The orchard garden (forest garden) by
Robert Hart (England)
Robert Adrian de Jauralde Hart (April 1, 1913 - March 7,
2000) was an English pioneer of forestry in temperate
zones. On his "Highwood Hill Farm" in Shropshire [between
London and Liverpool] he created a model forest garden
from a 500 m² orchard. The inspiration came from James
Sholto Douglas, who was inspired by the work of Toyohiko
Kagawa [web01].
Crawford describes Robert Hart's orchard (forest garden)
with its rich fruits and vegetables as a landscape like in
"Alice in Wonderland" - in the foreword to his book
"Creating a Forest Garden" [web05].
Studies - Ghandi Articles - Military Police and
Espionage 1940-1945
After studying at Westminsater School, he worked for the
NWO news agency Reuters, where he was specifically
involved in news related to India. There he put together
summaries about Mahatma Ganddhi and was very impressed by
Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence. 1940-1945 he was with
the military police, then with the secret police
("Intelligence Corps") with the decryption ("code
breaking") [web01].
Robert Hart in the 1960s approx. [1]
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Robert Hart's orchard on his
Highwood Hill farm in Shropshire, map [map2]
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Farm for the brother - agriculture - conversion to 90%
vegan raw food - the forest garden for raw food
After the war he started dairy farming in Norfolk and
Somerset, then moved to Shropshire to a small farm on
Wenlock Edge ("Highwood Hill Farm"). His brother Lacon had
severe learning difficulties [vaccination damage?] and
should receive a therapeutically healthy environment.
Robert Hart was soon overwhelmed with agriculture in all
areas (vegetables, cattle, orchard), but he observed a
vegetable patch with perennial vegetables and herbs that
practically required no maintenance. In addition, the
vegetables and herbs from this zone were exceptionally
invigorating [provoking more life] for body and mind. He
discovered the connection that food can also be medicine
(he just found the kowledge of Hippocrates). Hart switched
to 90% vegan raw food [he abolished livestock farming] and
created a forest garden with fruit, nuts and green leafy
vegetables, so he had his own vegan organic food [web01].
Robert Hart in his orchard in the 1990s approx. [2] -
Robert Hart's orchard [6]
The forest is the "culmination point of the ecosystem". In
seven years he developed starting with an orchard of
apples and pears having an "edible landscape" within seven
layers:
1. A "canopy" made up of the original old fruit trees.
2. A "tree-poor layer" of smaller nut and fruit trees on
dwarf root stocks.
3. A "bush layer" made up of fruit bushes such as currants
and berries.
4. An "herbaceous layer" of perennial vegetables and
herbs.
5. A "top layer" of edible plants that spread out
horizontally.
6. A "rhizosphere" or "underground" dimension of plants
grown for their roots and tubers.
7. A vertical "layer" of vines and climbers [web01].
The orchard garden in 7 levels,
scheme by Robert Hart [3]: 1) canopy - 2) Low tree
level - 3) Shrub layer - 4) Herbaceous layer - 5) Soil
surface - 6) Rhizosphere - 7) Vertical layer [3]
Mr. Hart said that if all residents who have a garden set
up such an orchard, every city can become a "city forest"
[web01].
Robert Hart died in 2000 at the age of 86. His grave is in
the churchyard of St. Peter in Rushbury, Shropshire
[web01].
Details
Rober Hart quietly transformed his little garden into an
orchard garden that should meet his needs: fruits, nuts,
vegetables and medicinal plants [web03].
Robert Hart transformed a small cottage garden in
Shropshire into an orchard garden, a habitat for
songbirds, butterflies and other vertebrates - classic
"Backyard Permaculture" [web02].
Robert Hart experimented his horticulture for decades
[web02] and examined the interactions with deep, intuitive
and scientific observations, how different life forms work
together to stimulate and support each other [web03].
The model is a natural forest with useful plants, fruit
trees, nut trees, perennial herbs and vegetables [web02].
Robert Hart's book "Forest Gardening"
(259 pages)
Robert Hart combines history, philosophy, anthropology and
seasonal gardening wisdom in a clear sequence of essays
that together provide remarkable testimony to the joys of
hands-off and practical gardening. The book "Forest
Gardening" is really a book for our time that offers a
fresh sensibility that will encourage and inspire organic
gardeners all over the world [web02].
In his book "Forest Gardening" there are systematic data
about the orchard garden:
-- he found out design guidelines
-- he made lists of recommended plants and varieties
according to climatic zones, and
-- he explains how plants can live and interect in a
productive way, from the ground cover to the big tree
[web02].
Book "Forest Gardening" by Robert Hart 1, 2 [4,5]
Reviews
on Amazon (original English):
This is a very good book. This is
the story of a great man who created
a new, more holistic form of
agriculture [web04].
Very easy to read, good
illustrations and clear wording, an
excellent book for anyone interested
in organic gardening and healthy
eating. [web04]
This is a fact book, but not a guide
on how to plant the orchard forest.
[web04]
The basics of permaculture are
missing [web04].
The book describes the personal
experience of a pioneer and does not
describe the dry systems of the
permaculture pioneers - and that is
very good [web04].
There is too much preaching, but the
data are like a holistic guide
[web04]
There are better books like
How
to Make a Forest
Garden;
or for really in-depth information:
Edible
Forest Gardens:
Ecological Vision,
Theory For
Temperate Climate
Permaculture
or
Edible
Forest Gardens,
Vol. 2: Ecological
Design And
Practice For
Temperate-Climate
Permaculture. [web52]
The book is not very well bound, the
pages fall out [web04].
![The orchard garden in 7 levels, scheme by
Robert Hart [3]: 1) canopy - 2) Low tree level -
3) Shrub layer - 4) Herbaceous layer - 5) Soil
surface - 6) Rhizosphere - 7) Vertical layer](../d/005c-obstwaldgarten-Robert-Hart-d/003-obstwaldgarten-7-ebenen-schema-ENGL.gif "The orchard garden in 7 levels, scheme by
Robert Hart [3]: 1) canopy - 2) Low tree level -
3) Shrub layer - 4) Herbaceous layer - 5) Soil
surface - 6) Rhizosphere - 7) Vertical layer")