The home garden is a unique human-nature interspace that accommodates a diverse spectrum of plant species and provides multiple services to households. One of the most important roles of home gardens is to shelter the agricultural plant diversity that provides for diverse and healthy nutrition, especially in rural communities. While tropical home gardens have received wide recognition due to their provisional function for the local communities, temperate and especially European home gardens have been discussed less frequently as a source of subsistence. The main objectives of the current study were to document plant species grown in Bulgarian rural home gardens and to explore related local knowledge and cultural practices that influence food plant diversity, its selection and preservation. Field work was focused on settlements situated in eight provinces in South and North-West Bulgaria. Participants representing 65 home gardens were approached through semi-structured interviews. Home gardens were found to harbor 145 cultivated and semi-cultivated plant taxa, used as food, medicinal and aromatic plants and as animal fodder. Members of the Rosaceae family were most numerous. The largest part of the garden area was occupied by vegetable crops of Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae. In 63.1% of the studied households, the food growing area comprised more than 2/3 of the total size of the garden. Most preferred crops reflected the social and cultural importance of food self-provisioning, especially in the rural areas. The provisional role of the home gardens in regard to preparation of traditional foods and the driving forces for seed saving are discussed.

Lamiaceae comprises widely distributed medicinal and aromatic plants, many of which are traditionally used in European countries. The current study aimed to document Lamiaceae taxa used in rural Bulgaria (Southeast Europe) and to explore the related local knowledge and cultural practices that influence their utilization for various purposes. Field work included inventory of Lamiaceae diversity in home gardens and semi-structured interviews focused on the cultivation, collection, and utilization practices common among elderly inhabitants of 34 settlements in rural Bulgaria. We report the utilization of 27 Lamiaceae taxa, 9 of which were collected from the wild. Traditional and contemporary ways of utilizing Lamiaceae taxa as culinary and medicinal plants, in herbal teas, as repellents, ritual plants, etc., are presented. Recent knowledge on medicinal properties contributed to the introduction of new taxa in gardens (wild and cultivated), while traditional culinary practices were found to sustain the diversity of local forms (landraces).

Ruscus aculeatus L. is a perennial semi-shrub with distinctive leaf-like branches (cladodes). Rhizomes and roots contain steroidal saponins (ruscogenins) that are used in medicine and cosmetics for their anti-inflammatory, venotonic and antihaemorroidal activity. Problematic cultivation of the species causes in many countries unsustainable over-collection from the wild. Tissue culture propagation of R. aculeatus was carried out for conservation and propagation purposes. The impact of the clonal origin (genotype) on the ruscogenin biosynthesis, genome-size stability and propagation traits and morpho-physiological response to long-term cultivation in vitro was studied. Production of ruscogenins in fully developed regenerants was quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Genome-size stability of the clones was assessed by flow cytometry. Slow growth and prolonged lag-phase were characteristic for the whole propagation cycle. Produced plantlets with well-defined organs were suitable for direct ex vitro planting. Genome DNA content of all clones was stable and comparable to native plants. Ruscogenin biosynthesis was clone-specific, presenting distinctive profiles of the cultures. Our results imply that clone origin and culture type might influence saponin biosynthesis in Ruscus. These traits should be considered in the ex situ conservation of the genetic diversity of this species and by production of planting material as well.