The vicarage garden: an arena for biological diversity
The initiator of this was Professor and Director of the Botanical Garden at Tøyen, Fredrik Christian Schübeler (1815–1892). He organised a network of gardens throughout Norway to test new useful plants. The vicarage gardens were of great importance in this work.
Every year, priests and the wives of priests throughout the country received several new seeds and plants for testing. The seeds and plants were accompanied by precise instructions on cultivation and a requirement to submit a report on the results of that year's trials. Through this nationwide initiative, Schübeler wished, among other things, to document hardiness and establish climatic limits for plant life in Norway.
Schübeler wrote a number of articles and several books, including Viridarium Norvegicum, which consists of three volumes totalling 1,876 pages, documenting the northern and upper limits, flowering times, seed production and cultural history of several thousand species.
Schübeler's network
In 2016, the organisation KVANN (Knowledge and Protection of Useful Plants in Norway) was established. This is an interest organisation dedicated to preserving plant diversity in Norway. KVANN has continued Schübeler's work and is working to develop the historic gardens in our time. Last year, Schübeler's network was founded, with KVANN, together with other associations and garden enthusiasts, establishing a national network of various types of historic and reserve gardens throughout Norway to preserve old cultural and useful plants and test new ones. The Norwegian Government's Fund for the Preservation of Historic Buildings (OVF), as the owner of a number of vicarages across the country, is part of this network.
Schübeler's network will preserve old cultural elements in the gardens from different stylistic periods and view homes, people and gardens in a broader historical context. The old vicarages, museum gardens and other sites of cultural and historical significance are central to this work. One example is the herb garden at Domkirkeodden in Hamar, with historical links to the Middle Ages and the monks' gardens. The old vicarage gardens constitute the “heritage” of Norwegian garden history. Today, the gardens are also meeting places in many local communities, involving children and young people as well as others who enjoy and benefit from gathering there. Participants receive information about the cultural history of the vicarages and take part in gardening activities, cultivation and the use of plants, etc. The gardens serve as reserve gardens to preserve old plant varieties, while also testing new ones in order to expand our biological diversity..
Support from the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB Foundation
This winter, the network was awarded NOK 450,000 by the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB Foundation to implement a number of measures in 2022, including measures to make information about historic gardens and plants more accessible to the public. A number of courses and gatherings will also be held at vicarages throughout the country. A Facebook page has already been created, where members share pictures and stories about work and the joys of the gardens. See here. More information about the vicarage network and Schübeler can also be found on KVANN's website. The following page shows which gardens are part of the network, with a map showing their locations throughout the country: Schübeler's gardens.
“We are very happy to be part of Schübeler's network,” says cultural heritage developer Øyvind Sandvold of OVF. “This is fully in line with our mission to find new meaningful uses for vicarages, which have historically been of great importance to community development. Preserving the diversity of species in Norwegian flora and fauna is one of the most important things we can contribute to in the times we live in, with climate challenges and the need to safeguard diversity in our own food and plant production,” says Sandvold.