhaps the herbaceous perennials are easier to identify and plant. The most popular are herbs that provide ground cover layer by self-seeding or spreading. These may include comfreys (Symphytum spp), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), mints (Mentha spp), sage (Salvia officinalis), and tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). I personally wouldn’t plant Tansy in my garden. It self seeds madly all over my garden and unlike lemon balm I can’t pick the leaves as a herbal tea. The others spread nicely and crowd out potential weeds.  

The comfreys are a different matter. I plant them beneath the fruit trees. They form a circle around the trunks and outgrow any weeds. Their powerful roots are dynamic accumulators, drawing valuable minerals up from the subsoil. When they flower I cut them down with a hand scythe. The leaves fertilise the trees, very useful when the fruits are setting. Comfrey is the best living mulch I know. I also find it useful as a natural barrier between the veggie patch and the wildflower meadow, preventing flowers and grasses from seeding too much into the wood chip paths. 

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