Dec 11
11
Understanding the Eco System in Your Garden
From ancient times, man relied exclusively on agriculture as means of feeding. The early man ran in caves after animals and tilled the ground to grow fruits, foods and vegetables. So much so that whatever he must consume must be tilled, grown or sourced from the animals around him. This has pretty much remained the same several thousand years later. Today farming is a very important aspect of most world economies and in fact there are some countries whose economy depends solely on farming.
Life in the garden involves more than just the plants or crops growing, in fact plants can only grow in the garden only when some other factors are in the right places and in the right amounts. For instance, the quality of the earth in a garden is directly proportional to the life of the plant. This buttresses that the eco system of your garden is influential to the quality of the garden. Other elements in the ecosystem include; sunlight, animals, water and even humans.
In every garden there is the relationship in the ecosystem. For instance, in flowering plants, insects must be involved to ensure pollination. Imagine where insects are eliminated from the equation, what happens to the flowers? It is more like a symbiosis relationship where one receives something for a duty done. Some birds feed on grains in the garden, their droppings form organic fertilizers from which the plants producing the grains can draw nutrients for survival. One depends on the other and is willing to let go what the other needs.
One must understand how the elements in the eco system profit one another in other to ensure continual growth. There is a place of removing predators which fight the plants but one must be able to determine which plant or organism is a predator and the one on which the plants depend on for survival. Every garden owner by this becomes aware that the job description for him in his garden is more than just tending for the plants but ensuring that the other factors in the ecosystem that all work hand in hand to achieve this balance must be taken care of too.
An important way whereby the relationship between these elements are understood and strengthened is by getting the services of the professionals who by study and training have come to understand it. These professionals are the best bet too in situations where they are abnormalities. For instance if there is an outbreak of a disease on the crops, they can trace its source, determine its gravity and determine the best routes through it. The place of the professional in understanding the ecosystem of your garden is very vital.
Understanding the aesthetic role the fauna and flora plays in the environment, adequate care and awareness of this importance is most essential. There is an endless list of the benefits they serve aside from just beautifying the surroundings. Man feeds from the flora and obtains other nutrients like meat, milk and eggs from the fauna. Most medicines too come from either of the fauna and flora. It is a plus today that the focus is on preserving the wildlife and plant life globally.
Priscilla is a tree doctor at a landscape firm in New York. It is her profession and her passion to integrate flora and fauna into our daily surrounding, something the world today is much in need of. Her forte in Landscaping Solutions is world-renown.
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Designer Plant Combinations: 105 Stunning Gardens Using Six Plants or FewerFor every gardener who has hesitated over plant pairings or wondered if an array of favorite plants will work well together in the garden, Designer Plant Combinations inspires and delights with professionally designed combinations using just two to six plants. Here are the secrets to combining French lavender with California fuchsia; prairie coneflower with hummingbird mint; and tall purple moor grass with dwarf Korean lilac in a small garden bed. The dramatic effects are marvelous.Author Scott Calhoun traveled the country searching for the freshest, most exciting plant groupings. He visited the gardens of top designers from coast to coast and chose more than 100 combinations to include in his photographic celebration. Riots of complementary colors, masses of grasses, foliage spectacles in extraordinary shades of green and purple, and height variations as arresting as city skylines are all featured in these exciting gardens, each one an intimate self-contained glimpse of a larger garden.
Rather than complete garden designs, these combinations are small, understandable pieces that demystify the design process for home gardeners. The innovative ensembles are invitations to try plants together in fresh, inventive ways. The combinations are perfect as embellishments to or reinventions of existing gardens. A favorite pairing can be the beginning of a larger garden design, or a five-plant grouping might be all that is necessary to fill in a small urban garden. The possibilities are as varied as the gardener's imagination.
