Misplaced Pages

#383616

81-591: Town Belt is the name used for an urban green belt in New Zealand. There are several notable town belts in the country: When simply describe as "the Town Belt", the term most commonly applies to Dunedin's town belt, the country's oldest. Green belt The more general term in the United States is green space or greenspace , which may be a very small area such as a park . In those countries which have them,

162-428: A "green court", a plot of grass and trees where horses could graze, as well as a cellarer's garden or private gardens for obedientiaries, monks who held specific posts within the monastery. Islamic gardens were built after the model of Persian gardens and they were usually enclosed by walls and divided in four by watercourses. Commonly, the centre of the garden would have a reflecting pool or pavilion . Specific to

243-689: A basic level of gardening. Similarly, the Fuegian Indigenous groups in South America had developed seemingly comparable niches due to a similar tundra ecosystem. While there are very few studies on the Fuegians, Darwin mentioned wild edible plants such as fungi , kelp , and wild celery growing next to the various Fuegian shelters. Horticulture plays a relatively small role in these northern and southern tundra inhabitants compared with Indigenous societies in grassland and forest ecosystems. From

324-461: A cold dormant period to sprout, or saskatoon berries which have improved germination after being digested by bears through a process called endozoochory . Many gardeners, especially those who live in colder climates, will start seeds indoors prior to transplanting the young plant outside. This provides many benefits such as elongating the growing season, ensuring adequate quantities and quality of light, ensuring seedlings have adequate nutrients in

405-435: A designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of aesthetically pleasing areas, medicines , cosmetics , dyes , foods , poisons , wildlife habitats , and saleable goods (see market gardening ). People often partake in gardening for its therapeutic , health , educational , cultural , philosophical , environmental , and religious benefits. Gardening varies in scale from

486-459: A desirable and ornamental garden plant, or it may be considered a pest if it seeds and starts to grow where it is not wanted. As another example, in lawns , moss can become dominant and be impossible to eradicate. In some lawns, lichens , especially very damp lawn lichens such as Peltigera lactucfolia and P. membranacea , can become difficult to control and are considered pests. There are many ways by which unwanted pests are removed from

567-561: A forest-based food production system, is the world's oldest form of gardening. After the emergence of the first civilizations , wealthy individuals began to create gardens for aesthetic purposes. Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings from the New Kingdom (around 1500 BC) provide some of the earliest physical evidence of ornamental horticulture and landscape design; they depict lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of acacias and palms . A notable example of ancient ornamental gardens were

648-436: A future-guaranteed premium for protection of their views, recreational space and for the preservation/conservation value itself. Most also benefit from higher rates of urban gardening and farming , particularly when done in a community setting, which has positive effects on nutrition , fitness , self-esteem , and happiness, providing a benefit for both physical and mental health, in all cases easily provided or accessed in

729-664: A garden was also referred to as a 'Mandala Vaatika'. The word 'Vaatika' can mean garden, plantation or parterre. Residential gardening takes place near the home, in a space referred to as the garden. Although a garden typically is located on the land near a residence, it may also be located on a roof , in an atrium , on a balcony , in a window box , on a patio or vivarium . Gardening also takes place in non-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens ( botanical gardens or zoological gardens ), amusement parks , along transportation corridors, and around tourist attractions and garden hotels . In these situations,

810-451: A garden. The techniques vary depending on the pest, the gardener's goals, and the gardener's philosophy. For example, snails may be dealt with through the use of a chemical pesticide, an organic pesticide, hand-picking, barriers, or simply growing snail-resistant plants. On a large scale pest control is often done through the use of pesticides and herbicides , which may be either organic or artificially synthesized. Pesticides may affect

891-406: A global increase in pesticide usage has been observed which in turn has caused an increase of human health risks due to exposure. Creating new pesticides in order to manage resistant organisms is an immense expense and is often heavily criticized as an ineffective method of pest control. Other means of control include the removal of infected plants, using fertilizers and bio stimulants to improve

SECTION 10

#1732859190384

972-425: A green belt may have been motivated by or result in considerable premiums. They may also be more economically resilient as popular among the retired and less attractive for short-term renting of modest homes. Where in the city itself demand exceeds supply in housing, green belt homes compete directly with much city housing wherever such green belt homes are well-connected to the city. Further, they in all cases attract

1053-512: A green belt. Government planners also seek to protect the green belt as its local farmers are engaged in peri-urban agriculture which augments carbon sequestration , reduces the urban heat island effect, and provides a habitat for organisms . Peri-urban agriculture may also help recycle urban greywater and other products of wastewater , helping to conserve water and reduce waste. The housing market contrasts with more uncertainty and economic liberalism inside and immediately outside of

1134-602: A lack of plant breeding knowledge would have led to more hybridization and the creation of new genetically diverse landraces . Each plant varies in its likelihood of outcrossing . Highly outcrossing plants such as spinach are more likely to create landraces. Many landraces and heirloom varieties along with their genetics are being lost due to the decrease in seed saving by modern farmers. This leads plant geneticists to search for desirable genetics in wild ancestral varieties of commonly grown plants. Plants have been artificially selected and bred since at least 7800 BCE. Despite

1215-402: A much smaller scale with the intent of personal or community consumption . There are cultures which do not differentiate between farming and gardening. This is primarily because subsistence agriculture has been the main method of farming throughout its 12,000 year history and is virtually indistinguishable from gardening. Plant domestication is seen as the birth of agriculture. However, it

1296-614: A new style within the English landscape. This was a "gardenless" form of landscape gardening, which swept away almost all the remnants of previous formally patterned styles. The English landscape garden usually included a lake, lawns set against groves of trees , and often contained shrubberies, grottoes, pavilions, bridges and follies such as mock temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape. This new style emerged in England in

1377-425: A niche of some sort, allowing them to thrive or even just survive amongst their environments. Many of these prehistoric hunter-gatherers had constructed a niche allowing for easier access to, or a higher amount of edible plant species. This shift from hunting and gathering to increasingly modifying the environment in a way which produces an abundance of edible plant species marks the beginning of gardening. One of

1458-448: A producer of foods, medicines, or materials, but also pleasant aesthetics. Many popular crops originate from pre-colonial Indigenous agricultural societies. Some of these include maize , quinoa , common bean , peanut , pumpkin , squash , pepper , tomato , cassava , potato , blueberry , cactus pear , cashew , papaya , pineapple , strawberry , cacao , sunflower , cotton , Pará rubber , and tobacco . Forest gardening ,

1539-504: A protracted housing shortage, the reduction of the green belt is one of the possible solutions. All such solutions may be resisted however by private landlords who profit from a scarcity of housing, for example by lobbying to restrain new housing across the city. The stated motivation and benefits of the green belt might be well-intentioned (public health, social gardening and agriculture, environment), but inadequately realized relative to other solutions. Critics include Mark Pennington and

1620-469: A public school to augment the kitchen classroom. Garden sharing , where urban landowners allow gardeners to grow on their property in exchange for a share of the harvest, is associated with the desire to control the quality of one's food, and reconnect with soil and community. In US and British usage, the production of ornamental plantings around buildings is called landscaping , landscape maintenance or grounds keeping , while international usage uses

1701-513: A sign of higher socioeconomic status. In addition, wealthy ancient Egyptians grew vineyards, as wine was a sign of the higher social classes. Roses , poppies, daisies and irises could all also be found in the gardens of the Egyptians. Assyria was renowned for its beautiful gardens. These tended to be wide and large, some of them used for hunting game—rather like a game reserve today—and others as leisure gardens. Cypresses and palms were some of

SECTION 20

#1732859190384

1782-656: A staff of gardeners or groundskeepers maintains the gardens. Regardless of historical time period, location, scale, or type of garden, all gardening requires some basic tools . For the majority of human history, people have managed with significantly fewer resources compared to modern times. Agriculture was built on the use of hands, stones, sticks, human ingenuity, and fire. The essential tools used in pre- Bronze Age gardening were non-metal (primarily stone, bone, wood, or copper) knives, axes, adzes, foot ploughs , sickles, hoes, baskets, pottery, digging sticks, animal-driven ploughs, animals, and fire for clearing land. Up until

1863-399: A standard ammunition. These guns are especially effective inside of barns and sheds, as the snake shot will not shoot holes in the roof or walls, or more importantly injure livestock with a ricochet . They are also used for pest control at airports , warehouses , and stockyards . People can express their political or social views in gardens, intentionally or not. The lawn vs. garden issue

1944-761: Is arguably proceeded by a very long history of gardening wild plants. While the 12,000 year-old date is the commonly accepted timeline describing plant domestication, there is now evidence from the Ohalo II hunter-gatherer site showing earlier signs of disturbing the soil and cultivation of pre-domesticated crop species. This evidence pushes early stage plant domestication to 23,000 years ago which aligns with research done by Allaby (2022) showing slight selection pressure of desirable traits in Southwest Asian cereals (einkorn, emmer, barley). Despite not qualifying as plant domestication , there are many archaeological studies pushing

2025-524: Is called biological pest control . There are also targeted measures of animal pest control such as a mole vibrator which can deter mole activity in a garden, or automated gun shots to scare off birds. Garden guns are smooth-bore shotguns specifically made to fire .22 caliber snake shot , and are commonly used by gardeners and farmers for pest control. Garden guns are short-range weapons that can do little harm past 15 to 20 yards (14 to 18 m) and are relatively quiet when fired with snake shot, compared to

2106-404: Is common for shrubs, and trees such as willows which may shed their branches which is termed cladoptosis . Placing the shed limb into water or soil produces budding and causes roots to form. Perhaps the most commonly-known method of asexual reproduction in gardening and farming is grafting . A human may choose to graft an excellent fruit producing cultivar on a selected rootstock cultivar of

2187-406: Is crucial that transplanting is done correctly. This generally implies providing the plants with enough soil so they do not become root-bound (roots wrapping in circles around transplant container), providing a hardening-off period (slow exposure to sun, wind, and cold), providing sufficient light, water, and nutrients, and choosing the correct plants to start indoors as some plants do not do well with

2268-454: Is evident that these niches developed separately in different societies across different times and locations. Many of the Indigenous gardening methods were and still are often overlooked by colonizers due to the lack of resemblance to western gardens with well defined borders and non-naturalized plant species. There are long traditions of gardening within Indigenous societies spanning from

2349-415: Is often more simplistic and provides rapid population growth. Cloning may result in highly vulnerable plant populations if they do not also reproduce sexually in order to create genetic diversity thus allowing for certain levels of natural selection and hybrid vigor . There are various methods of asexual plant propagation taken advantage of by gardeners. These include vegetative propagation which involves

2430-447: Is played out in urban planning as the debate over the " land ethic " that is to determine urban land use and whether hyper hygienist bylaws (e.g. weed control ) should apply, or whether land should generally be allowed to exist in its natural wild state. In a famous Canadian Charter of Rights case, "Sandra Bell vs. City of Toronto", 1997, the right to cultivate all native species, even most varieties deemed noxious or allergenic,

2511-487: Is the merit of a green belt subverted, but the green belt may heighten the problem and make the city unsustainable. There are many examples whereby the actual effect of green belts is to act as a land reserve for future freeways and other highways. Examples include sections of Ontario Highway 407 north of Toronto and the Hunt Club Road and Richmond Road south of Ottawa. Whether they are originally planned as such, or

Town Belt - Misplaced Pages Continue

2592-773: Is typically carried by wind, insects, or animals to complete pollination. Some greenhouses may have to manually pollinate their plants to produce fruit and seeds due to a lack of these conditions. Sexual reproduction can only be done by members of the same species and this produces varying levels of genetic diversity in the plants offspring. This genetic diversity is responsible for the survival of every plant as we know them today. The diversity allows for disease resistance, adaptations to changing climate, changes in soil, changes in pollination methods, changes in animal grazing pressure, changes in weed pressure, and any other variations that arise in their growing conditions. Crossing plants , or hybridizing, results in hybrid vigor and will increase

2673-670: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon —one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World —while ancient Rome had dozens of gardens. Wealthy ancient Egyptians used gardens for providing shade. Egyptians associated trees and gardens with gods, believing that their deities were pleased by gardens. Gardens in ancient Egypt were often surrounded by walls with trees planted in rows. Among the most popular species planted were date palms , sycamores, fig trees , nut trees, and willows . These gardens were

2754-473: The Ottawa suburbs of Kanata and Orleans , both of which are outside the city's green belt and are currently undergoing explosive growth. This leads to other problems, as residents of these areas have a longer commute to workplaces in the city and worse access to public transport . It also means people have to commute through the green belt, an area not designed to cope with high levels of transportation. Not only

2835-827: The boreal forests of Canada to the temperate forests and grasslands of Chile and Argentina different communities have developed food production niches. These include the use of fire for ecosystem maintenance and resetting successional sequences, the sowing of wild annuals, the sowing of domesticated annuals (e.g. three sisters , New World crops ), creating berry patches and orchards, manipulation of plants to encourage desired traits(e.g. increased nut, fruit, or root production), and landscape modification to encourage plant and animal growth (e.g. complex irrigation or terraces ). These modified landscapes as recorded by early American philosophers such as Thoreau , and Emmerson were described as exhibiting pristine beauty. Indigenous gardens such as forest gardens therefore do not only serve as

2916-408: The ecology of a garden due to their effects on the populations of both target and non-target species. For example, unintended exposure to some neonicotinoid pesticides has been proposed as a factor in the recent decline in honey bee populations. Pesticides and herbicides are also known to cause medical issues, typically to those in proximity during their application. While farm workers are by far

2997-855: The green revolution these simple tools, although continually improved upon, would continue to be the backbone of agricultural societies. The industrial revolution created a large increase in availability and impact of agricultural tools. These tools include tractors with modern implements, manure spreaders, cultivators , mowers, earth-moving machines, hedge trimmers, strimmer's, wood-chippers, two-wheel tractors , complex irrigation systems, plastic mulch , plastic shelters, seeding trays, indoor grow lights , packaging, chemical fertilizers , pesticides , genetically modified seeds , and many more. Plants may be propagated through many different methods. These methods are classified as either sexual or asexual propagation. Asexual reproduction occurs when plants produce clonal offspring . This method of reproduction

3078-446: The pollination of an ovule . This pollination must occur between female and male parts of a single flower or between flowers. A plant may undergo self pollination as a sexual means of reproduction where the genes of the mother plant will not perfectly match those of the progeny. Progeny from self pollination will however have less genetic diversity which may result in inbreeding depression versus plants from cross pollination. Pollen

3159-442: The yeoman cottager would have included a beehive and livestock , and frequently a pig and sty, along with a well. The peasant cottager of medieval times was more interested in meat than flowers, with herbs grown for medicinal use rather than for their beauty. By Elizabethan times there was more prosperity, and thus more room to grow flowers. Even the early cottage garden flowers typically had their practical use—violets were spread on

3240-588: The 17th century, knot gardens became popular along with the hedge mazes . By this time, Europeans started planting new flowers such as tulips , marigolds and sunflowers . Cottage gardens , which emerged in Elizabethan times , appear to have originated as a local source for herbs and fruits. One theory is that they arose out of the Black Death of the 1340s, when the death of so many laborers made land available for small cottages with personal gardens. According to

3321-702: The 21st century. The European Commission 's COST Action C11 ( COST – European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is undertaking "Case studies in Greenstructure Planning" involving 15 European countries. An act of the Swedish parliament from 1994 has declared a series of parks in Stockholm and the adjacent municipality of Solna to its north a "national city park" called Royal National City Park . When established around an economically prosperous city, homes in

Town Belt - Misplaced Pages Continue

3402-454: The 7th century, Muhammad established a green belt around Medina . He did this by prohibiting any further removal of trees in a 12-mile-long strip around the city. In 1580 Elizabeth I of England banned new buildings in a 3-mile wide belt around the City of London in an attempt to stop the spread of plague. However, this was not widely enforced and it was possible to buy dispensations which reduced

3483-553: The 800 hectare Versailles gardens down to container gardens grown inside. Gardens take many forms, some only contain one type of plant while others involve a complex assortment of plants with no particular order. Gardening can be difficult to differentiate from farming . They are most easily differentiated based on their primary objectives. Farming prioritizes saleable goods and may include livestock production whereas gardening often prioritizes aesthetics and leisure . As it pertains to food production, gardening generally happens on

3564-578: The Green Belt were particularly in the 1940s–1980s mitigated with planned, government-supported, new towns under the New Towns Act 1946 and New Towns Act 1981 . These saw establishment beyond the green belts of new homes, infrastructure , businesses, and other facilities. Without large-scale sustainable development, infill development sees urban green space lost. A chronic housing shortage with inadequate new settlements and/or extension of those outside of

3645-590: The Islamic gardens are the mosaics and glazed tiles used to decorate the rills and fountains that were built in these gardens. By the late 13th century, rich Europeans began to grow gardens for leisure and for medicinal herbs and vegetables. They surrounded the gardens by walls to protect them from animals and to provide seclusion . During the next two centuries, Europeans started planting lawns and raising flowerbeds and trellises of roses. Fruit trees were common in these gardens and also in some, there were turf seats. At

3726-678: The UK covering 16,716 km or 12.4% of England, and 164 km of Scotland ; for a detailed discussion of these, see Green belt (UK) . Other notable examples are the Ottawa Greenbelt and Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt in Ontario , Canada. Ottawa's 20,350-hectare (78.6 sq mi) instance is managed by the National Capital Commission (NCC). The dynamic Adelaide Park Lands , measuring approximately 7.6 km , surround, unbroken,

3807-512: The artificial selection process as certain traits such as fruit taste can be ignored altogether in the rootstock allowing for a focused selection with less backcrossing to a plant that had good tasting fruit. Secondly, grafting allows for plants that require cross pollination for fruit generation, such as apples, to all grow together as one tree. Thirdly, this allows for quick reproduction where one mother plant can produce many semi-developed clones each year. Sexual reproduction occurs through

3888-400: The belt: green belt homes have by definition nearby protected landscapes. Local residents in affluent parts of a green belt, as in parts of the city, can be assured of preserving any localized bourgeois status quo present and so assuming the green belt is not from the outset an area of more social housing proportionately than the city, it naturally tends toward greater economic wealth. In

3969-485: The city center of Adelaide . On the fringe of the eastern suburbs, an expansive natural green belt in the Adelaide Hills acts as a growth boundary for Adelaide and cools the city in the hottest months. The concept of "green belt" has evolved in recent years to encompass not only "Greenspace" but also "Greenstructure" which comprises all urban and peri-urban green spaces, an important aspect of sustainable development in

4050-594: The courtyards of rich Romans. The Middle Ages represent a period of decline in gardens for aesthetic purposes. After the fall of Rome, gardening was done for the purpose of growing medicinal herbs and/or decorating church altars . Monasteries carried on a tradition of garden design and intense horticultural techniques during the medieval period in Europe . Generally, monastic garden types consisted of kitchen gardens, infirmary gardens, cemetery orchards , cloister garths and vineyards. Individual monasteries might also have had

4131-699: The decrease in farmer seed saving, many landraces are also being created through artificial selection and genetic modification . Gardeners remain vital in the preservation of diverse genetics whether they maintain a family heirloom variety bred to fit conditions from the distant past, or they breed new landraces with traits matching their modern climate and growing condition. Certain seeds may not sprout without certain environmental conditions. These seeds either require scarification or stratification . Gardeners may grow frustrated if they lack this crucial knowledge before attempting to propagate certain plants such as hard neck garlic (asexual reproduction), which requires

SECTION 50

#1732859190384

4212-550: The early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. They were often inspired by paintings of landscapes by Claude Lorraine and Nicolas Poussin , and some were Influenced by the classic Chinese gardens of the East, which had recently been described by European travelers. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown

4293-456: The economics-heavy think tanks such as the Institute of Economic Affairs who would see a reduction in many green belts. Such studies focus on the widely inherent limitations of green belts. In most examples, only a small fraction of the population uses the green belt for leisure purposes. The IEA study claims that a green belt is not strongly causally linked to clean air and water. Rather, they view

4374-555: The effectiveness of the proclamation. In modern times, the term emerged from continental Europe where broad boulevards were increasingly used to separate new development from the centers of historic towns; most notably the Ringstraße in Vienna . Green belt policy was then pioneered in the United Kingdom confronted with ongoing rural flight . The term itself was first used in relation to

4455-484: The floor (for their pleasant scent and keeping out vermin); calendulas and primroses were both attractive and used in cooking. Others, such as sweet William and hollyhocks , were grown entirely for their beauty. In the 18th century, gardens were laid out more naturally, without any walls. This style of smooth undulating grass, which would run straight to the house, clumps, belts and scattering of trees and serpentine lakes formed by invisibly damming small rivers, were

4536-453: The genetic diversity. Many commercially grown plants are F1 hybrids which ensures certain desirable traits. A common alternative to growing hybrid plants is to grow heirloom or open pollinated plants which, unlike F1 hybrids, will produce viable seed with progeny similar to its parent. Many modern gardeners will save seeds from heirloom varieties but not hybrids due to the certainty of desirable traits heirloom seeds provide. Historically

4617-476: The green belt and/or no green belt reduction has seen many brownfield sites, often well-suited to industry and commerce, lost in existing conurbations. In New Zealand, the term Town Belt is most commonly used for an urban green belt. [REDACTED] Media related to Green belts (protected areas) at Wikimedia Commons Gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables , fruits , flowers , herbs , and appearances within

4698-604: The green belts defeat their stated objective of saving the countryside and open spaces. Such criticism falls short when considering the other, broader benefits such as peri-urban agriculture which includes gardening and carries many benefits, especially to the retired . It also ignores the strategic aims of the Attlee Ministry in 1946, just as in France, of shifting capital away from the capital city (addressing regional disparity) and avoiding intra-urban gridlock. The restrictions of

4779-527: The growth of London by Octavia Hill in 1875. Various proposals were put forward from 1890 onwards but the first to garner widespread support was put forward by the London Society in its "Development Plan of Greater London" 1919. Alongside the CPRE they lobbied for a continuous belt (of up to two miles wide) to prevent urban sprawl, beyond which new development could occur. There are fourteen green belt areas in

4860-420: The growth of new plants from vegetative parts of the parent plant, such as roots, stems, and leaves. Certain plants such as strawberries and raspberries produce stolons or rhizomes which are stems which grow horizontally above or below ground, developing new plants at nodes. Another common method of asexual reproduction in garden plants is fragmentation which involves a separation from the parent plant. This

4941-419: The growth of young seedlings, steal or damage fruit, or otherwise kill plants, hamper their growth, damage their appearance, or reduce the quality of the edible or ornamental portions of the plant. Aphids , spider mites , slugs , snails , ants , birds , and even cats are commonly considered to be garden pests. Throughout history ecosystems that have undergone rapid changes are typically those which harbor

SECTION 60

#1732859190384

5022-698: The health and vigor of plants so they better resist attack, practicing crop rotation to prevent pest build-up, using foliar sprays, companion planting , and practicing good garden hygiene, such as disinfecting tools and clearing debris and weeds which may harbor pests. Another common method of pest control, used frequently in market gardening, is using insect netting or plastic greenhouse covers. Gardeners may rely on one type of pest in order to eliminate another. Some examples of this are cats which hunt mice and rats, wild birds, bats, chickens, and ducks which hunt insects and slugs, or thorny hedges to deter deer and other creatures. Using these organisms to help control pests

5103-426: The late 19th-century legend of origin, these gardens were originally created by the workers that lived in the cottages of the villages, to provide them with food and herbs, with flowers planted among them for decoration. Farm workers were provided with cottages that had architectural quality set in a small garden—about 1 acre (0.40 hectares)—where they could grow food and keep pigs and chickens. Authentic gardens of

5184-407: The most affected by the use of pesticides and herbicides, they are often under-informed or accept the consequences due to financial necessity. Fungicides may be applied to the seed coat to reduce mortality of germinating seedlings. The improper use of pesticides often leads to pesticide resistance which poses a risk in global food security. With climate change affecting the distribution of pests,

5265-560: The most documented hominin niches is the use of off-site fire. When done intentionally, this is often called forest gardening or fire stick farming in Australia. The modern study of fire ecology describes the many benefits off-site fires may have granted these early humans. Some of these agroecological practices have been well documented and studied during colonial contact. However, they are vastly under represented in research done on early hominin fire use. Based on current research, it

5346-595: The most frequently planted types of trees. Gardens were also available in Kush . In Musawwarat es-Sufra , the Great Enclosure dated to the 3rd century BC included splendid gardens. Ancient Roman gardens were laid out with hedges and vines and contained a wide variety of flowers— acanthus , cornflowers , crocus , cyclamen , hyacinth, iris, ivy, lavender , lilies, myrtle, narcissus, poppy, rosemary and violets —as well as statues and sculptures. Flower beds were popular in

5427-665: The most pests. For example, a highly and rapidly altered landscape such as modern canola fields in the Americas can be a breeding ground for pests of the Brassicaceae family. A natural ecosystem will typically regulate pest levels through many biological means whether that be the natural introduction of a disease or an increase in the population of a predator species of animal. Because gardeners may have different goals, organisms considered "garden pests" vary from gardener to gardener. Tropaeolum speciosum , for example, may be considered

5508-464: The northernmost parts of Canada down to the southernmost tip of Chile and Argentina . The Arctic and Subarctic societies relied primarily on hunting and fishing due to the harsh climate although they have been known to collectively use at least 311 different plants as foods or medicines. The substantial knowledge and use of these plants along with the communal harvesting sites and emphasis on reciprocity between humans and plants indicates

5589-440: The others being other planning restrictions (Local Plans and restrictive covenants ) and developers' land banking . Local Plans and land banking are to be relaxed for home building in the 2015–2030 period by law and the green belt will be reduced by some local authorities as each local authority must now consider it among the available shortlisted options in drawing development plans to meet higher housing targets. Critics argue that

5670-438: The potential date of hominin selective ecosystem disturbance back up to 125,000 years ago. Much of these early recorded ecosystem disturbances were made through hominin use of fire , which dates back to 1.5 Mya (although at this time fire was not likely being wielded as a landscape-changing tool by hominids). This anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance may be the origins of gardening. Every hunter-gatherer society has developed

5751-419: The result of a newer administration taking advantage of land that was left available by its predecessors is debatable. Green belts were established in England in 1955 to simply prevent the physical growth of large built-up areas; to prevent neighboring cities and towns from merging. In the UK, green belt around the major conurbations has been criticized as one of the main protectionist bars to building housing,

5832-449: The roots. Some plants such as onions and various herbs may be efficiently started by scattering their seeds on top of soil in a large tray where the seedlings will later be teased apart from each other and replanted in the garden or pots. Garden pests are generally plants , fungi , or animals (frequently insects ) that engage in activity that the gardener considers undesirable. A pest may crowd out desirable plants, disturb soil, stunt

5913-470: The same species. This involves cutting each plant and connecting the cuttings by mechanical means until they inosculate or fuse together. Grafting is done for many purposes. Firstly, the scion (portion of the plant above the graft site) can undergo artificial selection for specific desirable traits such as flavor while the rootstock can undergo selection for traits such as disease resistance or cold tolerance. This effectively allows for much more efficiency in

5994-622: The same time, the gardens in the monasteries were a place to grow flowers and medicinal herbs but they were also a space where the monks could enjoy nature and relax. The gardens in the 16th and 17th century were symmetric , proportioned and balanced with a more classical appearance. Most of these gardens were built around a central axis and they were divided into different parts by hedges. Commonly, gardens had flowerbeds laid out in squares and separated by gravel paths. Gardens in Renaissance were adorned with sculptures, topiary and fountains. In

6075-438: The seed starting mix, ensuring seeds stay at correct humidity, heat, and moisture level for germination, and saving space in the garden. Many crops will not be harvestable unless they are started inside so if a gardener wants to plant these crops in their garden without starting the plants themselves, they will need to purchase transplants which are commonly available at garden centers , plant nurseries , and big-box stores . It

6156-458: The stated objectives of green belt policy are to: The green belt has many benefits for people: The effectiveness of green belts differs depending on location and country. They can often be eroded by urban rural fringe uses and sometimes, development 'jumps' over the green belt area, resulting in the creation of "satellite towns" which, although separated from the city by the green belt, function more like suburbs than independent communities. In

6237-428: The term gardening for these same activities. Also gaining popularity is the concept of "Green Gardening" which involves growing plants using organic fertilizers and pesticides so that the gardening process – or the flowers and fruits produced thereby – doesn't adversely affect the environment or people's health in any manner. Gardening can be a very pleasant and relaxing activity with rewarding results. it allows for

6318-404: The transplanting process. There are varying methods of starting your seeds. The most prevalent method would be to start seeds in transplant (plug) trays or in planters/pots. Another method is starting seeds in soil blocks (small cubes of compressed potting soil , compost , and/or other seed-starting media), which may reduce transplant shock and stop root-binding because they allow air pruning of

6399-499: The ultimate result of the decision to green-belt a city as one to prevent housing demand within the zone to be met with supply, thus exacerbating high housing prices and stifling competitive forces in general. Another area of criticism comes from the fact that, since a green belt does not extend indefinitely outside a city, it spurs the growth of areas much further away from the city core than if it had not existed, thereby actually increasing urban sprawl . Examples commonly cited are

6480-639: Was particularly influential. Also, in 1804 the Horticultural Society was formed. Gardens of the 19th century contained plants such as the monkey puzzle or Chile pine . This is also the time when the so-called " gardenesque " style of gardens evolved. These gardens displayed a wide variety of flowers in a rather small space. Rock gardens increased in popularity in the 19th century. In ancient India, patterns from sacred geometry and mandalas were used to design gardens. Distinct mandala patterns denoted specific deities, planets, or even constellations. Such

6561-687: Was upheld as part of the right of free expression . Community gardening comprises a wide variety of approaches to sharing land and gardens. People often surround their house and garden with a hedge. Common hedge plants are privet , hawthorn , beech , yew , leyland cypress , hemlock , arborvitae , barberry , box , holly , oleander , forsythia and lavender . The idea of open gardens without hedges may be distasteful to those who enjoy privacy. The Slow Food movement has sought in some countries to add an edible school yard and garden classrooms to schools, e.g. in Fergus, Ontario , where these were added to

#383616