What
we are looking for in a botanical garden
- Access to botany. Botanical Garden's main challenge is dealing with the
incredible sudden loss of the natural world to development and habitat destruction.
Since most botanical gardens are now situated in urban environments, a botanical
garden can be a refuge for weary working people to experience some refuge
from the modern world. The garden can be a reminiscence of what was here
or how it use to be. As generations go by this connection to the land as
it was becomes lost, botanical gardens can maintain this connection to the
past. Botanical gardens in general are idealistic lofty endeavors. We can
make the link of lofty ideas with practical economic and botanical concerns
a synthesis that service both purposes
- Plant Collection. One of my worst habits is collecting seed and plants
from wherever I travel. Botanical gardens can actually emanate from a plant
collection looking for a home. There are many plant collections that are
looking for homes and end up in botanical gardens. Many botanical gardens
take this plant collection thing in the wrong direction. There is the rose
garden where all the roses are lined up in square beds nexts the iris collection
which looks like they are being farmed, next to the day lilly farm, you
get the idea. Denver is in the process of getting rid of the rows of peonies
and replacing them with the asian plant garden which will incorporate many
peonies in a habitat like situation. I think that plant collections should
represent habitats and ecosystems in order to give a more complete understanding
of how plants grow. The rows of roses is a more Victorian idea where roses
are grown in a competitive environment for the best color, shape, fragrance,
you get the idea. Plant collections can create history in a garden. It is
the thread that allows an inquisitive patron the ability to explore a garden
with a definite sense of radiating knowledge
- Relationship to the regional environment. When I travel I usually try
to find the nearest botanical garden in the area because that will be the
nicest place to stay or visit. Botanical gardens tell of the regions history
and intelligence of the people that live in the area. The leaders of the
community who have a botanical interest are most times well traveled and
have an interest in the natural world and mans relationship to that world.
I find that the key to visiting a region. Botanical gardens that have the
local botanical knowledge available, most necessarily need the geology to
explain the reason for the botany, they are inherently linked. My most recent
trip across west Texas and the Permian basin with its deep caprock canyons
was very exciting because of the great diversity of botany and the fragile
ecosystems. Caprock Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon are the two state parks
that are quite deficient in information of the botany of the region which
is truly amazing. Most of the towns in this regions are suffering from a
lack of good water while most new development is still using non indigenous
plant material because there is no repository of knowledge of the local
botany or geology. This is where a botanical garden fills a needed role
in the community.
- A way to undersand the synthesis of man and plants
- The history of the botany and geology of the region
Sometimes a botanical garden could be the creation of a certain person who
has a personal desire to explore the natural world. The Missouri Botanical
Gardens was created by Henry Shaw as a personal endeavor to create a garden
that rivaled Kew garden in London. Shaw’s personal interest in botany
and gardening are a direct reflection of the garden. Ruth Bancroft garden
is another contemporary example of a personal interest finding a public forum.
This personal relationship and interest is irreplaceable. A great impediment
to a Botanical Center would be an imperious patron who know nothing of botany
but tries to impose a Victorian sensibility. If you are a patron and you want
to contribute to a botanical center hire a botanist or someone knowledgeable
who can help you put your money to good use.
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