UNIT 2: HORTICULTURE

 

 

Glossary

Horticulture: the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants
Pomology: It is the science of fruit-growing.
Olericulture: It is the science of vegetable growing.
Floriculture: It is the branch of ornamental horticulture concerned with growing and marketing flowers. 

Landscaping: It is the process of making a garden or other piece of land more attractive by altering the existing design, adding ornamental features, and planting trees and shrubs.

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Horticulture is the science of studying garden plants. The world Horticulture is derived from two Latin words viz. ‘Hortus’ means garden and ‘Culture’ means knowledge of growing these crops. Horticulture is an aesthetic science that deals with the important crops which are grown in the gardens e.g. vegetable crops in vegetable gardens, and fruit crops in fruit orchards.

Essential components of horticulture

1.      Hedges: For several reasons a garden should be enclosed by a good hedge or fence. It provides protection from cattle, shelter from wind, and privacy. The best plant material for forming such a hedge would be a quick growing hardy shrub with attractive foliage and or handsome flowers, drought resistant and should stand trimming to shape and capable of being quickly and easily raised from seed or from cuttings to fill up the gaps promptly.
Decorative internal hedges are formed of small-growing shrubs or under shrubs that have handsome foliage and bear in some cases handsome flowers as well. The usual height for an ornamental internal hedge varies from 30 to 65 cm. Its objective is to seemingly divide the garden into a number of parts, each part containing a distinctive feature of its own as a rosary or flower bed or collections of bulbs, etc.

2.      Lawns: It is an expanse of closely mown, grass-covered (2.5 to 3.5 inches tall) land. Apart from its visual appeal, lawn absorb and hold water, and also significantly maintain the cooling impact of the area, provide oxygen, trap dust, in and dirt, promote healthful microorganisms lawns, prevent soil erosion, and filter out rainwater contaminants.

3.      Flowerbeds: It is always advisable to keep one type of flowering plant confined to one bed or one set of pots, arranged in a presentable pattern. Prominence is to be given to one variety while laying a flower bed for the lawn/ garden.

4.      Shrubbery: Shrubs are plants with woody stems which are smaller than trees but bigger than herbaceous plants. A typical shrub will have several stems arising from the main stem at ground level itself. They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Some are at­tractive in their foliage, some produce attractive flowers and some are grown for their attractive berries. A stretch of shrubs are established as borders on the sides of walks and paths. Shrubs are planted at the corners of lawn in a curving line. A shrub­bery is an area planted with different kinds of shrubs and a shrub border is one where only one kind of shrub is used. 

5.      Trees: Trees form the main framework of the garden. Some trees produce attractive and beautiful flowers including fragrant flowers, few trees are noted for their attractive foliage and few more trees are known for their peculiar shape or form which are used as specimen trees. In selecting ornamental trees, the pur­pose should be decided first and then the place of its culture should be finalized.

6.      Soil: soil pH value should be between 6.5 to 7.0. If soil is too acidic, it will need a sprinkle of lime and Sulphur at a specific interval.

BASIC GARDENING TOOLS

1.      Long handle tools

·       Spading Fork These have heavy, flat lines and often a D-shaped handle. They are used to open up the ground, dig bulbs, incorporate soil amendments, and turn the compost.

·       Hoe A hoe is used for weeding and scraping the surface of the soil. The Garden hoe includes the traditional flat scraping tool and a long handle.

·       Pitchfork/Manure Fork. Pitchforks and manure forks have long, thin lines which are not as heavy as those on a spading fork. They are used for picking up and moving loose materials.  

·       Round-nose Shovel. Used for heavy digging and mixing, such as when incorporating soil amendments or preparing planting holes.

·       Square-nose Shovel. The flat blade allows it to be used to scoop up materials, level high spots in the soil, and cut straight lines through sod and soil.

·       Bow or Garden Rake. This is a heavy rake with short, stiff tines supported by a flat or bow-shaped metal frame. It is used for raking heavy materials, removing rocks and other debris from the soil, and smoothing the soil in preparation for planting.

·       Leaf Rake. A light rake with long, thin, flexible tines designed to gather leaves or other light materials.

·       Mattock/Pickaxe. The mattock is a heavy, flat-bladed tool designed to dig or grub in the soil. The pickaxe, with its sharp points, is used to break up heavy or rocky soils. Often a combination tool is found, which has a mattock on one end of the tool head, and a pickaxe on the other end.

2.      Short handle tools

• Cultivator. A tool with heavy curved or bent tines, or sometimes multiple spinning blades, designed to open up and aerate the soil. The cultivator styles with tines are also used to mix materials and to effectively loosen weed roots.

• Pruner. Used for removing flowers, lightweight foliage, and small branches. They may have either anvil or bypass blades. A long-handled hand pruner provides greater reach and leverage, allowing for larger items to be cut. They may have either anvil or bypass blades, and some of the heavy-duty versions have ratchet mechanisms for additional power.

• Pruning Saw. These are hand saws designed for efficient garden pruning. They may be either a single blade with a handle, or utilize a metal or wood frame. Pruning saws may also be mounted on long handles which allows higher branches to be cut from the ground (these styles often have a rope-controlled lopper in addition to the saw).
• Garden Knife. Useful for cutting twine and plant ties, opening bags, plant propagation, opening up plant root balls, and general garden use. The safest styles have a sturdy fixed blade (often with serrations) that will not collapse on fingers during use.
• Axe/Hatchet. Axes/ hatchets are used to do rough chopping. Some axes have a double blade, others a flat end on the head which is used to carefully drive wooden stakes (not metal, which might make the tempered axe head chip), while others have a flat, transverse grubbing blade on the head for the removal of roots (these are called a Pulaski, garden or grubbing axe). Hatchets are smaller, short-handled versions of axes.
• Clipper/Shears. These are used to remove a layer of vegetation from the surface of a planting, hedge, or turf grass. Grass clippers trim turf grass, and hedge shears are used to shape hedges and shrubs.

• Wheelbarrow/Garden Cart. These are not only used to move heavy and/or bulky materials such as soil, garden debris, compost and plants, but also as portable mixing containers for materials such as soil amendments and even concret.
• Garden Hose. Used to provide supplemental water to your plants, clean items, and sometimes to assist in applying fertilizers or pesticides.

3.      Power tools: While using power tools, use eye and ear protection gear, and be sure to keep children/pets away from them. Also be careful not to damage the cord or get things wet, and always use and store gasoline and other liquid fuels in a safe location and manner.

• Lawn Mower. These are used to cut turf grass. Walk-behind mowers may be powered by gasoline or electricity; some power mowers may be either self-propelled or riding mowers. Large wheel, heavy-duty versions are available for cutting weeds.

• Tiller/Cultivator. These are used to break up large areas of compacted soil and to quickly incorporate soil amendments. They may also be used to loosen the soil prior to grading.
• Lawn Edger. These are used to trim the edge of a lawn.
• String Trimmer. These devices use a heavy string (usually plastic) on a revolving head to trim grass and light plant material.
• Leaf Blower. ,this uses electricity forced air to push light material.
• Electric Clipper/Trimmer/Shears. These are often used to trim turf grass, hedges and shrubs. They may use a cord or battery.

LANDSCAPING

Base plan is developed from the information collected about the site. For the base planning process, interviews, site surveys; site analysis and the study of site plan and blueprint is collected and a final drawing is made for further process.

Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:

1.   Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.

2.   Natural elements such as landforms, terrain shape, and elevation, or bodies of water;

3.   Human elements such as structures, buildings, fences or other material objects created and/or installed by humans

4.   Abstract elements such as the weather and lighting conditions.

 There are 3 major steps to follow in designing a sustainable landscape design. In order:

1. Bubble Diagrams

2. Concept Plans

3. Draft Designs

4. Landscaping Symbols for Drawings

 

1. Bubble Diagrams: Bubble diagrams are used to define spaces within the landscape. This type of diagram can be used to present a wide variety of information for the purpose of activities like presentations, planning out designs, and developing strategies.
2. Concept Plans and Lines: At a point when individual bubbles begin to take on specific characteristics, the process enters the concept planning stage. Concept plans are more detailed than bubble diagrams. In a concept plan, the shapes merge to form borders with one another.
3. Draft Designs: Draft designs continue to define what is happening in the concept plan
4. Landscape Symbols: common design symbols used for different types of plant material

There are 3 major considerations in completing the Landscape Design:

1. Principles of Design: It is a process that defines and ties all the individual components of the design together. It includes Simplicity, Variety, Balance, Emphasis, Sequence, and Scale

2. The Elements of Design: it includes Plant type (e.g., tree, shrub, vine and groundcover), Height and width, Texture, Form, Seasonal interest or color

3. Plan View Drawing: A landscape design is completed when the designer has selected the hard-features and plants to fill all the spaces.

INDOOR PLANTS

Indoor plants are used to beautify the areas inside the room/ area. It is less costly to decorate the interior of a room with live plants compared to flowers, which are becoming costlier day by day and besides they are to be replaced frequently. On the other hand, with little care, a well-chosen indoor plant will continue to decorate a room for a period of time. The initial investment may be comparatively high but it proves economical in the long run.

The indoor plants can be placed in the following areas.
1. Balcony, terrace, near window

2. Entrance, corridor

3. Lobby

4. Living room, drawing room etc.

Care of indoor plants

1. Repotting

2. Watering/ Sprinkling

3. Syringing

4. Rotation of the pots

5. Avoid too much sunlight

6. To maintain humidity of the indoor plant use trays of pebbles to plant the indoor plants or use moss where ever it requires.

Some popular plants Palm, Schefflera, Money plant, Cissus striata, Philodendron, Plumbago capensis, Tradescantia, Begonia rex, Maranta, Ficus elastica, Cacti, Cyclamen

BONSAI

Bonsai, a Japanese art form using cultivation techniques to prepare a ‘plant in a tray’. It is tree in a container that mimics the shape and scale of full-size trees.

In hotels, it can be used as a part of interior decoration. They can be placed in lobbies and restaurants and even in the rooms, but has to take care that, bonsai plant has to be placed in direct sunlight.

Techniques of maintaining bonsai for long

·       Leaf trimming (extra leaves)

·       Pruning (trimming branches and stem)

·       Wiring (wiring branches and trunks)

·       Clamping (shaping trunk and branches with the help of mechanical devices)

·       Grafting (transplanting a new growing material into a prepared area on the trunk or under the bark)

·       Defoliation (naturally or with the help of chemicals)

·       Deadwood bonsai techniques

Care of bonsai

·       Regular Watering as per the type of soil and need of plant

·        Repotting at intervals

·       Proper soil composition and fertilization as per the requirement of plants and soil

·       Placement of the bonsai plant as per it requirement of light

Styles of bonsai

·       Formal upright (chokkan)

·       Informal upright (moyogi) 

·       Windswept (fukinagashi) 

·       Root-over-rock (sekijoju)

·       Multi-trunk styles

·       Forest or group (yoso ue)

·       Broom (hokidachi) 

·       Cascade (kengai) 

 

Benefits of live plants

·       Improve air qualities

·       Add more humidity in the area

·       Help to improve the mental health

·       Help to boost Immune System

·       Impacts work productivity

·       Improve learning abilities