Planting a Tiny Forest

Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki introduced the idea of planting tiny forests in neglected or unused spaces. These miniature wild spaces can be a refuge for wildlife and an ecological oasis. A tiny forest can fit in an area as small as a few parking spaces. People around the world have planted them in their backyards, and they’ve been installed at corporate campuses, in city parks, alongside freeways, and in other areas where a semi-wild, dense, untamed, pocket forest can flourish.

Shubhendu Sharma, a former Toyota engineer, was so impressed with Miyawaki’s ideas that he left his job, worked to systematise Miyawaki’s methods, and started teaching other people how to grow their own tiny forests. He emphasises that this is not reforestation, in which a former forest is restored. It’s afforestation, the process of creating a forest where one did not exist before.

Sharma planted a tiny forest in his own backyard, and it’s now filled with fruit, flowers, birds, and caterpillars. It’s a tiny wild space in an otherwise bustling neighbourhood. “I think having a forest at your own house is probably the greatest luxury anyone can have,” he said.

The method for planting a tiny forest is different from ordinary tree-planting instructions, but Miyawaki’s unusual cultivation ideas promote rapid growth and a self-sustaining, dense tangle of foliage. It’s best to plant just before your local rainy season starts so that plants can get established.

First, take a close look at local forests and identify native species. You’ll need a mixture of forest floor plants, low-growing shrubs, understorey trees, and tall canopy tree specimens.

Next, reach out to local nurseries to procure those plants. Whenever possible, you want plants that are local to the area and were grown locally.

Here’s the tricky part: Dig the soil at least a metre deep. Most people use a digger or mechanical soil tiller for this strenuous work. Be sure to avoid underground cables and pipes.

Mix in locally sourced manure, compost and perforation materials. Add beneficial soil microbes, available from garden centers. The goal is to create a deep and unusually porous soil layer to promote fast root growth.

Plant densely, putting in about one plant for every one square metre. These plants will grow rapidly, and it’s expected that the lower-growing plants might eventually give way to the tall canopy trees. That’s all part of the natural life cycle of a forest.

Cover with a thick layer of mulch such as pea straw, then stand back! Weeding and watering might be necessary for the first few years, then it should flourish on its own.

Tiny forest classes are taught around the world; for more information, do a search for local teachers who can provide more specific guidance.

Amy Stewart is the author of the bestselling The Drunken Botanist. Her new release, The Tree Collectors, features gorgeously illustrated vignettes intercepted by helpful how-tos such as the one you just read. The Tree Collectors is out now!