Browsing by Author "Eklund, Eveliina"

Old historic gardens are at a risk of being ruined by lack of care and knowledge. Old gardens can transmit a lot of information about their history. They are significant monuments of cultural heritage. Gardens are living, evolving creations that will soon revert to woodland, if left without maintenance. At the same time the story told by the garden about it’s past disappears, when the features typical for different eras vanish. The interest towards gardening started to grow in Finland among the upper class from the 18th century forward and near the 20th century even common people got familiar with gardening culture, little by little. In mansions cultivation of food plants was important in the 18th century era of subsistence economy and utility. From the end of the 18th century also ornamental plantings gained popularity in mansion gardens. Mansions have had a big impact on the range and spread of garden plant species in Finland, and oldfashioned garden plant species, landraces and heritage cultivars can still be found in their gardens. Heritage plants are valuable for the cultural history and biodiversity point of view. Historic gardens can be significant living gene banks for threatened plant taxa. The purpose in this research was to assess the value of Wehmaa mansion garden based on it´s vegetation and garden history. The research material included the garden itself, old documents and oral information. The aim was to delineate the features that make the garden historically valuable and worth of conservation. Planning the care, restoration and conservation of a historic garden calls for a comprehensive assessment of its value and potential. In this research the present vegetation of Wehmaa garden was surveyed and the results of the inventory were utilized in the process of valuing the garden. Cultivation of food plants dominated the garden of Wehmaa mansion in the first half of the 20th century, while today only remnants of the utilitarian garden are left. Besides food plants, the mansion garden housed even ornamental plantings at least from around the mid 19th century. At present, the garden of Wehmaa has turned into a parklike garden that still holds old trees, bushes and perennial plants from old times. For example Rosa `Poppius`and a heritage variety of Viola cornuta L. have remained from the beginning of the 20th century till today. As the garden of Wehmaa mansion has also kept its integrity and authenticity rather well and contains features either typical or rare in an old country house garden, it can be considered as a valuable historic garden worth of preservation.