Trädgård - en angelägen fråga : Carl Adam von Nolcken, Jordberga gods och trädgårdskulturens främjande i Skåne 1834-1857

Sammanfattning: Baron Carl Adam von Nolcken was born in 1811. In 1834 he took over Jordberga Estate in the South of Skåne from his father. The estate remained in his possession until his death in 1857. von Nolcken was interested in agriculture and horticulture from an early age and attended the newly started Institute of Agriculture, Degeberg in Västergötland in the early 1830:s. At Degeberg, von Nolcken learnt all about modern farming methods, which he put into practice on his own estate. von Nolcken was one of the persons who during the mid 19th century worked intensely to develop horticulture and the art of gardening in Skåne. In particular, he thought it important to increase interest in gardening among country people. To accomplish this von Nolcken worked at different levels using mainly three courses of action. One way of spreading horticulture to the public was to set an example - and so he transformed Jordberga into a model estate. While rebuilding the manor house he rotated the building to face South (instead of facing West), which was of sequential importance for further development of the parkland. By incorporating a terrass, the building of a new entry road, the re-location of fruit and vegetable gardens, the building of an orangery and enhancing the ornamental gardens, von Nolcken was able to transform the surrounding area into a modern and representative landscape garden. Secondly, to spread the idea of garden culture and his ideas he wrote articles on the subject. For example he wrote an article about "Plantations and Gardens on small farms" which was published in the book "Reading for Country People" and which he distributed several thousand copies of, free of charge, to all the parishes in the "province". Thirdly, to reach a wider public, von Nolcken worked through different societies. In 1852 he suggested the forming of a horticultural society in Skåne, in which the main aim was "to further more extensive and more pratical gardening methods among the country population of Skåne". The society started in 1854 and existed until 1860. One reason for the discontinuation of the society was the death of von Nolcken, who was chairman, in 1857. Another and far more important reason was the fact that interest in horticulture was still not especially popular among people in Skåne. The study of the buildings, tools and plants which could be found in Jordberga´s park and gardens and some of the people who were involved in their development shows how far von Nolcken had progressed with his horticultural work on the estate. This essay shows, with Jordberga estate as case-study, how diversified horticulture was during the middle of the 19th century.