Garden Organic

An Oasis of Organic Cultivation.

Garden Organic is the UK’s leading growing charity (Formerly The Henry Doubleday Research Association). The charity is renowned for its research and promotion of organic gardening, farming and food. Sited just outside Coventry it is, at first glance, a fascinating collection of gardens: orchard, bee garden, allotment garden, vegetable and herb gardens, a Biodynamic garden, RSPB wildlife garden and so on. Thirty one different gardens and more being added each year.

But Garden Organic is more than a lovely place for a day out, this is a charity dedicated to organic cultivation; gardening in harmony with nature. No pesticides. Compost from recycled waste. No digging - let the worms take the strain; the production of food by sustainable means.

It has a remarkable Heritage Seed Library; a collection of vegetable seeds, many of which are not generally available, several of which have never been in a catalogue and but for this amazing resource some might be extinct. If you become a member of the HDRA's Heritage Seed Library some of the collection will be available to you.

The picture shows a vegetable greenhouse; it is a constantly tended environment, a melting pot of ideas and experimentation. While making the exposures for this image one of the gardeners popped in to proudly point out the mung beans and share with me the plans for new planting. A procession of organic gardeners on a coach trip from Oxford, passed through, each enthused by the gardens, every one determined to try out something new when they returned to their own plot.

It’s well worth a visit and so is the website. Garden Organic website

Oh, I nearly forgot, the Ryton site has a restaurant which is Britain’s Best Organic Restaurant; an Organic Industry Award from the Soil Association.

---

---

Europe / UK-England

Lat: 52° 21' 59.96" N
Long: 2° 25' 52.75" W

Elevation: 73m

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.