BHCT 208 THEORY UNIT 2 - HORTICULTURE

 

UNIT 2

HORTICULTURE

 

Horticulture is a 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 garden, 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 which 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 the 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 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 and dirt, promote healthful microorganism, 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 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. Soil is too acidic, it will need a sprinkling of lime and sulphur can be added.

7.                Grass: choose a locally adapted grass, which is suitable for that soil.

8.                Mowing: to make the grass very short. Grass should be 2.5 to 3.5 inches tall.

9.                Watering: give the water according to grass type. Water should not be more or less.

10.             Fertilizing: fertilization should be done once or twice a year.

1. Minimizing chemical pesticides:  along with killing harmful pests, chemical pesticides also kill the soil organisms that contribute to a healthy lawn. Use Neem based natural pesticides instead for best results in Indian conditions. Pesticides having lots of variety in the market but we should avoid to use these, as it may harm the product and as well as user also.

LANDSCAPING

—  Landscape is the appearance of that portion of land which the eye can view at once and landscape gardening is the art of laying grounds so as to produce the effect of a picturesque landscape.

—  Landscape gardening can be defined as the decoration of a tract of land with plants and other garden materials so as to produce a picturesque and naturalistic effect in a limited space. So landscape may or may not include plants.

—  According to Bailey, Landscape gardening is the application of garden forms, methods and materials to the improvements of the landscape and the landscape in this connection is any area large or small on which it is desirable to develop a view or design.

—  Landscape gardening can also be defined as the beautification of a tract of land having a house or other object of interest on it. It is done with a view to create a natural scene by the planting of lawn, trees and shrubs.

—  Landscape gardening is both an art and science of the establishment of a ground in such a way that it gives an effect of a natural landscape. It can be also defined as the imitation of nature in the garden.

 

Base plan is developed from the information collected about the site. For base planning process, interviews, site surveys; site analysis and the study of site plan and blue print 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 strategy.

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:

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 require

 

SOME POPULAR PLANTS

—  Palm

—  Schefflera

—  Money plant

—  Brassia

—  Gissus striata

—  Philodeudron

—  Plumbago capensis

—  Hedera

—  Tradescantia

—  Begonia rex

—  Maranta

—  Ficus elastic

—  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. A Bonsai tree is a replication of nature, in the form of a miniature tree, without displaying the human intervention too clearly. The word “Bon-sai” (often misspelled as bonzai or banzai) is a Japanese term which, literally translated, and means “planted in a container”. The ultimate goal of growing a Bonsai is to create a miniaturized but realistic representation of nature in the form of a tree. In other words Bonsai is a tree or shrub that has been dwarfed, as by pruning the roots and pinching, and is grown in a pot or other container and trained to produce a desired shape or effect.

The connotations or added/implied Bonsai tree meanings include:

•          A general tree-like shape or style (although not necessarily natural to that type of plant growing full-size in the wild).

•          A profile that is not as detailed as a photographically-real tree but has just enough features to easily suggest a full-grown tree.

•          Relative smallness, compared with those same types of trees outside of the container, for ease of transport and ability to keep nearby.

•          A sense of naturalness which has been subtly accentuated by human intervention but which is not spoiled by stark evidence of human interaction.

•          A particular representation of something much more than itself, and thus allowing each viewer to interpret what is shown and to build-upon this based on his or her own experiences and memories.

•          Something so valued that it has received care for virtually every day of its [hopefully long] containerized life.

•          Something held in such high regard that it was allowed to be brought temporarily into the house for honoured guests even though it contained soil from the garden.

•          A portable oasis and transportable miniature garden which can represent the seasons and vast or favourite landscapes close-at-hand for meditation or contemplation assistance.

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

PPT

  

Unit 2 Horticulture PPT by Deepak Chhikara