An ambitious permaculture project at Bamff.
Springing forth from the pioneering Bamff Wildland project comes the Bamff Walled Garden; a permaculture project that seeks to revitalize a large Victorian walled garden long used primarily for cattle and sheep farming purposes (and with one small patch still currently used for domestic vegetable growing) with the aim of providing a bridge between rewilding and resilient food growing.
This roughly 2/3 hectare (approx 1 and 2/3 acres) space is now largely abandoned, the cattle sheds empty and three large zones are waiting to be restored into areas for growing edible and medicinal produce using the permaculture principles of replicating as closely as possible natural habitats without waste, pollution and imbalanced inputs/outputs.
The garden still has many echoes of its past, such as the ruins of heated greenhouses and potting sheds, and although much of it is abandoned and unloved, there is still a latent magical force lying dormant, ready to be awoken.
The north west quadrant was, since late 2021, the first location to be focused upon, where a “forest garden” will be eventually established over the coming years. The north east area will see a slightly different approach, more akin to a market garden; including polytunnels and raised beds, which first sprang into life during 2022. The cattle sheds, a longer term project, will need to be part dismantled and dramatically reconfigured into spaces for growing, for storing, for creating, for educating and for collaborating (there will certainly be a “cultural” aspect to this permaculture project further down the line). Additionally, a large area of rubble and topsoil deposited as a result of prior shed construction needs to be utilised and to become yet another area for regeneration and experimentation.
But first, I need to learn all about permaculture itself – which began in earnest with a permaculture design course from January to June 2022, followed by an applied permaculture diploma course that began in December 2022.
Also, we are blessed to have some access to the much admired wisdom of our local experienced educator and permaculturist Kate Everett, who initially helped to convince me of this new direction personally.
For the walled garden blog, please visit here.
.
About me.
I’m Dave Maric, a composer, musician, photographer living with partner/rewilder Sophie Ramsay and daughter Flora at Bamff since the end of 2018, seeing the world change dramatically from this remote vantage point, bringing a new child into this troubled world, and using this amazing opportunity to provide a symbol and sense of hope for all our children, joining forces with the ever growing community of enlightened growers around Scotland and the world.
The Bamff Walled Garden. 