An ancient form of edible landscape
An orchard is an ancient form of edible landscape. Nowadays, most commercial production orchards consist of only one or a few species of fruit or nut trees on a dwarfed rootstock. They have a very open structure and limited undergrowth or even bare soil.
In the early days, it was more common for orchards to have a rich understorey, for example with berry bushes. Also animal husbandry was common. This was possible because vigorous rootstocks were used that resulted into tall trees.
Enrich the past
Natvise streeft ernaar de vroegere vorm van hoogstam boomgaarden, met een grote diversiteit aan vaak oude en zeldzame streekrassen en een rijke onderlaag, weer terug in het landschap te brengen, en waar mogelijk verder te verrijken met extra lagen zoals klimmers en bodembedekkers.
Natvise wants to reintroduce this ancient form, with a large diversity of often old and rare species and cultivars and a rich undergrowth, and where possible even further enrich it with extra layers such as climbers and cover crops.
Annuals, timber and animals.
The (temporary) cultivation of annuals and timber trees can easily be combined with the kind of orchard we design, as well as poultry or cattle. In fact, we like to make optimal use of the behaviour and needs of such animals to make the system more productive, robust and healthy.
Not only can we assist in designing and creating a beautiful, productive and sustainable orchard, we are also happy to provide guidance in further care and maintenance.