Today, we talk botanical gardening techniques. Basically, a garden is defined as a place where flowers, vegetables or fruits are grown. But when coming to the botanical gardens, they are like an institution which educate scientific workers and the normal public to bring up a sort of interest in plant life. Most of the people think that botanical gardens are valued by only botanists, horticulturists, home gardeners, and foresters. But the fact is that it is valued by millions of tourists internationally.
A botanical garden should consist of morphological gardens to show how the dispersal of seeds takes place in plants, genetics garden or breeding garden to show the heredity laws, taxonomic garden to show the families of plants. There should also be an economic plants section, an arboretum, nurseries, and greenhouses for the cultivation and propagation of genetic and delicate plants.
A botanical garden is generally considered as an institution of research in botanicals, mainly on the flora which is native to the region. It should consist of a library, studies of photography and also recreation. However, all the fundamental aspects of botany will come under the botanical garden and this has become the center of cultural activities of any region in which it is located. One must know botanical gardening techniques if they are trying to set it up.
Functions of Botanical garden/Techniques of botanical gardening:
Botanical gardens will serve just like outdoor laboratories.
They will start the studies on the ecosystems which are temperate and tropical to know about their biota, prior they are gone to science and get preserved.
They will act as centers of germplasm bank of the similar species of the plants which are economically important.
They will take care of the establishment of youth museums and nature centers to concentrate on the destroying ecosystems and degradation of the environment.
Maintenance of the ornamental plants which are not much attractive and are also abandoned.
The botanical gardens will offer training to the people in the urban areas about the tree plantation.
They will involve in the collaboration of the university and a few other for conducting research on the biology of the environment.
Botanical gardens take up the responsibility of organizing the educational programmes for the creation of awareness among children about the environment and train teachers about the same.
These are the centers where rare and endangered species are conserved.
These provide living plant materials for the purpose of research.
These play a major role as centers of pollution indicators by raising the plants which are susceptible to pollution.
Almost all of the economic plants are actually introduced across the world through botanical gardens.
They also play a vital role in inspiring poets and literature by giving them aesthetic pleasures.
Read:Miniature Gardening Techniques.
Benefits of Botanical garden:
Improve your mental health:
There are various studies which prove that being in the outdoor locations is good for mental health, attention as well as memory. A study which was made by researchers has found that a 1 ½ hour walk in a setting which is natural will reduce the stress and will clear any problems related to the brains like mental illness and depression.
Environmental protection:
Botanical gardens are great for the environment in several ways. They play a vital role in in the conservation of plant species which are endangered as well as by the seed banks and they are also advantageous to the pollinators such as butterflies, bats, bees and birds which play an essential role in crop production and the maintenance of the health of the plant life. Moreover, green spaces will help in the filtration of pollutants present in the air, low temperatures in the cities and also help in the protection of waterways from the runoff which is a contaminated one. By offering support to the botanical gardens, you are indirectly supporting your Mother Nature.
Add some culture:
Botanical gardens will often organize cultural events such as exhibition of art or music. That means that these are representing the culture of the region and preserving the culture too.
Helps you be active:
Make sure that you are not letting that aesthetic environment of botanical garden fool you. Botanical gardens are the places where you can jog through the trails and plants and increase your heart rate. You can also make use of exercise classes like tai chi, yoga, pilates. In a few cities, you will also find “boot camp” fitness style classes in the settings of the botanical garden. In order to involve your entire family, you can go through the events calendar of the botanical gardens to check if there are any friendly events for your kids.
Starting a Botanical garden:
Gather people:
In order to start a botanical garden in your locality, it is essential to first gather a few people who are interested to contribute and participate in your project. You will need to search for the individuals who will be able to support the botanical garden and would be able to set up an organization and meetings to discuss how a botanical garden helps the community and what kind of botanical garden would be best for the community. You will have to make a decision between a garden with flowers, trees, and vegetables or a combination of these three. You will also need to decide if you want to go with organic garden mainly if fruits and vegetables are grown in it.
Raising funds:
You can arrange a meeting with the local organizations and businesses in your locality who may help by providing you with the required supplies and also the information on botanical gardening. Establishment of a happy relationship with the florists, nursery and the local hardware store will add advantage to you as they will try to do their best on the project. You can also talk to a member of the city council to check if they have any plan for events only for gardeners in that particular city so that the botanical garden association can take advantage of that.
Preparation of your botanical garden site:
You will need to search for a site which has water availability and also good soil. It is mandatory to get permission from the landlord and other authorities which are related. The agreement of lease should be finalized for at least 2 years in order to work as hard as possible. Also, ensure that the previous use of the land did not make it contaminated with hazardous chemicals.
Designing your botanical garden:
You will then start the design preparation for the garden which will suit not only the lot but also the needs of the gardeners. You should plan the plots’ size and layout. The organization of labors should be done to clear the lot and set up the garden. Ensure that the plots are marked in a clear way and are also divided for the sake of gardeners to take charge of that particular plot and manage it individually.
Read:Polyhouse Floriculture Benefits.
Maintenance of your botanical garden:
To maintain a botanical garden, you will first need to prepare the rules about sharing and getting tools for the garden. You should arrange a discussion on how all these rules and people who come up should be enforced and upheld. Even a little maintenance which has to be done to the botanical garden has to be discussed as the weeds may cause an issue in the areas of the botanical garden. It would be good if you have a bulletin board which is a rainproof one for the announcements which cause the problem to the garden and its members.
Tips to maintain your botanical garden:
The first tip is to water your botanical garden in a smart way. This will give your garden and efficiency along with some sort of irrigation.
Watering should be done on a regular basis at high temperature.
You should take proper care of your botanical garden by saving them from any sort of diseases. There are chances of many turf diseases which like fungi which usually develop in the climates which are warm and humid.
Watering should be done early in the morning so that it would reduce the humid conditions.
Try to avoid fertilizers in the midst of summer and wait till the arrival of autumn. You can release the fertilizer gradually two times a year during spring and autumn in order to get tremendous results.
It would be better if you have a gardener for your community to take care of all the things which are required for your botanical garden. If you are hiring anyone, make sure to tell him to clear all the mower blades by making use of sterilizing agent before he is watering the plants. This is because most of the pests will be carried to the plant through tools and types of equipment which are used for gardening.
That’s all for botanical gardening techniques. Keep gardening!.
