- March 14, 2016 - Jardin botanique : Horticultural news
The trend is towards accentuating the natural processes that are at work in the garden. Bees, ladybugs and flower flies are no longer intruders but useful helpers that carry out pollination of flowers and that control plant pests. Earthworms and microorganisms in the ground are plucky recyclers that transform organic matter and free up nutrients for plants. Apart from a few disadvantages, what we used to look down on as weeds we now recognize as having a host of ecological properties. They cover and break down the soil, they play host to little animal helpers.
An ecosystem on the move
Mentalities evolve. The garden is no longer perceived as a static setting independent from the surrounding environment but as a dynamic ecosystem that is part of the urban and semi-urban fabric. But the garden remains nonetheless a particular ecosystem, at the gardener’s mercy. Masters of their territory, gardeners act on both the abiotic (non-living) factors by modifying the natural conditions of the environment (sunshine, soil, climate, precipitation…), and the biocenosis (or biological community) by introducing plant and animal species.
Acting for the health of the garden
Gardener are therefore responsible for the biodiversity present on their patch of earth. They intervene in such a way as to maintain the natural balance of the ecosystem. They enrich the earth with organic matter that nourish micro-organisms in the soil. They introduce nectar plants that attract pollinators and pest predators. They avoid pesticides that upset the balance of the environment. They no longer systematically make war on dandelions, which attract pollinating insects at a time of year when plants rich in nectar are scarce…
A “trendy” program and good for your garden
“Trendy” readers should sign up for the My Space for Life Garden program. In addition to giving you access to useful information for gardeners, the program showcases actions taken in the cause of biodiversity. It’s an opportunity to join the movement of a community of ecoresponsible gardeners looking to build the green framework of tomorrow – one that favors biodiversity, that cleanses the water and the air, that tempers the climate and that brings us closer to a comforting Nature.