Early in 2025 we were asked to participate in the Wild, Untamed and Spontaneous at La Casa Encendida in Madrid, curated by Paisanaje (a collective based in Madrid that combines curatorial work with artistic practice, and aims to address the growing ecosocial crises facing the world today).

Paisanaje have been invited to curate the part of the exhibition that will focus and reflect on “weeds” and on their potential from different perspectives. In this edition, they have proposed a study of contemporary artistic and landscape practices which imagine community gardens as spaces for learning, experimentation and cohabitation with other spaces.

This

was a great moment to take stock of our own garden practice at Amstel Park (with Zone2Source) and reflect on our activities and what organisms are present. Three questions Paisanaje asked us were:

A. A SIGNIFICANT SPECIES: We’d love for you to tell us about a plant in the garden that you find characteristic or emotionally significant.

B. CULTIVATED PLANTS: What plants have you cultivated in your garden?

C. OBSERVED ORGANISMS: What organism have you observed in your garden?

Luckily we are currently co-developing a biodiversity accounting tool with NiceTrails as part of a MUSAE project, and we have had a chance to put that into action with two recent workshops called “Agroecology Accounting in the Garden (AAG)”.

One workshop was held for the BioArt meet-up Group from HKU led by Martijn van Gessel and the other was for the Green Office VU sustainability platform at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Here are responses to the curators questions. The third list is from the Biodiversity Accounting that the workshop participants have been helping with.

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A. A SIGNIFICANT PLANT:

We recently planted a sea buckthorn (Hippophae rham) as part of our foray into edible perennial species. This is not a taste I grew up with, and was first introduced to it while we were collaborating with the scientist Dr. Wendy Russel in Scotland a decade ago. Now, whenever I taste this unique berry it brings me back to a moment not so long ago when the delight and pleasure of agricultural biodiversity started to resonate at a sensual and not only intellectual level.

IMAGE: Food Phreaking Issue 01

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B. CULTIVATED PLANTS:

Bay Laurel, Laurier, Laurus nobilis
Blackcurrant (Ben Sarek), Zwarte bes, Ribes nigrum x Ben Sarek
Blackcurrant (Titania), Zwarte bes, Ribes nigrum x Titania
Blueberry, Blauwe bes, Vaccinium corymbosum
Blueberry (Pink Lemonade), Blauwe bes, Vaccinium
Cornelian Cherry (Dublany), Gele kornoelje, Cornus mas
Cornelian Cherry (Szafer), Gele kornoelje, Cornus mas
Creeping Saltbush, Strandbiet, Atriplex halimus
Cucumber Shrub, Blauwe worstboom, Decaisnea fargesii
Daylily, Daglelie, Hemerocallis
Dune Thorn (Leikora), Duindoorn, Hippophae rham
Dune Thorn (Pollmix 2), Duindoorn, Hippophae rham
Elderberry, Vlier, Sambucus nigra
Eternal Cabbage, Eeuwige kool, Brassica oleracea var. acephala
Fig (Brown Turkey), Vijg, Ficus carica
Golden Raspberry, Gele framboos, Rubus idaeus
Hazel (Cosford), Hazelaar, Corylus avellana
Hazel (Red Zellernut), Rode hazelaar, Corylus
Honeysalt Bush, Zeevenkel, Crithmum maritimum
Hosta (Elegans), Hosta, Hosta sieboldiana
Hosta (First Frost), Hosta, Hosta
Japanese Ginger, Japanse gember, Zingiber mioga
Japanese Quince (Cido), Japanse kwee, Chaenomeles japonica
Jostaberry, Jostabes, Ribes nidigrolaria
Kiwi Berry (Ken’s Red), Kiwibes, Actinidia arguta
Kiwi Berry (Weiki), Kiwibes, Actinidia arguta
Lemon Balm, Citroenmelisse, Melissa officinalis
Lemon Mint, Citroenmunt, Mentha x piperita f. citrata
Mint (Apple Mint), Appelmunt, Mentha x rotundifolia
Mint (Moroccan Mint), Marokkaanse munt, Mentha spicata var. crispa ‘Moroccan’
Mint (Peppermint), Pepermunt, Mentha ×piperita
Mint (Strawberry Mint), Aardbeimunt, Mentha arvensis ‘Strawberry’
Medlar, Mispel, Mespilus germanica
Mulberry (Illinois Everbearing), Moerbei, Morus alba x rubra f. Illinois Everbearing
Olive Willow (Amber), Olijfwilg, Elaeagnus umbellata
Olive Willow (Sweet ‘n Tart), Olijfwilg, Elaeagnus umbellata
Pineapple Sage, Ananassalie, Salvia rutilans
Red Sage (Hot Lips), Rode salie, Salvia microphylla
Rue, Wijnruit, Artemisia abrotanum
Salt Cabbage (Jacob’s Blue), Zeekool, Crambe maritima ‘Jacobs Blue’
Seaberry / Sea Buckthorn, Duindoorn, Hippophae rham
True Sage (Blue Sage), Blauwe salie, Salvia officinalis
Valse Chistusdoorn (Honey Locust), Valse Christusdoorn, Gleditsia triacanthos inermis
Walnut (Common Walnut), Walnoot, Prunus dulcis
Wayfaring Tree, Wollige sneeuwbal, Toona sinensis

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C. OBSERVED ORGANISMS:

Alder, Els, Alnus
Blueberry, Blauwe bes, Vaccinium corymbosum
Bryophyte, Bladmossen, Bryophyta
Common Hazel, Hazelaar, Corylus avellana
Common Nettle, Grote brandnetel, Urtica dioica
Common Oak, Zomereik, Quercus sp.
Common Yew, Gewone taxus, Taxus baccata
Dandelion, Paardenbloem, Taraxacum officinale
Didymo, Rotslijm, Didymosphenia geminata
Diplopod (Millipede), Miljoenpoot, Diplopoda
Ephemeroptera Nymph, Eendagsvlieg nimf, Ephemeroptera nymph
False Nettle, Valse brandnetel, Boehmeria cylindrica
Field Pansy, Veldviooltje, Viola arvensis
Firebug Beetle, Vuurwants, Pyrrhocoris apterus
Garlic Mustard, Look-zonder-look, Alliaria petiolata
Gold Dust Lichen, Goudstofkorst, Chrysothrix chlorina
Golden Shield Lichen, Goudschildkorst, Xanthoria parietina
Goosegrass, Kleefkruid, Galium aparine
Ground Ivy, Hondsdraf, Glechoma hederacea
Groundcover Strawberry, Wilde aardbei, Fragaria
Groundsel, Klein kruiskruid, Senecio vulgaris
Herb Bennet, Geel nagelkruid, Geum urbanum
Holly, Hulst, Ilex aquifolium
Lawn Grass, Gazon gras, Poaceae
Lichen (Flavoparmelia caperata), Geelgroene korstmos, Flavoparmelia caperata
Lichen (Golden Shield Lichen), Goudschildkorst, Xanthoria parietina
Lichen (Hypogymnia physodes), Blaaskorstmos, Hypogymnia physodes
Lichen (Unidentified), Korstmos, Lichen sp.
Lichen (Xanthoria sp.), Gele korstmos, Xanthoria sp.
Marsh Pennywort, Waternavel, Hydrocotyle umbellata
Mayfly Nymph, Eendagsvlieg nimf, Ephemeroptera nymph
Moss (Bryophyta), Mos, Bryophyta
Orange Algae (Trentepohlia aurea), Oranje alg, Trentepohlia aurea
Patella Limpet, Gewone lympet, Patella vulgata
Peacock Spider, Pauwspin, Maratus
Pirate Spider (Pisaurina mira), Piratenspin, Pisaurina mira
Planktonic Algae, Planktonalgen, Chlorophyta
Ranunculus, Speenkruid, Ranunculus ficaria
Red Slime Mold, Rode slijmzwam, Fuligo septica
Rove Beetle (Paederus spp.), Oeverkruiper, Paederus spp.
Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle, Aziatische lieveheersbeestje, Harmonia axyridis
Strawberry, Aardbei, Fragaria
Terrestrial Earthworm, Regenworm, Lumbricus terrestris
Veronica Speedwell, Veldereprijs, Veronica persica
Wood Cricket, Boskrekel, Gryllidae
Wood Formica Ants, Houtmier, Formica spp.
Wolf Spider, Wolfspin, Lycosidae

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When the otter came back to our city in winter of 2021, I was quite exited. It seemed like a messenger at a time of extreme drought.

Around that time I was watching ‘The Mandalorian’, a Star Wars series, and in it many planets are visited. As a spaceship tore through the clouds of a distant planet called Sorgan, piloted by the Mandalorian, the audience of this Star Wars tv-show was treated to an impressive feat of worldbuilding.

(Planet Sorgan drawing by Theun)

Immediately striking was the bioregional approach through which this world was envisioned; materials, structures, activities, cultural expressions all were directly derived from intimate connections to a swampy, forested biome. It looked as if the design team had taken the swamp and created an entire swamp culture, including means of living for all kinds of creatures, including people, frogs, fish, algue, shrimp and swamp-robots. This – I thought – is ‘otter-world’, in the sense that the otter seemed like it’s totem animal.

Planet Sorgan appeared here – in a way- as an alternate Netherlands, a reimagined Amsterdam, as a total overhaul of what a contemporary human settlement in a wetland-area might look like. This connected in my mind directly to the return of the otter to our city and eventually resulted in otterdam as a floating garden, not a structure made for otters, but a practice inspired by these iconic waterbeings and their kinship relations. To live in a more active relationship with the waters of Amsterdam. Can’t wait to start on a swamp robot!

We gained access to the GGGarden site in May of 2024. We were encouraged by our neighbor art-gardeners de Onkruidenier to be okay with spending a lot of time observing (and not intervening) the first season.

This was good advice, especially since May is a bit late in the growing season to make any extensive plans for going crazy with annuals from seeds or perennials. We decided to put a few plants in the soil, build out some infrastructure (raised beds, a willow dome, etc.) and get to know the conditions, rhythms and patterns of the site.  

The beans grew well along the fence despite the pretty poor soil conditions, and hopefully their nitrogen fixing is one small step forward for that section of the land.

We started to identify the range of volunteer plants that had inhabited what was overall a very marginal site in terms of soil health with lots of recent disturbance. We also started to notice how much plastic there was in the soil, and document that as well.

We tidied up the artificial pond early on, and when it warmed up, got to see frogs and salamander and a range of water insects.

Most of the frogs looked pretty healthy and happy, but last week (THU OCT. 10, 2024) we managed to take a photo and noticed something in or on the frogs mouth. Did the frog manage to find some food or was this some kind of massive growth on its face? Perhaps it was a very small bird hatchling? Otherwise, maybe it was some kind of growth or infection? If anyone knows frogs and can identify this situation, let us know. 

Right around the large tree, and near the treeline in the rear of the site, the soil was slightly richer, but towards the entry the soil consisted of a a lot of white sand and shells, a remnant of its use as a seal enclosure, and possibly because we had heard (unconfirmed) rumors that the initial site infill was dredged from the North Sea.

At our most recent public workshop on Saturday Oct. 5, 2024 we did a few kinds of DIY soil testing including using pH paper and counting worms. The site pH was neutral to slightly alkaline. However, much more concerning was the lack of worms and insects in the soil. Two of our test spots yielded no worms, while a third spot had only 1 worm. 

Now that the season is coming to a close, we have begun a process of soil remediation in preparation for next year. In 3 locations we dug trenches, added leaves from offsite and covered this in hay (which was stored in the shed on site), and possibly used by the Wallabies which used to be housed here until 3 years ago. 

We are also making some plans to plant some cover crops in the new year, and perhaps revisit our research into “Cover Crop Cuisine” that we conducted in Ireland back in 2016.