What lies beneath our feet? Dinosaur bones? Earthworms? Stinky sewage pipes? Gardens? GARDENS???!!! Surely Not!? Well, after our bit of stargazing the other week with
'gardens in space', it's time to turn our attention to the world of the troglodytes. Yes, this post is a little round-up of subterranean garden projects.
People have grown mushrooms in caves for many years, but who would expect farmers to be growing crops of rice and assorted greens, and even flowers in an old bank vault beneath one of Tokyo's bustling business districts? At around 1000sq m the Pasona 02 underground farm is used as a training facility for jobless young people who might have a future in horticulture and agriculture.
mushrooms in the troglodyte caves of the Loire valley, France.
The Pasona 02 underground farm in Tokyo, Japan, via
pruned
For a less agricultural take on underground gardening, how about the
Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno, California. Started over 90 years ago by Baldassare Forestiere and all dug by hand, these gardens almost count as a piece of outsider art. With tunnels and light wells, they are home to trees, plants and climbers reaching up to the sun above.
The Forestiere Underground Gardens, Fresno, California.
As for public underground gardens, after the triumph of New York's Highline gardens; which transformed a long disused stretch of elevated railway track into beautiful gardens, there is now a team dedicated to raising funds for a 'lowline' gardens. Planning on turning empty subway tunnels into below-ground gardens, the
website has more details on this novel and ambitious idea.
Projected vision for the Lowline, New York City.
