En man och hans äpplen: en fallstudie av Carl Strömbergs äppelträdgård

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis studies Carl Strömbergs äppelträdgård, a private garden consisting of a large number of apple trees and varieties. The garden is located outside Örebro, in Närke, and is owned by a unit owner association whose goal is to preserve and determine the varieties. Through interviews, articles, site visits and documents from Carl Strömberg, the purpose have been to get an understanding of who Carl Strömberg was, how he collected the apple varieties and how that process was affected by the climate amongst apple growing and pomology during that time. This study also looks at the value of the garden and how today’s owners take on the challenges of the constant change that is green heritage. First I take a look at apple growing and pomology in general in Sweden, from 1800-century to today, to then look at Carl Strömbergs connections and approach to getting scions. The results show that there was a decline in apple varieties in trade the decades following the 1930’s. Carl was active in getting scions from early 1950’s to at least the 1980’s. He had contact with several apple experts and facilities and got most of his scions from the plant breeding station Balsgård. The varieties in Strömbergs garden are considered somewhat unusual, with local varieties from Sweden to foreign varieties, with a lot of his varieties not yet described in Sweden. The exact amount of varieties he grafted in the garden is unknown.