Edible lime - Tilia Cordata

Lovely eaten raw in salads.  The leaves are best when young, so it is a good idea to coppice the tree every few years to keep it manageable with lots of new leaves. 

Forest Gardening

I gave a talk this week at the Derbyshire Forest Schools Day on the subject of Forest Gardening.  The presentation (minus a few photos) is now on their website  at

http://forestschools.wordpress.com/ideas/derbyshire-forest-school-day-2012/

The talk was very popular and I was so pleased to be able to spread the word about this most productive but sustainable type of garden.  I particularly looked at the ways that forest gardens can benefit forest schools sessions, eg by growing resources to use, but also looked at food plants and trees of particular use to schools.

It reminded me of a visit here by a national delegation looking into carbon and woodlands two years ago, at which I took this photograph.  The photo shows some of the forest garden produce we have available and how productive woodlands can be, not just for timber but food, craft resources, medicines, herbs, bee plants, fodder, fertility and much more.  The background in the photo is much changed in the last two years, as during that time we have planted 2000 trees at the bottom of the field and dug two ponds.