Gardens  International volunteer Worcamps

The medieval village perches on the hill at several levels.  It doesn’t have broad spaces, only small leveled plots which surround and define it.  In these airy plots are hanging gardens like those of Babylone.  Of course the gardens and structures of our old village are smaller but they have been created using authentic ancestral techniques and materials.  Stone by stone retaining walls have been built dry-stack, i.e. without mortar, to support a pyramidal terrace at a base of the hill.  The construction of these terraces required the transportation of huge amounts of stone and the cooperation of hundreds of volunteers.  The basic structures are there, we must now give them life.  There are already trees and plants growing next to native vegetation which adorn the beauty and diversity of the village.  This ancient village, a refuge of peace and beauty, longs for  even more bright colourful gardens.

We must also give proper shelter to insects, our little visitors who are welcome here.  In the stones and dry-stack terrace walls there are worms and small lizards. Our gardens should fit in with the medieval village not in an attempt to copy a traditional medieval garden but in proper harmony with the site and with our simple manual techniques which give to participants real contact with creativity.