Fruitful specimen garden in Alsópáhok

Ancient landscape fruit trees were of great importance in the life of the Balaton highlands and the Bakony region until the middle of the last century. Today, this great value is being forgotten, and the variety of species and the ancestral knowledge associated with them are dying out. Saving values and preserving traditions is our task. 

The Barnag and Alsópáhok community gardens are a tribute to a special part of our cultural heritage - both created and developed by the local community with the support of VEB 2023. In both places, orchards are being created by local communities working together to create a natural, species-rich patch of the settlement fabric, with fruit trees of ancient landscape species, rich shrub and grassland species and other mixed tree species. These gardens are also experiments in how to create and maintain these spaces in the public spaces of the municipality through community collaboration. 

In our project, we want to create a garden with a unique landscape use by significantly transforming the current collection of varieties, which is currently a fairy garden. We are starting an "experiment" of model value for small villages in an urban environment, including possible solutions for water retention through landscaping, grass utilisation, living fences, etc. The main community objective of the project is to offer a diversity of activities, in a sustainable way and linked to garden maintenance. Through this diversity, people of different ages and abilities can experience the experience of creative work and unity in the community. Through this project, we want to help local people move from being landscape users to becoming responsible caretakers of the landscape.