kulturlandschaften: tell a garden story

kulturlandschaften

Kulturlandschaften was a participative urban gardening project by Meike Schalk & Erika Mayr together with Donne Nissà for Summer Drafts, in Bolzano, 3-11 July 2010.

Donne Nissà is a grassroots association of and for migrant women, http://www.nissa.bz.it , who engage in a number of activities such as giving legal advice, supporting women working in the care sector, running a kindergarten, and a number of cultural projects that deal with multiculturalism such as theater, literature, café, and course activities. Donne Nissà is based in the district of Don Bosco where they obtained the permission to re-cultivate a part of 1000 sqm of overgrown public land for community gardening, at Via Bari off Via Alessandria.

For more information on Don Bosco, see: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bosco_(Bolzano)

Summer Drafts involves various migrant and civil society associations based in Bolzano. Every year a number of international guests, artists, activists, and theoreticians who work in a participatory way are invited to spend a period between 7-10 days to work in collaboration with one or more organizations around a set of issues that are identified through a common process, http://www.summerdrafts.org

Urban gardening is a way of caring for nature and communities. The reasons to start are as diverse as the people who have a passion for it. Gardening not only enables to grow and harvest own fruits and vegetables, it also brings individuals together to share knowledge, their products, tools, and work, and to enjoy. People involved in gardening often experience closer relationships to their surroundings when they grow, cook, and harvest their own food together. Growing food in the city gives back the responsibility for ground, nature, and production processes.

26/07/2010

tell a garden story

For communicating the value of found natural formations certain plants received a label explaining what they do and where they came from. In the garden native, migrant, and hybrid plants can be found side by side.

ARTEMISIA_Wermut, Artemisia vulgaris
native to Europe, Asia, North America, present on vacant land (nitrogenous soil), flowers July to September, good for butterflies. Used in ancient times to repel insects such as moths, historic use in food, herbal medicine, smoking herb, also used in pillows to induce vivid dreams. In food bitter flavouring to season meat and fish.

ULMUS_Elm/ Ulme, Ulmus minor x pumila
here a hybrid of native field elm (Ulmus minor) and sibirean elm (Ulmus Pumila).

native in the northern hemisphere. Habitat either adjacent to streams or in arid environments. Fruits: nuts (Samara). Used for wind protection and wood.

BUDDLEJA_butterfly bush/ Sommerflieder, Buddleja davidii

migrated from China in 1890. To be found in many variations, fragrant, attracts butterflies, blossoms between July and October.

ash leaf maple to the right. Donators were credited with a plate too (left)

ACER_ash leaf maple/ Eschenahorn, Acer negundo

migrated from Northern America in 1688. Stems from water meadow landscapes. Compatible with arid areas and urban climates. Park and garden tree, grows fast.

Packets with seeds, which can still be seeded at this time of the year such as carrots, radicchio, salads, and beets became decoration for the party.

suggestion: for revealing underlying structures of the garden such as species and economic networks printed information displays facts and stories. This turns the urban garden also into a conversation piece, which communicates histories as well as knowledge to newcomers and visitors, school children and others interested in garden culture. To use the garden in as many ways possible, to make it publicly accessible, and to tell about the garden will anchor it as an important public place in the neighborhood and for the city, extend its lifespan, and consequently protect it from eviction.