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https://www.positive.news/environment/theyre-resilient-low-effort-and-beautiful-how-to-plant-a-rubble-garden/>
"London’s Horniman Museum and Gardens is located just off a busy A road; buses
thunder past at all times of day, while commuters pass on their walk to and
from the Overground. With its original 1901 building and clock tower, it’s hard
to miss. In fact, head of horticulture Errol Reuben Fernandes calls the
entrance gardens their “shop window”. So, filling them with building waste
might feel like a bold move.
But for Fernandes it makes perfect sense: so-called ‘rubble gardens’ offer an
eco-friendly way to use discarded materials and create a perfect habitat for
hardy, drought-resistant plants, something that’s becoming increasingly
important as the climate shifts.
He also believes it can offer something beautiful too: “It was previously quite
a monoculture; on one side of the path was
Agapanthus, which were beautiful
for maybe three weeks of the year, but the rest of the time not doing so much.
And on the other side, you had bamboo and phormium; nice enough, but no flowers
and no real multi-seasonal change.”
Now, with the help of 25 tonnes of waste concrete aggregate from a path
redevelopment, the team has planted a diverse selection of xerophytes – plant
species that are well-adapted to life without much water. At the Horniman, the
selection hails from across the Mediterranean, as well as Peru, Chile, Bolivia
and Mexico. “Plants in those regions often experience very hot summers and very
cold winters,” Fernandes explains."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
