Stureholm : en herrgårdsträdgårds historia, utveckling och framtida skötselmål

Sammanfattning: Stureholm Manor and garden is a relatively young farming unit on clay soil in the north western part of Skåne, a province in Southern Sweden. Since the middle of the 19th century the landscape has been actively cultivated and has been transformed from oak forrest into farmingland of high efficiency. The industrial era during the 19th and 20th centuries meant new posssibilites for cultivation of these clay soils. With equipment like steam ploughs and the possibility to obtain fertilizers, the harvest increased considerably. This increased prosperity provided estate Stureholm with a beatuiful corps de logi, a manor. The trends prevailing in Europe around the turn of the century 1800-1900 against the growing industrialism, was turned into a artisan movement known as Arts and Craft. The Swedish followers idealized our Swedish history and they took the turn of a national romantic movement that later turned into neoclassicism. The neoclassical movements had strong support among Swedish garden architects such as the Crown Princess Margareta and Rudolf Abelin among others. They have both founded their own renowned gardens in Skåne, Sofiero in Helsingborg and Norrviken in Båstad, both excellent examples of neoclassicism. National romantic features are demonstrated at Stureholm Manor and gardens with it's pergola. Two productive personalites from Helsingborg, architect Ola Andersson and the town gardenarchitect Oscar Landsberg were employed to actualize the dreams of a paradise that Sture and Alice Brunnström wished to create at Stureholm. Their Manor was completed 1912 and in 1918 the formal garden with its pergola was laid out. The garden of the Manor should not only be for pleasure. Very early on big plans were made for fruit orchards and a greenhouse. Hazelbushes were planted, beds for asparagus dug. A peachhouse, garden beds for growing vegetables and berrys were all needed along with somewhere to grow annuals (summerflowers). It was quite a large garden and to make it all possible a headgardener was employed. His responsibility being to manage and maintain the garden and to secure harvest for the Manors family and their guests all the months of the year, may it be fruit or flowers. Not only a productive garden but a garden for enjoyment for both the family, their children and of course their many guests, has been undergoing many natural changes during the almost one hundred years that have now passed. The garden that originally was laid out is still there but much of it's original living material has not survived our Swedish climat. The gardens formal architecture, the pergola, needs to be restored. Descisions for the future have been taken and a general plan has been drafted, which also include plans that should give the garden a renewed beauty. Other plans also include major developments for the estate, since pigglet production stopped in 2002. Since a few of decades ago the Manor regretfully no longer employs a headgardener. The orchard with apple- and peartrees has became overaged and most of the trees are now gone. Subsequently the buildings are also in need of restoration. The old orchards are now history and in their place an arboretum is in the planning. Hopefully like an english landscape park with paths crossing through the lawn, new sightlines and new places to sit, this hopefully will give more opportunity to enjoy the garden, the park and the arcitechture, that already so well interacts with the old oak forest. Knowledge about the farm, the Manor and it's gardenhistory, combined with my own studies in gardenhistory and practical gardening has had some influence of how this work of exams had developped into a report that tells the story and history of Stureholms Manor and garden. A historical documentation has been the main goal in this work of exams but it has also resulted in a new way to manage and maintain the garden. Most of the historic material has been retrieved from the Manor archive. Through litteraturestudies many answers and suggestions have been confirmed, like pieces in a puzzle completing the historical puzzle. The knowledge from eyewitneses among some important persons has been revealed through interviews and photos from family albums, both from historic and present time. To make it possible to understand the aim with future develop- and management a scheme has been drawn up by a student of landscape architechture and has been included in this work of exams and completed with guidelines for future measures and management. The guidelines are based on my own observations and knowhow that I have achieved through studies and courses in landscape- and gardenmanagement. The economic possiblitys to maintain the Manor garden with todays agricultural politics is even harder now than one hundred years ago. Today it's no longer possible to have a headgardener on staff, maybe it wasn't even in the early days. Todays salarys and taxes for both the employeer and the employée are insuperable. This means some new and creative solutions need to comeforth in order to keep a garden of such well maintained. International trends of today and especially in England have put focus on garden as an artform which have resulted in an increased interest for gardens and especially for historic gardens. An english organisation, the National Trust, take care of historic gardens and landscapes with especially rare and vulnerable nature among other things. These areas are often made into public places and the maintenance is conducted by both employees and voluntarians. In Sweden we have no organisation like the National Trust (that is independent of government), Riksantikvarieämbetet and Länsstyrelserna are responsible for the maintenance of items and areas of special historic values, classified by the law KML (Kulturminneslagen). This report also includes ideas of changing forms and new forms in parts of the garden and the farmarea, ideas that might lead to new directions for both the buildings on the farm and in the garden. Mainly this report contains facts about the Manor and the gardens coming into being and which influenses Rudolf Abelin and his plans for the Manor garden as an idea, has had. A history which is important not to overlook when ideas of developing and future changes are discussed and planned. As a support for future decisions about priority of maintenance and changes this work also includes an overall illustrated plan of maintenance areas, dividied into smaller areas. Within each small area suggested ideas of new forms or changes have been considered and made into guidelines for coming measures and goals for maintenance. To maintain the garden at present status demands a family with a large interest in gardening. But to restore and conserve it to it's original demands great economic effort. The measures that's needed to conserve the garden architecture, the pergola, the sunken lawns, the hedges of beech and redoak, the forest of descidious trees, are highly prioritized. It is a project of high costs that could be done during a longer period of time without economic support, but with support from the government it might be possible to conserve the garden more rapidly and it's surroundings could be an area for more public recreation.