Castle Garden: A pocket of tranquility in the heart of a city

It has been two weeks since we have started our travels through Northern Europe. So far, we have traveled through Stockholmand Malmö, Sweden and Copenhagen and Odense, Denmark. Throughout the  trip, we have learned so much and have been inspired extremely. One memorable place that we went to in Malmo was Castle Garden. A wonderful example of placing a tranquil space within a heart of a city.

Castle Garden:

During our bike tour one of our last stops was The Castle Garden. The Castle garden is a charming organically managed garden that is comprises several smaller gardens with different styles as well as different functions. 

The nursery is where most of the plants for the garden are cultivated. There is also a pleasant café located on conveniently on site. The café has a fully organic range of baked goods, foods and drinks. There is also a greenhouse that you can enjoy your meal in. It is home to a numerous variety of vegetables you can add to your plate.

A Bit of Background. Castle garden was created by a group of Malmö residents, with no professional background in gardening. They wanted an organic garden that would be created and open to everyone. It was officially opened in 1998.

Upon arrival, we were pleasantly greeted by John Taylor. Taylor moved from England to Malmo in 1992 and become the master gardener for Castle garden.  He had a charmingly playful demeanor especially when he jokingly poked fun at Landscape Architects. 

What we did gather from him was that green space and gardens “help solve the worlds problems”. His love for planting and enthusiasm for nature was infectious. He encouraged us future designers to integrate as much green in our design as possible. 

      

After his brief talk with us, we walked through the 

gardens that were filled with beautiful perennial plants and vegetables and trellis' laced with vines. After about an hour we left Castle Garden, waving goodbye to John Taylor as he continued merrily along with his lawn mower. 
















Kristina Jesena and Elaine Palacios