4 ms·

Battle of the botanic garden

23 points by laurex 4y ago

pvaldes 4y ago
> The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation (popular science book) Bullshit distilled at this most pure essence. Again another sad case of human underestimating the power of invasive plants until is too late and too expensive to fix. (Autochtonous or non invasive) Weeds, branches and leaves in the soil does not bother me at all in principle (there are solid exceptions for that rule, Eucaliptus for example needs to be removed), but Acacia self-seeding and Opuntia cacti being allowed to roam free is a different question. Will suffocate the more delicate jewels in no time. He should at least try to sell the rare trees and shrubs before this happen because it -will- happen.
culi 4y ago
> the Ventnor Method wild gardening, agroforestry, permaculture, etc. Why do people feel the need to rename basic ideas Anyways it seems very adjacent to theories and criticisms of invasion biology. See: - Invasion Biology: Critique of a Pseudoscience (academic book) - The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation (popular science book) - A systematic review of context bias in invasion biology (review, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182502)
- zeckalpha 4y ago
  The ideas you name are different but related to this method.
  - kilpikaarna 4y ago
    They are all specific things that this is not, but it’s still strange that there’s no mention of anything like these methods in the article. Unlike the ”traditional” (about 200 years old) model of a botanical garden, they have their basis in ecological principles and observation of natural systems. If the goal here is conservation and adaptation to climate change, that’s a much smarter way to go about things than the artificial everything-in-it’s-ordained-place overseen by the head gardener model which is more a reflection of British sensibilities at the height of the Empire than anything found in nature. And the lack of which these elderly nimbys seem to be decrying. It’s hilarious.
    - pvaldes 4y ago
      Yes and not. Nimbyism here can be justified. Invasive plants spreading out of the garden to private properties should be prevented. Not only will lower the value of everything around, it also will cost millions to the city. We have lots of similar cases and is economical ruin for a small village. I assume that the man wants to keep the garden and made it a success, and sustainable economically. Good for him, but we need to remember that their good or bad decisions will affect the entire location.
- jemmyw 4y ago
  I've visited a lot of gardens; big, small, manicured and stylised, unkempt and wild, food forest, farm like, permaculture, native. I would enjoy visiting this one, but I don't think the ideas are new. They get replicated and rehashed everywhere. Some people just make more noise about it than others.
Kon-Peki 4y ago
I find it amusing that all of the local proposals for the garden involved wild money-making schemes that would have required massive changes to the property, yet the locals feel like the best insult they can come up with is that this guy is a rich American who only thinks about money. And is clearly not making any.

23 points by laurex 4y ago

> The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation (popular science book) Bullshit distilled at this most pure essence. Again another sad case of human underestimating the power of invasive plants until is too late and too expensive to fix. (Autochtonous or non invasive) Weeds, branches and leaves in the soil does not bother me at all in principle (there are solid exceptions for that rule, Eucaliptus for example needs to be removed), but Acacia self-seeding and Opuntia cacti being allowed to roam free is a different question. Will suffocate the more delicate jewels in no time. He should at least try to sell the rare trees and shrubs before this happen because it -will- happen.

culi 4y ago

> the Ventnor Method wild gardening, agroforestry, permaculture, etc. Why do people feel the need to rename basic ideas Anyways it seems very adjacent to theories and criticisms of invasion biology. See: - Invasion Biology: Critique of a Pseudoscience (academic book) - The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation (popular science book) - A systematic review of context bias in invasion biology (review, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182502)

zeckalpha 4y ago
The ideas you name are different but related to this method.
- kilpikaarna 4y ago
  They are all specific things that this is not, but it’s still strange that there’s no mention of anything like these methods in the article. Unlike the ”traditional” (about 200 years old) model of a botanical garden, they have their basis in ecological principles and observation of natural systems. If the goal here is conservation and adaptation to climate change, that’s a much smarter way to go about things than the artificial everything-in-it’s-ordained-place overseen by the head gardener model which is more a reflection of British sensibilities at the height of the Empire than anything found in nature. And the lack of which these elderly nimbys seem to be decrying. It’s hilarious.
  - pvaldes 4y ago
    Yes and not. Nimbyism here can be justified. Invasive plants spreading out of the garden to private properties should be prevented. Not only will lower the value of everything around, it also will cost millions to the city. We have lots of similar cases and is economical ruin for a small village. I assume that the man wants to keep the garden and made it a success, and sustainable economically. Good for him, but we need to remember that their good or bad decisions will affect the entire location.
jemmyw 4y ago
I've visited a lot of gardens; big, small, manicured and stylised, unkempt and wild, food forest, farm like, permaculture, native. I would enjoy visiting this one, but I don't think the ideas are new. They get replicated and rehashed everywhere. Some people just make more noise about it than others.

Kon-Peki 4y ago

I find it amusing that all of the local proposals for the garden involved wild money-making schemes that would have required massive changes to the property, yet the locals feel like the best insult they can come up with is that this guy is a rich American who only thinks about money. And is clearly not making any.