Prestwich Clough forest garden May 2025 update

Drought, what draught?

We're in our 13th year at the forest garden and anyone who doesn't live in a cupboard will have noticed that it's hardly rained since February. Gardeners and veg growers are watering daily to keep their plants alive.
So what do we do with a half acre forest garden with no water supply? The short answer is nothing.
A properly planned and planted forest garden, like any other woodland largely looks after itself. The ground is never left bare which retains moisture. We've suspended any planting until it's a bit wetter as newly planted plants would struggle but other than that the garden is thriving.
Meadowsweet 
Plums

I'm predicting a record year for fruit and the wildflowers are doing well.
The garden can now be regarded as mature as strictly speaking a forest garden is a young woodland and should be kept that way in order to let enough light in for the understory plants. We're now at the stage of thinning the canopy in the autumn in order to do this and to keep the fruit trees a reasonable size for picking.

The only sign of lack of rain is on the pathways.
It's a pleasure to work on the garden and very easy. We have a small band of volunteers but I could easily manage the garden on my own despite being a bus pass holder! Our main work is keeping the invasiveness in check like brambles and nettles. We've had an invasion of Himalayan balsam for the last couple of years so that's an ongoing job as it quickly takes over. It's very easy to pull up though.
Himalayan balsam 

I've used forest garden principles in my own garden (or "yarden") which is in its 3rd year and also doesn't need watering (apart from the pots).
Keeping the ground covered is the key, if you don't have plants fully covering the ground you can mulch with woodchip which has the same effect.
Do visit the garden if you get chance, no compulsion to work! Have a picnic and enjoy the space.

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