Ethnobotanical research in homegardens of small farmers in the Alpine region of Osttirol (Austria): Photo essay

Today, almost every household in Eastern Tyrol owns at least one camera. Photography is mainly used to document special events such as family festivities or the development of one's children. Everyday work, especially that of women farmers, common landscape scenes, or "unspectacular" plants are hardly found in the photo collections of local people. These neglected topics are not only missed in the photo collections, but often also lack a space in people's minds. As the authors started with their research on homegardens in Eastern Tyrol, one of the first questions asked of local experts of different professions, ages and gender, was: Where can we find home gardens in Eastern Tyrol?" The most common answers were: "I don't know." "I think, there are no home gardens in the region any more". "I think in former times home gardens were widespread throughout the region and they were very beautiful. But now?" It is fascinating for the authors that the complete opposite of these opinions was found to be true as a result of their research. Photography was an important tool and method in their research and they explain how they used it.