Bo Blomqvists skogsträdgård: en fallstudie om en av Sveriges äldsta skogsträdgårdar

Sammanfattning

The interest in agroforestry has in recent years increased significantly in Sweden, specifically the interest for smaller systems like forest gardens. There are only a few older forest gardens in Sweden, one of the oldest is Bo Blomquist's garden located in Västra Götaland. Bo Blomqvist planted his first trees thirty-five years ago and this case study focus on documenting his experience-based knowledge. The alm of the study is to explore how Bo Blomquist's has been working with garden maintenance. Further I want to explore how he has been influenced by the specific conditions in the landscape where his garden is located and give an overview of how one can work with maintenance in an older forest garden. The study is based on semi-structured qualitative interviews and a site visit in Bo Blomquist's garden. He has developed various solutions and strategies over the years and I have identified 10 areas such as; microclimate, planting & establishment, groundcovers, soil & fertility, herbaceous perennials, irrigation, diversity, protection, pruning and harvest. My results show that Bo Blomqvists spends much time in the forest garden in all seasons observing the development of the trees and bushes. He has a reflective approach and is adjusting his maintenance based on his observations. The forest garden is located on a southwest-facing hill with surrounding forest and near a big lake, which has both a favourable microclimate and challenging conditions. It requires extensive manual labour to prepare the soil and establish planting areas. He utilizes large stones to build terraces and raised beds, planting the most sensitive plants on the steep hillside and near the house facade. The case study shows that Bo Blomqvist is planting and exploring new varieties and he demonstrates the possibilities of cultivating a diverse range of new edible and perennial plants suitable in Sweden. The purpose of the study is to document the tacit knowledge and convey the valuable experiences gained from Bo Blomqvist that can be useful in future forest gardening and other agroforestry systems.