Nature,Plants and Facts
Letting nature back into your garden is always a great reward for the work you put in to attract them. There are many things you can do but like nature itself you have to plan ahead, how did nature do it ?
When it comes to plant origins they evolved with a purpose, an end product.
The first forests evolved about 380 million years ago, followed by seeds and cone bearing plants 350 million years ago
Then came the first flowering plants, 150 million years ago, BUT,
The Grasses on which we rely on for food such as Wheat, Corn, Rice, Sugar etc only arrived 60 million years ago, WHY ?
Was it because the forests had to clean the air, the flowering plants multiply long before we came along, millions of years of adaptation and change in response to moving continents, changing climates all to prepare for human life.
The fundamental role that plants play and have always played in under-pinning life on earth is they -
Regulate the air we breathe, They provide the food we eat and the clothes we wear, Timber and fuel, Medicines and perfume
We often see the beauty but fail to see the reason
Many people think of hedging as a long stretch of plants to form a boundary around the perimeter of the garden, often to hide a wall or fence or privacy from a neighbours structure maybe. But hedging also means protection.
In photo 1 above the shrubs are of different sizes allowing access around the plants for birds to feed through the year creating a safe tunnel for them through the seasons.
The Myrtle in 2 has a sweet smell, Bees and Butterflies love it ( a good source of food ) and the berries are welcome after.
The bank I had to cover in photo 3 leans down to the road so for this I have used Cotoneaster Horizontalis to spread over the whole area within a couple of years, berries for the birds, cover for the Robin,wren etc ground feeding, its tight foliage also avoids the ground freezing beneath.
In the 4th image I wanted to keep the wall feature ( Tits love picking off of it ) but also wanted to add some greenery. Hydrangea,Fig,Physocarpus, Acer as well as some perennials for Summer flower create a colourful and active corner of the garden. This spot is plainly visible from two seating areas without disturbing the wildlife.
Strawberry is the only fruit to bear its seeds on the outside
Gas plants produce a clear gas at night if warm and humid that can be ignited with a match ( Dictamnus Albus )
Ghost plant, Monotropa Uniflora lacks chlorophyll and doesn’t need to photosynthesize
Human hair will decompose when mixed with moisture and certain elements in the soil in just a couple of months
providing a protein rich plant nutrient which is 16% nitrogen
Larch is the only deciduous conifer, transpires a lot more water than evergreens, takes in 20% more Co2 than Pine
Plants use less than 5% of the water they take from the soil, the rest evaporates from the surface of the leaves into the surrounding air
( Transpiration )
Yew trees are hard to age as they don’t have rings
Most slug proof plants have hairy stems
New book by Mark Rice Dip GD(Inst GD) - GARDENING Time Patience, Common Sense
Available direct and if local Uphill Wharf Cafe, ( Uphill,Weston-Super-Mare) Good Food,Good Service
e-mail - inspiregardenarchitects@gmail.com
