7. GARDENS OF THE XXI CENTURY “ECOLOGICAL GARDENS” 7.1. Garden as part of the nature of the area where it is designed

  7. GARDENS OF THE XXI CENTURY “ECOLOGICAL GARDENS” 7.1.  Garden as part of the nature of the area where it is designed

 

If earlier when planting gardens it was made planting exquisite garden plants, whimsical in care, then the ideal solution for any modern garden is lush plants that grow as if by themselves and in harmony with each other. Now the traditional immaculately trimmed lawns are used less and less often due to the very time-consuming and energetic care of them. The task is not to imitate wildlife where it is no longer there, but to leave enough space next to it, giving it the opportunity to live by its laws. The progressive part of garden designers, therefore, is increasingly leaning towards naturalistic plantings taken from the wild. There was even a new term - “neo-classical” (neowilderness), which allows to make a distinction between really wild nature, which is becoming less and less, and attempts to compensate for the lost, restoring in landscapes as if “primitive nature”. In this sense, European landscape design comes to a similar understanding of the Japanese world and man as part of nature, and the aesthetic principles of the construction of Japanese gardens are in demand in European gardening.

In Japan since ancient times, there is the idea of ​​man as a part of the natural world, which is not above it, not outside of it, but inside. The laws of nature are obligatory and sacred for man as his own moral laws, and he strives for harmony with nature. This special relationship is reflected in Japanese art, and in the art of gardens in particular. In essence, the art of creating gardens is associated with the philosophical and aesthetic perception of nature by man. In the Japanese garden, trees, shrubs, and stones in the composition created by the artist are important not only in themselves, but also as the personification of philosophical ideas. “In the small and individual man sees the reflection of the great and universal, Nature itself, as a comprehensive macrocosm. Therefore, a garden, like a landscape painter, first of all expresses the attitude to the world and the idea of ​​it. ” (Takahashi Hidemine).

The idea to create a garden, not radically different from the surrounding landscape, came to the German gardeners in the fifties of the XX century. On the one hand, it was associated with the movement for the protection of nature, on the other hand, gardeners drew attention to the striking beauty of grasses and ferns - plants, undeservedly deprived of the attention of designers. At the same time, they criticized the technology of creation and maintenance of classical gardens that was unreasonable from the point of view of ecology and resource saving.

New gardens truly remain part of nature:

• there are no lawns;

• fertilizers and chemical pest control agents are not used;  care is minimized.

At the same time, they are full of flourishing, in the literal and figurative sense, plants, selected in strict accordance with the recommendations of botanists-ecologists. Plants in such gardens are ideal for local climatic conditions and soils, but they are located and arranged according to the laws of landscape art. The ideal of the beauty of the new style was the natural landscapes - meadows, steppes and prairies, mountains and deserts, forests and river valleys. New style draws ideas from the nature of the country in which the garden is created. The created garden gives a generalized image of the area in which it is broken.

There are two ways to create this type of garden:  an existing plot of land is ennobled;  an artificial “wild garden” is being created.

The results obtained are very similar, and sometimes it is difficult to determine how the garden was created.

For the first path is characterized by a garden, which is a refined corner of the forest, wildlife. Objects that interfere with and distract the observer’s attention from natural harmony are removed from such a garden. If neighboring buildings are viewed, they are masked, unsightly buildings are stylized in a certain way, rubbish and all excess is removed. The philosophical nature of such a garden consists in the ability of a person according to external features: coarse bark, young leaves, seedlings, swollen buds - to judge the inner meaning of things and phenomena. This garden is loved and demanded by the young generation, whose intensive work and multiplicity of interests do not allow us to devote considerable time to garden care.

This type of garden, in contrast, is perfectly combined with modern cottages in the style of "high-tech" with the use of glass, wood, ceramic tiles in the decoration of the facade. The laconicism of the architectural layout, the absence of catchy details, the deliberate utilitarianity of the structures allow these houses to literally merge with the garden.

The layout of the artificial “wild garden” is simple and represents a holistic and complete natural composition. Often the basis of planting form decorative cereals, attracting the eye agitated from the wind by the sea of ​​leaves and panicles-inflorescences. Recently, the so-called weeds are often used - the plants that are most resistant to the conditions of a given area. Between them, varieties of garden flowers that are resistant to the local climate are planted. “The species composition is selected by a specialist taking into account the conditions of the site. At the periphery of the plot, a “forest” of trees and shrubs, selected “with an eye to” the surrounding landscape, is planted. The garden should merge with the environment, giving the owners the impression of "wildness" and "pristineness."

Creating a garden as part of nature gives the desired effect: the plants of the area are preserved, garden care is minimized, the use of natural fertilizers protects the local fauna, therefore such gardens are increasingly becoming an alternative to traditional gardens. By planning, these gardens may resemble English landscape parks, but it is worth noting that they are not comparable in size. This changes the perception of the landscape: if large images and “pictures” are important in the park, then in the garden special attention is paid to the consideration of trifles.

Parallels can be found between the “garden as part of the nature of the terrain” and the art of the 20th century: just as some artists broke with traditional art at the beginning of the last century and tried to revive “primitive art”, these gardens try to recreate “wildlife”. Such gardens are the basis of a new campaign in landscape architecture. They represent a kind of transition between the traditional garden and the "formal gardens" - they use special types of plants, but other garden materials remain traditional: mostly wood and natural stone, as well as clay products.

The process of forming a garden as part of the nature of the terrain takes place against the backdrop of a pan-European movement for the preservation of nature. The use of untouched landscape where it still remained seems to be quite justified.

Due to the ecological approach in plant design of gardens, greensmiths include new, hitherto less common groups of plants from the buckwheat family, legumes, umbellas, in shady places a special role is assigned to ferns.

Caring for flower beds is reduced, as a rule, to pruning in the early spring of the aerial parts of grassy perennials and dead branches of trees and shrubs. Properly selected compositions are very stable and are renewed almost without the help and participation of the gardener.

This type of garden implies "dissolution" in nature. This trend in garden design has found a response in the countries of Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. Even conservative British recognized its existence and began to reorganize their classic flower gardens.

New ideas in landscape architecture are being tested at numerous exhibitions.

The most famous of them is the exhibition of floral and landscape design in Chelsea (England) (Appendix, Fig. B 22) - an event with more than 140 years of history. The first flower show was called the Big Spring Show of the Royal Society of Gardeners and was held in 1862 in the RHS (Royal Society of Gardeners of Great Britain) garden in Kensington. In 1888, when the garden was closed (now the Museum of Science and the Imperial College are located on this site), the show moved to the Church Gardens on the Thames Embankment and ran there until 1911.

In 1912, the show was canceled in order to create a permanent exhibition of the Royal Society of Horticulturists in some other suitable place. Sir Harry Vetch, a great lover of plants, suggested temporarily using the territory of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. The hospital itself was built in the 1680s by Christopher Wren for disabled soldiers and veterans and is still successfully performing its functions.

During the exhibition, it turned out that this is a very good exhibition site, and since 1913 the Great Spring Show has been held here almost every year.

Despite the First World War, the show was held in 1914-1916, but was canceled in 1917 and 1918. In the 20s. XX century. The flower show experienced a period of instability due to political differences in the country. In 1926, the exhibition was held a week later because of the general strike.

The show was not conducted during the Second World War, and the territory was used by the military to station air defense forces. Some doubts were about whether the show would resume in 1947. Most exhibitors wanted to postpone, because the plant stocks were small, people were exhausted by the war, and the fuel for transport was available only with special permissions. Lord Aberconway (at that time the President of RHS) and the Council of RHS did everything they could to make the show resume as soon as possible. All efforts were not in vain - the exhibition in 1947 was a huge success.

Throughout its history, the Chelsea Flower Show has witnessed numerous changes in gardening skills and creative technologies. The gardens presented on the show over the years are replete with a variety of styles and preferences of designers. Many ideas succeeded each other - Japanese and topiary gardens of the beginning of the century (Japanese dwarf trees, now known as bonsai, first appeared on the show in 1913), crazed rock gardens in the middle of the last century, strict lines of the 1980s, modern sculptural gardens.

Each exhibitor in Chelsea receives an assessment of the jury. The judges announce their grades before opening the show on Tuesday. There are four types of medals that can be awarded: Royal Society of Gardeners gold, gilded silver, silver and bronze. Any team of professionals can participate in a beauty contest, and not just gardening societies and colleges that previously had the right to do so.

The Chelsea Flower Show is considered the most important moment in the gardening calendar. Designers of gardens and landscapes from all over the world are competing for first places. With constantly emerging new trends, the show organizers continue to create the horticultural history of their country and world. It should be noted that the title of "best garden" does not always coincide with the gold medal. At the best garden a medal can be silver, bronze or not at all. The best garden chooses the same jury as it distributes the medals, but the garden, recognized as the “best” in one category or another, has somewhat different requirements than the medalists. The best garden is awarded for the integrity of the concept, execution and a set of plants. Originality plays a significant role in choosing the best garden.

The competition is usually held in 5 categories: Show Gardens - exhibition gardens, City Gardens - urban gardens, Courtyard Gardens - gardens in courtyards, Chic Gardens - elegant gardens, Sunflower Street Gardens - urban gardens with sunflowers.

Exhibits in Chelsea in the form of exhibits whole corners of wildlife Amazing colorful world, created by experts from around the world - from the UK and Holland to Australia and Zimbabwe. At the show you can get acquainted with the latest trends in landscape gardening design, see the most bizarre creations of flower growers - only for the last 4 years about 250 new hybrid plants took place in Chelsea.

The Chelsea Flower Show is not only colorful paints and breathtaking floral arrangements, but also numerous figures indicating the thoroughness of the preparation and scope of the event.

Thus, the area of ​​the Central Pavilion, where about 100 participants place their works, is 12 thousand square meters. Within five days, 157 thousand visitors come to look at the amazing exhibits, according to the organizers of the event. Over the construction of various flower beds, gardens and compositions for about three and a half weeks, about 800 people work. To irrigate and maintain all exhibits in a normal condition, the organizers lay kilometers of pipes. 590 tons of soil and millions of plants for almost a month of hard work turn into fifty gardens and a hundred stands under the roof of the Great Pavilion. Thousands of flower arrangements present to the visitors all the newest and best in modern floriculture. In addition to the UK, flower and garden art festivals are held in other countries of the world. For example, in the north of Thailand, in the city of Chiang Mai (the name translates as "many flowers"), in February the annual flower carnival is held. In the fall, Japan celebrates the Chrysanthemum Festival. This tradition originates in the 9th century, when on the ninth day of the ninth month according to the lunar calendar, courtiers were invited to the imperial palace, listened to music, admired the chrysanthemums in the garden and composed verses. One of the notable events of the summer season in France is the festival of gardens in the park of the Chaumont-sur-Loire castle (Festival International des Jardins de Chaumont-sur-Loire) (Appendix, fig. B 21). The 2002 festival (15th) was held under the motto “Play in the garden”. The concept of this festival is “Mobile gardens”. In the summer of 2003, “Weeds” became the main theme of the annual garden festival on the lands of Chaumont Castle on the Loire in France.

It should be assumed that the ecological approach in landscape architecture will become widespread and become leading not only in European countries, but also in Russia [1].

 

 

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Theory of Landscape Architecture