Go into the woods and garden on a grand scale

Once in awhile an idea comes along that makes so much sense, I wonder why we’re all not doing it that way.

Forest gardening, managing wooded land like a garden, is one of those ideas.

Jim Freed, a Washington State University extension professor, came up with the term a few years ago. He wanted to describe what homeowners can do with their land beyond turning the trees into two-by-fours.

Researchers at WSU studied why people owned acreage. They learned that most people owned land because it was an investment for their families or because they loved the peaceful setting. The study made Freed wonder what else people could be doing with the land.

Apparently, quite a bit.

Homeowners can grow vegetables, wild berries and flowers, harvest greenery and other materials for crafts, and plant edible mushrooms, he said. They can grow their own Christmas trees or cultivate plants from seed and cuttings to sell at a farmer’s market.

The Snohomish County Extension Office will offer a class on forest gardening Nov. 4 at the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation Auditorium, 600 128th St. SE, Everett.

The class is a basic introduction to forest gardening. Speakers will discuss wildlife, native plants and ideas for what to do with property. The class will conclude with a guided walk through nearby McCollum Park.

The concept isn’t new. For our ancestors, working with the natural environment was a way of life that didn’t need a name. For me, a contemporary person who gardens for pleasure, not necessity, who views the land as something separate, it’s a revelation.

I grew up on rural Whidbey Island near Strawberry Point. Decades earlier, settlers had cleared and farmed much of the land around my childhood home. Later homes surrounded those acres of undeveloped land, which had grown thick with second- and third-growth evergreens, blackberry brambles and alders.

Nobody I knew who owned a few wooded acres did much with them, other than pick a few summer berries. Land was an investment, something beautiful and maybe a nice barrier from the neighbors.

As part of forest gardening, Freed suggests landowners can actively manage the land. That means thinning some of the invasive species and encouraging native plants and animals to return.

Much of the land in this area was cleared of trees, allowing nonnative plants to take over, such as alder, Scotch broom, thistles, blackberries and the like. If a property owner does nothing, it could take decades for much positive change to happen, he said.

“The understory plants are critical in the general health and vigor of the forest,” Freed said. “A small piece of property can still have a major impact on what’s happening in the area.”

This idea could mean good things for the local environment, particularly when 90,000 families own 5 acres or more in Washington, according to Freed.

Jim and Pat Smith are putting the concept to work at their home, about 10 miles north of Monroe. The couple purchased 23 rural acres, most of it wooded, about five years ago. The two want to attract wildlife, learn more about the plants that grow there and replace “pesky” plants such as alders with natives.

A few acres around the couple’s one-story home are landscaped with ornamental trees and shrubs and a series of raised vegetable beds. Beyond, wooded land stretches for acres.

The Smiths are working to thin dense thickets of alders and create habitat for critters. They build snags from the downed trees. When they cut down an alder, they make the cut high, so the stump will rot and improve the soil and the woodpeckers are left a source of food. They’ve already noticed more animals, including many birds, deer, bats and cougar.

Forest gardening leaves plenty of room for different philosophies about how the land should be used. Building snags to attract wildlife may not appeal to you, but maybe growing wild berries for summer pies and jams, or collecting evergreen boughs for wreathes for your family does.

Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.

Into the woods

What: Forest Gardening Lifestyle: A Workshop for Those Who Own and Live on Forested Land

When: Nov. 4, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: 600 128th St. SE, Everett

Cost: $40 a person or $60 a couple, register in advance

More information: Call 425-338-2400.