PURPOSEFUL GARDENS



BOTANICAL GARDENS

Botanical gardens have many purposes, including scientific research, conservation, education, and public display.

Scientific research
  • Botanical gardens study plants and their communities
  • They maintain documented collections of living plants
  • They may have associated herbaria that maintain research programs in plant taxonomy
Conservation
  • Botanical gardens conserve plant species, their communities, and landscapes
  • They advocate for saving rare or threatened plants
  • They comply with international policies and participate in sustainability and ethical initiatives
Education
  • Botanical gardens inspire the public to appreciate the role of plants and fungi in life on Earth
  • They may offer guided tours, workshops, courses, and educational displays
  • Public display
  • Botanical gardens make the world's plant species diversity known to the public

Also

They may offer art exhibitions, book rooms, open-air theatrical and musical performances, and other entertainment  


Community Gardens

Community gardens serve many purposes, including social, health, and environmental benefits.
Social benefits

Social connections

Community gardens bring people together from different backgrounds, ages, and abilities.

Community development

Community gardens can help build stronger communities.

Psychological well-being

Gardening can improve self-esteem and confidence, and reduce stress.

Health benefits
Physical health.... Gardening can improve fitness levels and reduce the risk of illness.
Nutrition ... Community gardens can provide access to fresh, locally grown produce.
Food poverty ... Community gardens can help mitigate food poverty by providing fresh produce to people in food deserts.

Environmental benefits
Sustainable living ... Community gardens can promote waste reduction and reduce energy use for transportation.
Climate change ... Community gardens can help with climate change by replacing vacant lots with green spaces.
Urban wildlife ... Community gardens can provide a sanctuary for urban wildlife.

Community gardens can also provide educational opportunities, such as learning about: Preparing soil, Tending to seedlings, Caring for growing plants, Physical activity, and Caring for the environment.

Experimental Gardens

Experimental gardens, also known as demonstration gardens or experimental garden plots, have many purposes, including teaching, research, and outreach.

Teaching

  • Universities and colleges can use experimental gardens to teach students.
  • Children's gardens can provide hands-on experiences for kids.
Research
  • Experimental plantings can be used to study how plants respond to climate change.
  • Common garden experiments can be used to study the interaction between genes and the environment.
  • Experimental plantings can be used to study the role of seed choice and microbial inoculation on plant growth. 
Outreach
  • Community efforts can use demonstration gardens for outreach.
  • Garden science experiments can teach kids about the natural world.
  • Other purposes
  • Experimental gardens can be used to test out different varieties of plants or growing techniques. 
  • Experimental gardens can be used to build science-practitioner partnerships. 
  • Experimental gardens can be used to enhance the exchange of knowledge. 
  • Experimental gardens can be used to support improved science and restoration outcomes. 
A home garden is a space where you grow plants for enjoyment or food, usually outdoors. Home gardens can be small or large, and can include vegetables, flowers, herbs, and fruit.
Planning and care
  • Soil: Most fruits and vegetables need fertile, well-drained soil.
  • Sunlight: Different plants need different amounts of sunlight, depending on the climate.
  • Watering: Water plants before they wilt.
  • Weeding: Pull weeds before they go to seed.
  • Support: Use stakes, trellises, or tepees to support tall plants.
  • Harvesting: Harvest vegetables when they are ready.
  • Insects: Use insecticidal soap, pick off insects, or hose them off.
Design
  • Raised beds: Use raised garden beds for vegetable gardens.
  • Compost: Add compost and well-rotted animal manures to garden beds. 
  • Drip irrigation: Use drip irrigation for fruits and vegetables. 
  • Native plants: Use native plants to provide food and habitat for insects and animals. 
  • Benefits Grow fresh food, Beautify your home, Enjoy the outdoors, and Add edible flowers and herbs to your garden.
Purpose
In essence the home garden is all to do with: 
  • Placescaping and placemaking; and
  • The construction of., the making of, a safe amenable place to live; and
  • The making of a place within which one can live out their cultural reality on their own terms; and
  • Do all this within the context of an amenable cultural landscape.

VERG GARDENS

Whether you know them as verges or nature strips, the area of council land nestled alongside the footpath at the front of our houses are central features of our urban environments but are often nothing more than a waste of space, an area that requires maintenance but gives back so little. Across Australia, there's a growing awareness of the potential of these underutilised, unloved spaces to be transformed into something so much more.  Josh is heading back to his old stomping ground of White Gum Valley, 3 kms from Fremantle, to meet the Valley Vergers, a collective of 30 or so local residents with a common goal – to convert their verges from wide expanses of lawn and weeds into beautiful, functional gardens. Their aim? To grow great gardens, boost biodiversity and cultivate community…..all on council land!

And it makes sense. “The verges are huge” says Dave Broun, founding member of the White Gum Valley Vergers. ”Ours, because it is on a corner block, is over 300m2, but even standard verges here are generally over 100m2”. Dave purchased his home in White Gum Valley almost ten years ago and says the verge at that time was just “couch grass, weeds, and one established Tuart Tree (Eucalyptus gomphocephala). I didn’t realise it at the time we bought, but this unused space was just bursting with potential”. He’s not wrong. Although only planted a couple of years ago, Dave’s verge is now bursting with biodiversity, a massive 350 individual plants from 100 different species now occupying this once barren space.

“All of the plants I have put in are WA natives, and most are endemic to this area of the Swan Coastal Plain” says Dave. He is particularly proud of his Quandongs (Santalum acuminatum) that are thriving in the shallow limestone soil, utilising Acacia saligna as hosts. “Quandong are hemi parasitic, so somewhere underground its roots have latched on to the Acacia for some extra water and nutrients. These were planted on the verge a bit over 18 months ago and have done splendidly.

While Dave’s verge is all about locally native plant species and a naturalistic style of planting, this is not the case with other Valley Vergers. Directly opposite Dave’s place is the home of fellow valley Vergers Ian and Daphne, long term residents and avid verge gardeners. “Our style is a little different to Dave’s, it’s more formal with the terraces and edges we’ve put in, and we like to clip and shape some of our plants to provide some different sculptural elements” says Ian. The planting style is also different, with Ian and Daphne’s verge a mix of native plants, non-invasive exotics and even some fruit trees. “That’s the nice thing about the verges that are developing within White Gum Valley, and the Valley Verges – it doesn’t have to ‘look’ a certain way or conform to a blueprint” says Ian. “As long as our planting and landscaping complies with council requirements, we are good to go”.

Council requirements and guidelines are an important element for anyone considering planting out a verge to understand and comply with. “It’s really important to ensure that you are designing and gardening these spaces in accordance with what your council has agreed to. Most councils have readily available resources around what can and can’t be done” says Dave. “Know the location of services, both above and below ground, before you plan or plant anything – Dial before you Dig is an excellent resource for that”. Safety is a huge part of verge gardening – “you have to ensure that vehicles have clear sight lines, that overhead infrastructure isn’t interfered with, and that pedestrians and people alighting from vehicles are able to move through the spaces safely”.

An unexpected benefit from these verge plantings has been the connectivity between people, place and environment. “When I first started on the verge, my daughter Stella was a teenager and would come out and help me garden the space. She became so interested and connected to what we were doing here, and the environmental benefits, that she is now studying landscape architecture at Uni”. It’s a similar story for friend, Isaac, who’s taken up invertebrate photography of what he finds living on the verge.

LINKS

Costa Georgiadis, Michael Mobbs et al on Veggie & VERGgardening

MICHAEL MOBBS COOLseat


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