|
Share the article on
this page with a friend.
Click
here.
|
|
| 
Click here to sign up for Meridian's FREE email updates.
The Importance of Diversity in a Landscape
By Lucas Proctor
As I drove into Oregon from Fruitland, Idaho I noticed a beautiful line of trees on either side of the main road that goes for just less than a mile. The trees are seedless green ash trees (a fast growing shade tree very commonly used as a street tree) and the sight should be beautiful. But sadly, without help, these 15x10 foot trees will all be dead in a year or so. Why, you ask, are these beautiful trees all destined for a premature death? Whoever planned the landscape for this city or road didn’t consider one thing: diversity. The direct cause may be a more immediate invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer, but the root of the cause started with the plan.
If you ever have the opportunity to go on a nature walk with an experienced plant guide you will find that the diversity of plants almost anywhere on the planet is astounding. Everywhere, that is, except the average man-made landscape. Why do we plant such a small variety of plants? Is it because we want it to look “nice” or because “That’s how all of the neighbors have it, so it must work around here?” Or, you may simply not know the complete variety of plants that grow in your area. Whatever the reason, it isn’t a healthy landscape practice and I will give you some reasons why.
First: Diversity creates strength and protection from diseases and pests in what I like to call “bio-barriers.” Most (not all) diseases and pests are very plant or species specific and will not spread if they don’t have their specific host available. So, in our example of the street trees earlier, planting two more varieties of trees in between the ash would help make it so that the bugs would not spread so easily. In your home garden (landscape) it is much easier to include a diversity of plants than in the urban landscape.
Second: Depending on your design preferences, creating a natural setting of plants and emulating nature is much easier to do and is much less maintenance than a formal design. Trees, shrubs, forbs (perennials), wildflowers, and grasses all form a relationship of coexistence that is beneficial to one another. Despite their healthy competition for light, water, nutrients, and pollinators, when plants are in their natural life cycle they tend to do better together.
Third: You have no way to know when a plant will succumb to an infection/infestation you can’t control. The Emerald Ash Borer didn’t affect Ash trees in this specific area ten years ago. Now it is spreading rapidly across North America, and it is destroying millions of trees. The beautiful tree-lined streets of many American towns are at risk because ash trees were the tree of choice for a generation. They replaced the American Elms, which fell to Dutch Elm Disease in a similar situation for the previous generation. Let’s learn this time! The financial burden of removing the dead trees is much greater than the cost of preventing disease or treating the problem early on. Additionally, the cost to replace a large tree is cost-prohibitive for most people, and it can take years or decades to re-grow another tree in its place. Just like a financial portfolio, living portfolios defend against failure of some assets.
Choosing a natural, diverse landscape
Take pictures. If you see a plant you like in someone else’s garden (yard) take the time to snap a shot. If you know the person ask them what it is. Most people are proud of their garden (yard) and will be happy to tell you. If they don’t know what it is then take your picture and go to a nursery and ask someone who does.
When you are there at the nursery ask them about diversity of plants and what they would recommend using. Most good nurseries are keen to carry the plants that do well in your area. Ask them about the common diseases for your area and pest problems that they deal with. Ask them if they have disease/pest resistant varieties of plants.
Go to the outdoors. Find a national park or beautiful natural setting and take plenty of pictures. Try to be very observant of how the plants grow in nature and find ways you could incorporate these principles into your own garden (yard). Do not however take plants from the wild and try to grow them in your garden. In many cases this is illegal and in most cases the plants don’t survive. Choosing plants that are native or adaptable to your climate is a good idea. The source should be a reputable nursery or a sharing neighbor. If your yard isn’t large enough to create a great diversity, go in with your next-door neighbors on the plan.
Back to the Garden
You probably noticed that every time I talked about landscaping your yard I used the word garden. So as to avoid confusion I also added in parenthesis the word yard. I would love for you all to think of your yard as a garden. I have never heard of a botanical yard nor have I heard of a junk garden. Our ultimate goal is to get back to our Father in Heaven. Life for man started out in a beautiful garden and God was there as well. Doesn’t it make sense (along with making our homes as sacred temples) to make our yards into beautiful gardens of peace, love and tranquility? Truly a great way to accomplish this is by adding a diversity of trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, and other plants into our vicinity. Good luck on your plant hunting and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at treesarelight@aol.com
Return
to Top of Article
|
|
|
About the Author: |
Lucas H. Proctor, an ISA Certified Arborist, currently resides in
Fruitland, Idaho. Lucas graduated from BYU-Idaho with a B.S. in
Horticulture (Production emphasis). He has been married for 5 years,
has two curious and happy little boys, and the only pets his wife will
allow are the plants in the windowsill.
Lucas has spent his life fascinated by plants, and excels at plant
trivia and plant identification. He has learned much about how plants
grow, what makes them thrive, what makes them sick, and where
different species really shine. He is eager to share this knowledge
in hopes that others come to appreciate plants the same way he does.
|
| Related
Resources: |
| The Tap Root Archive
|
| What
do you think? |
| |
Format
for Print
Click Here |
To easily share the article on this page with friends and family, please
Click here.
|
|
 |
| |
|
