Residency Freja Nielsen in Timelab

This page shows the research on gardening, urban development and spontaneous vegetation growing in the neighbourhood of Dampoort - Campo Santo (Gent, Belgium) conducted by Social Designer Freja Emilie Kræmmer Nielsen during her residency at Timelab from February - June 2022.

Street Garden
A garden on the corner of Serafijnstraat, Kogelstraat and Spitaalpoortstraat is currently in development.

The garden insists on not planting any plants, as actions of planting often result in inconvenient placements unsuitable for the plant's necessary soil, water, sun and wind conditions. Plants will sprout and grow themselves where they are able to, and are therefore the best garden designers.

What is the role of the human then in the garden? To facilitate plants to grow spontaneously in the best way possible by 1) creating networks for seeds to disperse, roots to unfold and animals to move, and 2) creating balance in the ecosystems surrounding the garden.

The outcome of growing a spontaneous street garden can diminish the need for traditional green maintenance, which tends to favor mono-cultures (such as grassy lawns) and remove plants unnecessarily with the result of lowering biodiversity.

As neighborhoods such as Dampoort - Campo Santo undergo construction work and are rebuilt to contain more green, it is important to question what kind of green is implemented and how it is welcomed in the city.

Creating Multi-species Networks
In order to facilitate the garden to grow plants, that are fitted to its specific soil, water, sun and wind conditions, it is important to enable dispersal of a diverse range of plants from the nearby landscape to the garden. It is therefore encouraged to perform traditional maintenance (which aims to remove spontaneously growing plants) to a minimum in the environment surrounding the garden, as seeds from nearby streets, gutters and corners can disperse germinate in the garden.

(+ explain root and animal networks)

Balancing Surrounding Ecosystems
As continuous disturbance from cars, construction work and other human interventions prevent plants from growing in their own pace, the garden contains elements from an area commonly known as "The Green Banana" - the biggest spontaneously growing area of the neighborhood in Dampoort - Campo Santo.

The Green Banana is a marginal landscape, following the train tracks that lead to the Dampoort train station. Despite the landscape's disturbed character, having been rebuilt many times due to the growing city, plants manage to grow wildly there and build ecosystems and homes for insects, birds and mammals. Some plants are in overflow and can therefore be harvested and used as a resource to initiate both balance to the area, the plant is harvested from, and the area the plant is applied to.

The installed garden elements include dried sticks of Fallopia Japonica, and rocks made from asphalt and rail work rubble, which are placed in patterns to protect and invite plants to grow spontaneously from the soil.

Research Map
Spontaneous vegetation growing in the neighbourhood both in paved and depaved areas have been registered and compared to maps of the municipality regarding urban greenery and ecological value in the following map Spontaneous Vegetation: Dampoort - Campo Santo. The map indicates, that the opinion of plants' value from the municipality of Gent is ambiguous and contradictory, and highlights the value of spontaneous vegetation and novel ecosystems.

Suggestions from neighbors
During the gardening process, and in conversation with the neighborhood committee, many neighbors have given comments on how to bring awareness to spontaneous vegetation. This wikipage encourages neighbors, maintenance workers and municipalities to support each other in sharing knowledge on the value of spontaneous vegetation.

Suggestions include:


 * making guided walks to show the spontaneous plants
 * creating signs/writing the plant's names on the pavement
 * cooking or in other ways showing the usage of the plants

Research assemblage
The following assemblage is a collage of references found in different places and times within the duration of her residency.