Forest gardening is a novel way of growing edible crops – with nature doing most of the work for you. A forest garden is modelled on young natural woodland, with a wide range of crops grown in different vertical layers. Unlike in a conventional garden, there is little need for digging, weeding or pest control. Species are carefully chosen for their beneficial effects on each other, creating a healthy system that maintains its own fertility.

Creating a Forest Garden tells you everything you need to know, whether you want to plant a small area in your back garden or develop a larger plot. It includes advice on planning, design (using permaculture principles), planting and maintenance, and a detailed directory of over 500 trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, annuals, root crops and climbers – almost all of them edible and many very unusual.

As well as more familiar plants you can grow your own chokeberries, goji berries, yams, heartnuts, bamboo shoots and buffalo currants – while creating a beautiful space that has great environmental benefits. In the light of our changing climate it is important that we find new ways of growing food sustainably, without compromising soil health, food quality or biodiversity. Forest gardening offers an exciting solution to the challenge.

Foreword by Rob Hopkins                                

Introduction                                                          

Part 1: How forest gardens work

1.  Forest gardens                                             

2.  Forest garden features and products          

3.  The effects of climate change                    

4.  Natives and exotics                                     

5.  Emulating forest conditions                        

6.  Fertility in forest gardens                            

Part 2: Designing your forest garden

7.  Ground preparation and planting                

8.  Growing your own plants                            

9.  First design steps                                        

10.    Designing wind protection                      

11.    Canopy species                                        

12.    Designing the canopy layer                     

13.    Shrub species                                           

14.    Designing the shrub layer                       

15.    Herbaceous perennial and ground-cover species         

16.    Designing the perennial/ground-cover layer    

17.    Annuals, biennials and climbers             

18.    Designing with annuals, biennials and climbers

Part 3: Extra design elements and maintenance

19.    Clearings                                                  

20.    Paths                                                            

21.    Fungi in forest gardens                            

22.    Harvesting and preserving                      

23.    Maintenance                                            

24.    Ongoing tasks                                          

Glossary                                                           

Appendix 1: Propagation tables                       

Appendix 2: Trees and shrubs for hedging and fencing

Appendix 3: Plants to attract beneficial insects and bees

Appendix 4: Edible crops by month of use       

Resources: Useful organisations, suppliers and publications

Martin Crawford has spent over 20 years in organic agriculture and horticulture, and is director of the Agroforestry Research Trust, a non-profit-making charity that researches into temperate agroforestry and all aspects of plant cropping and uses, with a focus on tree, shrub and perennial crops. The Trust produces several publications and a quarterly journal, and sells plants and seeds. See www.agroforestry.co.uk  for more information.