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Green belt

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A green belt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild , or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas . Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges , which have a linear character and may run through an urban area instead of around it. In essence, a green belt is an invisible line designating a border around a certain area, preventing development of the area and allowing wildlife to return and be established.

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121-496: The more general term in the United States is green space or greenspace , which may be a very small area such as a park . In those countries which have them, the stated objectives of green belt policy are to: The green belt has many benefits for people: The effectiveness of green belts differs depending on location and country. They can often be eroded by urban rural fringe uses and sometimes, development 'jumps' over

242-587: A greenbelt . In some countries, especially the United Kingdom, country parks are areas designated for recreation, and managed by local authorities . They are often located near urban populations, but they provide recreational facilities typical of the countryside rather than the town. In 2021, following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war , a Military Trophy Park was opened in Azerbaijan 's capital Baku , showcasing seized military equipment, as well as

363-517: A mixed-use path that is dominated by fast-moving cyclists or horses. Different landscaping and infrastructure may even affect children's rates of park usage according to gender. Redesigns of two parks in Vienna suggested that the creation of multiple semi-enclosed play areas in a park could encourage equal use by boys and girls. Parks are part of the urban infrastructure: for physical activity, for families and communities to gather and socialize, or for

484-500: A park ranger . Large parks may have areas for canoeing and hiking in the warmer months and, in some northern hemisphere countries, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in colder months. There are also amusement parks that have live shows, fairground rides, refreshments, and games of chance or skill. English deer parks were used by the aristocracy in medieval times for game hunting. They had walls or thick hedges around them to keep game animals (e.g., stags) in and people out. It

605-502: A "clear manifestation of fascism", saying that it is a "proof of Azerbaijani genocidal policy and state supported Armenophobia ". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated that such museums are a widely accepted international practice, and the country has a right to commemorate its victory through parades, parks, museums and other means. Azerbaijani authorities claimed that the helmets were left behind by retreating Armenian soldiers. When Azerbaijani historian Altay Goyushov, one of

726-428: A "green court", a plot of grass and trees where horses could graze, as well as a cellarer's garden or private gardens for obedientiaries, monks who held specific posts within the monastery. Islamic gardens were built after the model of Persian gardens and they were usually enclosed by walls and divided in four by watercourses. Commonly, the centre of the garden would have a reflecting pool or pavilion . Specific to

847-455: A 3-mile wide belt around the City of London in an attempt to stop the spread of plague. However, this was not widely enforced and it was possible to buy dispensations which reduced the effectiveness of the proclamation. In modern times, the term emerged from continental Europe where broad boulevards were increasingly used to separate new development from the centers of historic towns; most notably

968-709: A basic level of gardening. Similarly, the Fuegian Indigenous groups in South America had developed seemingly comparable niches due to a similar tundra ecosystem. While there are very few studies on the Fuegians, Darwin mentioned wild edible plants such as fungi , kelp , and wild celery growing next to the various Fuegian shelters. Horticulture plays a relatively small role in these northern and southern tundra inhabitants compared with Indigenous societies in grassland and forest ecosystems. From

1089-586: A beach or boat dock area. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and may contain picnic tables and barbecue grills. The largest parks can be vast natural areas of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers (or square miles), with abundant wildlife and natural features such as mountains and rivers. In many large parks, camping in tents is allowed with a permit. Many natural parks are protected by law, and users may have to follow restrictions (e.g. rules against open fires or bringing in glass bottles). Large national and sub-national parks are typically overseen by

1210-461: A cold dormant period to sprout, or saskatoon berries which have improved germination after being digested by bears through a process called endozoochory . Many gardeners, especially those who live in colder climates, will start seeds indoors prior to transplanting the young plant outside. This provides many benefits such as elongating the growing season, ensuring adequate quantities and quality of light, ensuring seedlings have adequate nutrients in

1331-459: A desirable and ornamental garden plant, or it may be considered a pest if it seeds and starts to grow where it is not wanted. As another example, in lawns , moss can become dominant and be impossible to eradicate. In some lawns, lichens , especially very damp lawn lichens such as Peltigera lactucfolia and P. membranacea , can become difficult to control and are considered pests. There are many ways by which unwanted pests are removed from

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1452-514: A difference. Regular park maintenance, as well as programming and community involvement, can also contribute to a feeling of safety. While Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) has been widely used in facility design, the use of CPTED in parks has not been. Iqbal and Ceccato performed a study in Stockholm, Sweden to determine if it would be useful to apply to parks. Their study indicated that while CPTED could be useful, due to

1573-567: A forest-based food production system, is the world's oldest form of gardening. After the emergence of the first civilizations , wealthy individuals began to create gardens for aesthetic purposes. Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings from the New Kingdom (around 1500 BC) provide some of the earliest physical evidence of ornamental horticulture and landscape design; they depict lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of acacias and palms . A notable example of ancient ornamental gardens were

1694-435: A future-guaranteed premium for protection of their views, recreational space and for the preservation/conservation value itself. Most also benefit from higher rates of urban gardening and farming , particularly when done in a community setting, which has positive effects on nutrition , fitness , self-esteem , and happiness, providing a benefit for both physical and mental health, in all cases easily provided or accessed in

1815-664: A garden was also referred to as a 'Mandala Vaatika'. The word 'Vaatika' can mean garden, plantation or parterre. Residential gardening takes place near the home, in a space referred to as the garden. Although a garden typically is located on the land near a residence, it may also be located on a roof , in an atrium , on a balcony , in a window box , on a patio or vivarium . Gardening also takes place in non-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens ( botanical gardens or zoological gardens ), amusement parks , along transportation corridors, and around tourist attractions and garden hotels . In these situations,

1936-451: A garden. The techniques vary depending on the pest, the gardener's goals, and the gardener's philosophy. For example, snails may be dealt with through the use of a chemical pesticide, an organic pesticide, hand-picking, barriers, or simply growing snail-resistant plants. On a large scale pest control is often done through the use of pesticides and herbicides , which may be either organic or artificially synthesized. Pesticides may affect

2057-406: A global increase in pesticide usage has been observed which in turn has caused an increase of human health risks due to exposure. Creating new pesticides in order to manage resistant organisms is an immense expense and is often heavily criticized as an ineffective method of pest control. Other means of control include the removal of infected plants, using fertilizers and bio stimulants to improve

2178-423: A green belt may have been motivated by or result in considerable premiums. They may also be more economically resilient as popular among the retired and less attractive for short-term renting of modest homes. Where in the city itself demand exceeds supply in housing, green belt homes compete directly with much city housing wherever such green belt homes are well-connected to the city. Further, they in all cases attract

2299-509: A green belt. Government planners also seek to protect the green belt as its local farmers are engaged in peri-urban agriculture which augments carbon sequestration , reduces the urban heat island effect, and provides a habitat for organisms . Peri-urban agriculture may also help recycle urban greywater and other products of wastewater , helping to conserve water and reduce waste. The housing market contrasts with more uncertainty and economic liberalism inside and immediately outside of

2420-465: A half-mile of a park indicated that in addition to safety park facilities also played a significant role in park use and that increasing facilities instead of creating an image of a safe park would increase use of the park. There are a number of features that contribute to whether a park feels safe. Elements in the physical design of a park, such as an open and welcoming entry, good visibility (sight lines), and appropriate lighting and signage can all make

2541-602: A lack of plant breeding knowledge would have led to more hybridization and the creation of new genetically diverse landraces . Each plant varies in its likelihood of outcrossing . Highly outcrossing plants such as spinach are more likely to create landraces. Many landraces and heirloom varieties along with their genetics are being lost due to the decrease in seed saving by modern farmers. This leads plant geneticists to search for desirable genetics in wild ancestral varieties of commonly grown plants. Plants have been artificially selected and bred since at least 7800 BCE. Despite

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2662-402: A much smaller scale with the intent of personal or community consumption . There are cultures which do not differentiate between farming and gardening. This is primarily because subsistence agriculture has been the main method of farming throughout its 12,000 year history and is virtually indistinguishable from gardening. Plant domestication is seen as the birth of agriculture. However, it

2783-624: A new style within the English landscape. This was a "gardenless" form of landscape gardening, which swept away almost all the remnants of previous formally patterned styles. The English landscape garden usually included a lake, lawns set against groves of trees , and often contained shrubberies, grottoes, pavilions, bridges and follies such as mock temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape. This new style emerged in England in

2904-425: A niche of some sort, allowing them to thrive or even just survive amongst their environments. Many of these prehistoric hunter-gatherers had constructed a niche allowing for easier access to, or a higher amount of edible plant species. This shift from hunting and gathering to increasingly modifying the environment in a way which produces an abundance of edible plant species marks the beginning of gardening. One of

3025-446: A portion of the park's area eliminates or reduces the burden of managing active recreation facilities and developed infrastructure. Passive recreation amenities require routine upkeep and maintenance to prevent degradation of the environment. The general principle of how parks and greenspaces assist in the conservation of biodiversity is by creating natural environments for animals in urban areas. Biological diversity, or biodiversity ,

3146-448: A producer of foods, medicines, or materials, but also pleasant aesthetics. Many popular crops originate from pre-colonial Indigenous agricultural societies. Some of these include maize , quinoa , common bean , peanut , pumpkin , squash , pepper , tomato , cassava , potato , blueberry , cactus pear , cashew , papaya , pineapple , strawberry , cacao , sunflower , cotton , Pará rubber , and tobacco . Forest gardening ,

3267-469: A public school to augment the kitchen classroom. Garden sharing , where urban landowners allow gardeners to grow on their property in exchange for a share of the harvest, is associated with the desire to control the quality of one's food, and reconnect with soil and community. In US and British usage, the production of ornamental plantings around buildings is called landscaping , landscape maintenance or grounds keeping , while international usage uses

3388-518: A sign of higher socioeconomic status. In addition, wealthy ancient Egyptians grew vineyards, as wine was a sign of the higher social classes. Roses , poppies, daisies and irises could all also be found in the gardens of the Egyptians. Assyria was renowned for its beautiful gardens. These tended to be wide and large, some of them used for hunting game—rather like a game reserve today—and others as leisure gardens. Cypresses and palms were some of

3509-488: A simple respite. Research reveals that people who exercise outdoors in green-space derive greater mental health benefits. Providing activities for all ages, abilities and income levels is important for the physical and mental well-being of the public. Parks can also benefit pollinators , and some parks (such as Saltdean Oval in East Sussex ) have been redesigned to accommodate them better. Some organizations, such as

3630-656: A staff of gardeners or groundskeepers maintains the gardens. Regardless of historical time period, location, scale, or type of garden, all gardening requires some basic tools . For the majority of human history, people have managed with significantly fewer resources compared to modern times. Agriculture was built on the use of hands, stones, sticks, human ingenuity, and fire. The essential tools used in pre- Bronze Age gardening were non-metal (primarily stone, bone, wood, or copper) knives, axes, adzes, foot ploughs , sickles, hoes, baskets, pottery, digging sticks, animal-driven ploughs, animals, and fire for clearing land. Up until

3751-399: A standard ammunition. These guns are especially effective inside of barns and sheds, as the snake shot will not shoot holes in the roof or walls, or more importantly injure livestock with a ricochet . They are also used for pest control at airports , warehouses , and stockyards . People can express their political or social views in gardens, intentionally or not. The lawn vs. garden issue

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3872-473: Is a reserve of land, usually, but not always declared and owned by a national government , protected from most human development and pollution. Although this may be so, it is not likely that the government of a specific area owns it, rather the community itself. National parks are a protected area of International Union for Conservation of Nature Category II . This implies that they are wilderness areas, but unlike pure nature reserves, they are established with

3993-441: Is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and maintained by a local government. Parks commonly resemble savannas or open woodlands , the types of landscape that human beings find most relaxing. Grass is typically kept short to discourage insect pests and to allow for the enjoyment of picnics and sporting activities. Trees are chosen for their beauty and to provide shade . Some early parks include

4114-773: Is arguably proceeded by a very long history of gardening wild plants. While the 12,000 year-old date is the commonly accepted timeline describing plant domestication, there is now evidence from the Ohalo II hunter-gatherer site showing earlier signs of disturbing the soil and cultivation of pre-domesticated crop species. This evidence pushes early stage plant domestication to 23,000 years ago which aligns with research done by Allaby (2022) showing slight selection pressure of desirable traits in Southwest Asian cereals (einkorn, emmer, barley). Despite not qualifying as plant domestication , there are many archaeological studies pushing

4235-524: Is called biological pest control . There are also targeted measures of animal pest control such as a mole vibrator which can deter mole activity in a garden, or automated gun shots to scare off birds. Garden guns are smooth-bore shotguns specifically made to fire .22 caliber snake shot , and are commonly used by gardeners and farmers for pest control. Garden guns are short-range weapons that can do little harm past 15 to 20 yards (14 to 18 m) and are relatively quiet when fired with snake shot, compared to

4356-404: Is common for shrubs, and trees such as willows which may shed their branches which is termed cladoptosis . Placing the shed limb into water or soil produces budding and causes roots to form. Perhaps the most commonly-known method of asexual reproduction in gardening and farming is grafting . A human may choose to graft an excellent fruit producing cultivar on a selected rootstock cultivar of

4477-406: Is crucial that transplanting is done correctly. This generally implies providing the plants with enough soil so they do not become root-bound (roots wrapping in circles around transplant container), providing a hardening-off period (slow exposure to sun, wind, and cold), providing sufficient light, water, and nutrients, and choosing the correct plants to start indoors as some plants do not do well with

4598-460: Is evident that these niches developed separately in different societies across different times and locations. Many of the Indigenous gardening methods were and still are often overlooked by colonizers due to the lack of resemblance to western gardens with well defined borders and non-naturalized plant species. There are long traditions of gardening within Indigenous societies spanning from

4719-446: Is influenced by the intended purpose and audience, as well as by the available land features. A park intended to provide recreation for children may include a playground . A park primarily intended for adults may feature walking paths and decorative landscaping. Specific features, such as riding trails, may be included to support specific activities. The design of a park may determine who is willing to use it. Walkers might feel unsafe on

4840-721: Is managed by the National Capital Commission (NCC). The dynamic Adelaide Park Lands , measuring approximately 7.6 km, surround, unbroken, the city center of Adelaide . On the fringe of the eastern suburbs, an expansive natural green belt in the Adelaide Hills acts as a growth boundary for Adelaide and cools the city in the hottest months. The concept of "green belt" has evolved in recent years to encompass not only "Greenspace" but also "Greenstructure" which comprises all urban and peri-urban green spaces, an important aspect of sustainable development in

4961-415: Is often more simplistic and provides rapid population growth. Cloning may result in highly vulnerable plant populations if they do not also reproduce sexually in order to create genetic diversity thus allowing for certain levels of natural selection and hybrid vigor . There are various methods of asexual plant propagation taken advantage of by gardeners. These include vegetative propagation which involves

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5082-447: Is played out in urban planning as the debate over the " land ethic " that is to determine urban land use and whether hyper hygienist bylaws (e.g. weed control ) should apply, or whether land should generally be allowed to exist in its natural wild state. In a famous Canadian Charter of Rights case, "Sandra Bell vs. City of Toronto", 1997, the right to cultivate all native species, even most varieties deemed noxious or allergenic,

5203-494: Is the merit of a green belt subverted, but the green belt may heighten the problem and make the city unsustainable. There are many examples whereby the actual effect of green belts is to act as a land reserve for future freeways and other highways. Examples include sections of Ontario Highway 407 north of Toronto and the Hunt Club Road and Richmond Road south of Ottawa. Whether they are originally planned as such, or

5324-485: Is the variety of life on Earth in all its forms. Fauna and flora are principal biotic components. They include all living species, which consist of plants, animals, and bacteria. Around half of the greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere get absorbed by the floral components of the biodiversity , providing nature-based aid in the fight against the climate change and habitat for the fauna . When processes such as

5445-773: Is typically carried by wind, insects, or animals to complete pollination. Some greenhouses may have to manually pollinate their plants to produce fruit and seeds due to a lack of these conditions. Sexual reproduction can only be done by members of the same species and this produces varying levels of genetic diversity in the plants offspring. This genetic diversity is responsible for the survival of every plant as we know them today. The diversity allows for disease resistance, adaptations to changing climate, changes in soil, changes in pollination methods, changes in animal grazing pressure, changes in weed pressure, and any other variations that arise in their growing conditions. Crossing plants , or hybridizing, results in hybrid vigor and will increase

5566-700: The CPRE they lobbied for a continuous belt (of up to two miles wide) to prevent urban sprawl, beyond which new development could occur. There are fourteen green belt areas in the UK covering 16,716 km or 12.4% of England, and 164 km of Scotland ; for a detailed discussion of these, see Green belt (UK) . Other notable examples are the Ottawa Greenbelt and Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt in Ontario , Canada. Ottawa's 20,350-hectare (78.6 sq mi) instance

5687-691: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon —one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World —while ancient Rome had dozens of gardens. Wealthy ancient Egyptians used gardens for providing shade. Egyptians associated trees and gardens with gods, believing that their deities were pleased by gardens. Gardens in ancient Egypt were often surrounded by walls with trees planted in rows. Among the most popular species planted were date palms , sycamores, fig trees , nut trees, and willows . These gardens were

5808-477: The Ottawa suburbs of Kanata and Orleans , both of which are outside the city's green belt and are currently undergoing explosive growth. This leads to other problems, as residents of these areas have a longer commute to workplaces in the city and worse access to public transport . It also means people have to commute through the green belt, an area not designed to cope with high levels of transportation. Not only

5929-656: The Ringstraße in Vienna . Green belt policy was then pioneered in the United Kingdom confronted with ongoing rural flight . The term itself was first used in relation to the growth of London by Octavia Hill in 1875. Various proposals were put forward from 1890 onwards but the first to garner widespread support was put forward by the London Society in its "Development Plan of Greater London" 1919. Alongside

6050-641: The Xerces Society are also promoting this idea. City parks play a role in improving cities and improving the futures for residents and visitors - for example, Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois or the Mill River Park and Green way in Stamford, CT. One group that is a strong proponent of parks for cities is The American Society of Landscape Architects. They argue that parks are important to

6171-827: The boreal forests of Canada to the temperate forests and grasslands of Chile and Argentina different communities have developed food production niches. These include the use of fire for ecosystem maintenance and resetting successional sequences, the sowing of wild annuals, the sowing of domesticated annuals (e.g. three sisters , New World crops ), creating berry patches and orchards, manipulation of plants to encourage desired traits(e.g. increased nut, fruit, or root production), and landscape modification to encourage plant and animal growth (e.g. complex irrigation or terraces ). These modified landscapes as recorded by early American philosophers such as Thoreau , and Emmerson were described as exhibiting pristine beauty. Indigenous gardens such as forest gardens therefore do not only serve as

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6292-408: The ecology of a garden due to their effects on the populations of both target and non-target species. For example, unintended exposure to some neonicotinoid pesticides has been proposed as a factor in the recent decline in honey bee populations. Pesticides and herbicides are also known to cause medical issues, typically to those in proximity during their application. While farm workers are by far

6413-855: The green revolution these simple tools, although continually improved upon, would continue to be the backbone of agricultural societies. The industrial revolution created a large increase in availability and impact of agricultural tools. These tools include tractors with modern implements, manure spreaders, cultivators , mowers, earth-moving machines, hedge trimmers, strimmer's, wood-chippers, two-wheel tractors , complex irrigation systems, plastic mulch , plastic shelters, seeding trays, indoor grow lights , packaging, chemical fertilizers , pesticides , genetically modified seeds , and many more. Plants may be propagated through many different methods. These methods are classified as either sexual or asexual propagation. Asexual reproduction occurs when plants produce clonal offspring . This method of reproduction

6534-628: The la Alameda de Hércules , in Seville , a promenaded public mall, urban garden and park built in 1574, within the historic center of Seville; the City Park , in Budapest, Hungary, which was property of the Batthyány family and was later made public. An early purpose built public park was Derby Arboretum which was opened in 1840 by Joseph Strutt for the mill workers and people of the city. This

6655-446: The pollination of an ovule . This pollination must occur between female and male parts of a single flower or between flowers. A plant may undergo self pollination as a sexual means of reproduction where the genes of the mother plant will not perfectly match those of the progeny. Progeny from self pollination will however have less genetic diversity which may result in inbreeding depression versus plants from cross pollination. Pollen

6776-442: The yeoman cottager would have included a beehive and livestock , and frequently a pig and sty, along with a well. The peasant cottager of medieval times was more interested in meat than flowers, with herbs grown for medicinal use rather than for their beauty. By Elizabethan times there was more prosperity, and thus more room to grow flowers. Even the early cottage garden flowers typically had their practical use—violets were spread on

6897-600: The 17th century, knot gardens became popular along with the hedge mazes . By this time, Europeans started planting new flowers such as tulips , marigolds and sunflowers . Cottage gardens , which emerged in Elizabethan times , appear to have originated as a local source for herbs and fruits. One theory is that they arose out of the Black Death of the 1340s, when the death of so many laborers made land available for small cottages with personal gardens. According to

7018-399: The 18th century have often been landscaped for aesthetic effect. They are usually a mixture of open grassland with scattered trees and sections of woodland, and are often enclosed by a high wall. The area immediately around the house is the garden. In some cases this will also feature sweeping lawns and scattered trees; the basic difference between a country house's park and its garden is that

7139-727: The 21st century. The European Commission 's COST Action C11 ( COST – European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is undertaking "Case studies in Greenstructure Planning" involving 15 European countries. An act of the Swedish parliament from 1994 has declared a series of parks in Stockholm and the adjacent municipality of Solna to its north a "national city park" called Royal National City Park . When established around an economically prosperous city, homes in

7260-553: The 800 hectare Versailles gardens down to container gardens grown inside. Gardens take many forms, some only contain one type of plant while others involve a complex assortment of plants with no particular order. Gardening can be difficult to differentiate from farming . They are most easily differentiated based on their primary objectives. Farming prioritizes saleable goods and may include livestock production whereas gardening often prioritizes aesthetics and leisure . As it pertains to food production, gardening generally happens on

7381-591: The Green Belt were particularly in the 1940s–1980s mitigated with planned, government-supported, new towns under the New Towns Act 1946 and New Towns Act 1981 . These saw establishment beyond the green belts of new homes, infrastructure , businesses, and other facilities. Without large-scale sustainable development, infill development sees urban green space lost. A chronic housing shortage with inadequate new settlements and/or extension of those outside of

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7502-595: The Islamic gardens are the mosaics and glazed tiles used to decorate the rills and fountains that were built in these gardens. By the late 13th century, rich Europeans began to grow gardens for leisure and for medicinal herbs and vegetables. They surrounded the gardens by walls to protect them from animals and to provide seclusion . During the next two centuries, Europeans started planting lawns and raising flowerbeds and trellises of roses. Fruit trees were common in these gardens and also in some, there were turf seats. At

7623-407: The animals co-existing together in a regulated environment generates a natural cycle of life where decaying bodies assist in the fertilization of the ground. [1] Alongside the preservation of native species parks with exotic fauna and flora drive diversity in natural ecosystems , aiding in the adaptation to urban environment. Richness of a park’s nature is associated with its age and size, with

7744-555: The appearance of London's West End. With the establishment of Princes Park in 1842, Joseph Paxton did something similar for the benefit of a provincial town, albeit one of international stature by virtue of its flourishing mercantile contingent. Liverpool had a burgeoning presence on the scene of global maritime trade before 1800 and during the Victorian era its wealth rivaled that of London itself. The form and layout of Paxton's ornamental grounds, structured about an informal lake within

7865-512: The artificial selection process as certain traits such as fruit taste can be ignored altogether in the rootstock allowing for a focused selection with less backcrossing to a plant that had good tasting fruit. Secondly, grafting allows for plants that require cross pollination for fruit generation, such as apples, to all grow together as one tree. Thirdly, this allows for quick reproduction where one mother plant can produce many semi-developed clones each year. Sexual reproduction occurs through

7986-429: The belt: green belt homes have by definition nearby protected landscapes. Local residents in affluent parts of a green belt, as in parts of the city, can be assured of preserving any localized bourgeois status quo present and so assuming the green belt is not from the outset an area of more social housing proportionately than the city, it naturally tends toward greater economic wealth. In a protracted housing shortage,

8107-411: The confines of a serpentine carriageway, put in place the essential elements of his much imitated design for Birkenhead Park . The latter was commenced in 1843 with the help of public finance and deployed the ideas he pioneered at Princes Park on a more expansive scale. Frederick Law Olmsted visited Birkenhead Park in 1850 and praised its qualities. Indeed, Paxton is widely credited as having been one of

8228-598: The courtyards of rich Romans. The Middle Ages represent a period of decline in gardens for aesthetic purposes. After the fall of Rome, gardening was done for the purpose of growing medicinal herbs and/or decorating church altars . Monasteries carried on a tradition of garden design and intense horticultural techniques during the medieval period in Europe . Generally, monastic garden types consisted of kitchen gardens, infirmary gardens, cemetery orchards , cloister garths and vineyards. Individual monasteries might also have had

8349-465: The decay of wood, winter dieback or succession are allowed to happen the natural cycle helps with biodiversity conservation. The amount of habitat can be increased more vegetation to parks – wildflowers , long grass areas, shrubs , and trees. In parks located in urban areas the conservation of native vegetation is tied to preservation of insects and mammals in the area. Tall trees and bushes create shadow for bodies of water with fish. Having all

8470-699: The decrease in farmer seed saving, many landraces are also being created through artificial selection and genetic modification . Gardeners remain vital in the preservation of diverse genetics whether they maintain a family heirloom variety bred to fit conditions from the distant past, or they breed new landraces with traits matching their modern climate and growing condition. Certain seeds may not sprout without certain environmental conditions. These seeds either require scarification or stratification . Gardeners may grow frustrated if they lack this crucial knowledge before attempting to propagate certain plants such as hard neck garlic (asexual reproduction), which requires

8591-554: The early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. They were often inspired by paintings of landscapes by Claude Lorraine and Nicolas Poussin , and some were Influenced by the classic Chinese gardens of the East, which had recently been described by European travelers. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown

8712-461: The economics-heavy think tanks such as the Institute of Economic Affairs who would see a reduction in many green belts. Such studies focus on the widely inherent limitations of green belts. In most examples, only a small fraction of the population uses the green belt for leisure purposes. The IEA study claims that a green belt is not strongly causally linked to clean air and water. Rather, they view

8833-414: The expectation of a certain degree of human visitation and supporting infrastructure. While this type of national park had been proposed previously, the United States established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people", Yellowstone National Park , in 1872, although Yellowstone was not gazetted as a national park. The first officially designated national park

8954-546: The fabric of the community on an individual scale and broader scales such as entire neighborhoods, city districts or city park systems. Parks need to feel safe for people to use them. Research shows that perception of safety can be more significant in influencing human behavior than actual crime statistics. If citizens perceive a park as unsafe, they might not make use of it at all. A study done in four cities; Albuquerque, NM, Chapel Hill/Durham, NC, Columbus, OH, and Philadelphia, PA, with 3815 survey participants who lived within

9075-484: The floor (for their pleasant scent and keeping out vermin); calendulas and primroses were both attractive and used in cooking. Others, such as sweet William and hollyhocks , were grown entirely for their beauty. In the 18th century, gardens were laid out more naturally, without any walls. This style of smooth undulating grass, which would run straight to the house, clumps, belts and scattering of trees and serpentine lakes formed by invisibly damming small rivers, were

9196-453: The genetic diversity. Many commercially grown plants are F1 hybrids which ensures certain desirable traits. A common alternative to growing hybrid plants is to grow heirloom or open pollinated plants which, unlike F1 hybrids, will produce viable seed with progeny similar to its parent. Many modern gardeners will save seeds from heirloom varieties but not hybrids due to the certainty of desirable traits heirloom seeds provide. Historically

9317-465: The green belt and/or no green belt reduction has seen many brownfield sites, often well-suited to industry and commerce, lost in existing conurbations. In New Zealand, the term Town Belt is most commonly used for an urban green belt. [REDACTED] Media related to Green belts (protected areas) at Wikimedia Commons Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for

9438-412: The green belt area, resulting in the creation of "satellite towns" which, although separated from the city by the green belt, function more like suburbs than independent communities. In the 7th century, Muhammad established a green belt around Medina . He did this by prohibiting any further removal of trees in a 12-mile-long strip around the city. In 1580 Elizabeth I of England banned new buildings in

9559-614: The green belts defeat their stated objective of saving the countryside and open spaces. Such criticism falls short when considering the other, broader benefits such as peri-urban agriculture which includes gardening and carries many benefits, especially to the retired . It also ignores the strategic aims of the Attlee Ministry in 1946, just as in France, of shifting capital away from the capital city (addressing regional disparity) and avoiding intra-urban gridlock. The restrictions of

9680-420: The growth of new plants from vegetative parts of the parent plant, such as roots, stems, and leaves. Certain plants such as strawberries and raspberries produce stolons or rhizomes which are stems which grow horizontally above or below ground, developing new plants at nodes. Another common method of asexual reproduction in garden plants is fragmentation which involves a separation from the parent plant. This

9801-419: The growth of young seedlings, steal or damage fruit, or otherwise kill plants, hamper their growth, damage their appearance, or reduce the quality of the edible or ornamental portions of the plant. Aphids , spider mites , slugs , snails , ants , birds , and even cats are commonly considered to be garden pests. Throughout history ecosystems that have undergone rapid changes are typically those which harbor

9922-698: The health and vigor of plants so they better resist attack, practicing crop rotation to prevent pest build-up, using foliar sprays, companion planting , and practicing good garden hygiene, such as disinfecting tools and clearing debris and weeds which may harbor pests. Another common method of pest control, used frequently in market gardening, is using insect netting or plastic greenhouse covers. Gardeners may rely on one type of pest in order to eliminate another. Some examples of this are cats which hunt mice and rats, wild birds, bats, chickens, and ducks which hunt insects and slugs, or thorny hedges to deter deer and other creatures. Using these organisms to help control pests

10043-431: The helmets and wax mannequins of Armenian troops. The helmets were reported by international media to belong to dead Armenian soldiers. Several international journalists have called the park "barbaric". Armenia strongly condemned it, accusing Baku of "dishonoring the memory of victims of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war and violating the rights and dignity of their families". Armenia's ombudsman called it

10164-426: The late 19th-century legend of origin, these gardens were originally created by the workers that lived in the cottages of the villages, to provide them with food and herbs, with flowers planted among them for decoration. Farm workers were provided with cottages that had architectural quality set in a small garden—about 1 acre (0.40 hectares)—where they could grow food and keep pigs and chickens. Authentic gardens of

10285-561: The leaders of liberal democratic opposition, criticized the helmets corridor, he was rebuffed by local journalists and bloggers who justified demonstrating the helmets, one of them going as far as inviting "all who does not feel well looking at them to go and drown in Caspian sea". Private parks are owned by individuals or businesses and are used at the discretion of the owner. There are a few types of private parks, and some which once were privately maintained and used have now been made open to

10406-407: The most affected by the use of pesticides and herbicides, they are often under-informed or accept the consequences due to financial necessity. Fungicides may be applied to the seed coat to reduce mortality of germinating seedlings. The improper use of pesticides often leads to pesticide resistance which poses a risk in global food security. With climate change affecting the distribution of pests,

10527-565: The most documented hominin niches is the use of off-site fire. When done intentionally, this is often called forest gardening or fire stick farming in Australia. The modern study of fire ecology describes the many benefits off-site fires may have granted these early humans. Some of these agroecological practices have been well documented and studied during colonial contact. However, they are vastly under represented in research done on early hominin fire use. Based on current research, it

10648-606: The most frequently planted types of trees. Gardens were also available in Kush . In Musawwarat es-Sufra , the Great Enclosure dated to the 3rd century BC included splendid gardens. Ancient Roman gardens were laid out with hedges and vines and contained a wide variety of flowers— acanthus , cornflowers , crocus , cyclamen , hyacinth, iris, ivy, lavender , lilies, myrtle, narcissus, poppy, rosemary and violets —as well as statues and sculptures. Flower beds were popular in

10769-676: The most pests. For example, a highly and rapidly altered landscape such as modern canola fields in the Americas can be a breeding ground for pests of the Brassicaceae family. A natural ecosystem will typically regulate pest levels through many biological means whether that be the natural introduction of a disease or an increase in the population of a predator species of animal. Because gardeners may have different goals, organisms considered "garden pests" vary from gardener to gardener. Tropaeolum speciosum , for example, may be considered

10890-640: The nature of a park, increasing the look of safety can also have unintended consequences on the aesthetics of the park. Creating secure areas with bars and locks lowers the beauty of the park, as well as the nature of who is in charge of observing the public space and the feeling of being observed. Parks can be divided into active and passive recreation areas. Active recreation is that which has an urban character and requires intensive development. It often involves cooperative or team activity, including playgrounds , ball fields, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and skateparks . Active recreation such as team sports, due to

11011-586: The need to provide substantial space to congregate, typically involves intensive management, maintenance, and high costs. Passive recreation, also called "low-intensity recreation" is that which emphasizes the open-space aspect of a park and allows for the preservation of natural habitat. It usually involves a low level of development, such as rustic picnic areas, benches, and trails. Many smaller neighborhood parks are receiving increased attention and valuation as significant community assets and places of refuge in heavily populated urban areas. Neighborhood groups around

11132-464: The northernmost parts of Canada down to the southernmost tip of Chile and Argentina . The Arctic and Subarctic societies relied primarily on hunting and fishing due to the harsh climate although they have been known to collectively use at least 311 different plants as foods or medicines. The substantial knowledge and use of these plants along with the communal harvesting sites and emphasis on reciprocity between humans and plants indicates

11253-405: The older ones having a larder variety of breeds and greenery. Vegetation in parks can indirectly reduce air temperature and directly reduce levels of carbon dioxide by storing it as a biomass and due to the trees’ ability to absorb over 95% of ultraviolet radiation the aid in the reduction of skin cancer is a factor that is largely considered when new greenspaces are build. A national park

11374-440: The others being other planning restrictions (Local Plans and restrictive covenants ) and developers' land banking . Local Plans and land banking are to be relaxed for home building in the 2015–2030 period by law and the green belt will be reduced by some local authorities as each local authority must now consider it among the available shortlisted options in drawing development plans to meet higher housing targets. Critics argue that

11495-651: The park is grazed by animals, but they are excluded from the garden. Gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables , fruits , flowers , herbs , and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of aesthetically pleasing areas, medicines , cosmetics , dyes , foods , poisons , wildlife habitats , and saleable goods (see market gardening ). People often partake in gardening for its therapeutic , health , educational , cultural , philosophical , environmental , and religious benefits. Gardening varies in scale from

11616-627: The past hundred and seventy years, but these authorities have no statutory duty to fund or maintain these public parks. In 2016 the Heritage Lottery Fund 's State of UK Public Parks reported that "92 per cent of park managers report their maintenance budgets have reduced in the past three years and 95 per cent expect their funding will continue to reduce". Another early public park is the Peel Park, Salford , England opened on August 22, 1846. Another possible claimant for status as

11737-438: The potential date of hominin selective ecosystem disturbance back up to 125,000 years ago. Much of these early recorded ecosystem disturbances were made through hominin use of fire , which dates back to 1.5 Mya (although at this time fire was not likely being wielded as a landscape-changing tool by hominids). This anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance may be the origins of gardening. Every hunter-gatherer society has developed

11858-412: The principal influences on Olmsted and Calvert's design for New York's Central Park of 1857. There are around an estimated 27,000 public parks in the United Kingdom , with around 2.6 billion visits to parks each year. Many are of cultural and historical interest, with 300 registered by Historic England as of national importance. Most public parks have been provided and run by local authorities over

11979-772: The protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. National parks and country parks are green spaces used for recreation in the countryside. State parks and provincial parks are administered by sub-national government states and agencies. Parks may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil and trees, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as monuments , fountains or playground structures. Many parks have fields for playing sports such as baseball and football , and paved areas for games such as basketball . Many parks have trails for walking , biking and other activities. Some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses and may comprise

12100-487: The public. Hunting parks were originally areas maintained as open space where residences, industry and farming were not allowed, often originally so that nobility might have a place to hunt – see medieval deer park . These were known for instance, as deer parks (deer being originally a term meaning any wild animal). Many country houses in Great Britain and Ireland still have parks of this sort, which since

12221-435: The reality). A linear park is a park that has a much greater length than width. A typical example of a linear park is a section of a former railway that has been converted into a park called a rail trail or greenway (i.e. the tracks removed, vegetation allowed to grow back). Parks are sometimes made out of oddly shaped areas of land, much like the vacant lots that often become city neighborhood parks. Linked parks may form

12342-473: The reduction of the green belt is one of the possible solutions. All such solutions may be resisted however by private landlords who profit from a scarcity of housing, for example by lobbying to restrain new housing across the city. The stated motivation and benefits of the green belt might be well-intentioned (public health, social gardening and agriculture, environment), but inadequately realized relative to other solutions. Critics include Mark Pennington and

12463-418: The result of a newer administration taking advantage of land that was left available by its predecessors is debatable. Green belts were established in England in 1955 to simply prevent the physical growth of large built-up areas; to prevent neighboring cities and towns from merging. In the UK, green belt around the major conurbations has been criticized as one of the main protectionist bars to building housing,

12584-449: The roots. Some plants such as onions and various herbs may be efficiently started by scattering their seeds on top of soil in a large tray where the seedlings will later be teased apart from each other and replanted in the garden or pots. Garden pests are generally plants , fungi , or animals (frequently insects ) that engage in activity that the gardener considers undesirable. A pest may crowd out desirable plants, disturb soil, stunt

12705-715: The safe confines of villages and towns. The most famous US example of a city park that evolved from this practice is the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts (1634). With the Industrial Revolution parks took on a new meaning as areas set aside to preserve a sense of nature in the cities and towns. Sporting activity came to be a major use for these urban parks. Areas of outstanding natural beauty were also set aside as national parks to prevent them from being spoiled by uncontrolled development. Park design

12826-470: The same species. This involves cutting each plant and connecting the cuttings by mechanical means until they inosculate or fuse together. Grafting is done for many purposes. Firstly, the scion (portion of the plant above the graft site) can undergo artificial selection for specific desirable traits such as flavor while the rootstock can undergo selection for traits such as disease resistance or cold tolerance. This effectively allows for much more efficiency in

12947-628: The same time, the gardens in the monasteries were a place to grow flowers and medicinal herbs but they were also a space where the monks could enjoy nature and relax. The gardens in the 16th and 17th century were symmetric , proportioned and balanced with a more classical appearance. Most of these gardens were built around a central axis and they were divided into different parts by hedges. Commonly, gardens had flowerbeds laid out in squares and separated by gravel paths. Gardens in Renaissance were adorned with sculptures, topiary and fountains. In

13068-438: The seed starting mix, ensuring seeds stay at correct humidity, heat, and moisture level for germination, and saving space in the garden. Many crops will not be harvestable unless they are started inside so if a gardener wants to plant these crops in their garden without starting the plants themselves, they will need to purchase transplants which are commonly available at garden centers , plant nurseries , and big-box stores . It

13189-639: The sub-national levels of government. In Brazil , the United States , and some states in Mexico , as well as in the Australian state of Victoria , these are known as state parks, whereas in Argentina , Canada and South Korea , they are known as provincial or territorial parks. In the United States, it is also common for individual counties to run parks, these are known as county parks . A park

13310-428: The term gardening for these same activities. Also gaining popularity is the concept of "Green Gardening" which involves growing plants using organic fertilizers and pesticides so that the gardening process – or the flowers and fruits produced thereby – doesn't adversely affect the environment or people's health in any manner. Gardening can be a very pleasant and relaxing activity with rewarding results. it allows for

13431-404: The transplanting process. There are varying methods of starting your seeds. The most prevalent method would be to start seeds in transplant (plug) trays or in planters/pots. Another method is starting seeds in soil blocks (small cubes of compressed potting soil , compost , and/or other seed-starting media), which may reduce transplant shock and stop root-binding because they allow air pruning of

13552-497: The ultimate result of the decision to green-belt a city as one to prevent housing demand within the zone to be met with supply, thus exacerbating high housing prices and stifling competitive forces in general. Another area of criticism comes from the fact that, since a green belt does not extend indefinitely outside a city, it spurs the growth of areas much further away from the city core than if it had not existed, thereby actually increasing urban sprawl . Examples commonly cited are

13673-546: The world are joining to support local parks that have suffered from urban decay and government neglect. Passive recreation typically requires less management which can be provided at lower costs than active recreation. Some open space managers provide trails for physical activity in the form of walking, running, horse riding, mountain biking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing; or activities such as observing nature, bird watching, painting, photography, or picnicking. Limiting park or open space use to passive recreation over all or

13794-470: The world's first public park is Boston Common (Boston, Massachusetts, US), set aside in 1634, whose first recreational promenade, Tremont Mall, dates from 1728. True park status for the entire common seems to have emerged no later than 1830, when the grazing of cows was ended and renaming the Common as Washington Park was proposed (renaming the bordering Sentry Street to Park Street in 1808 already acknowledged

13915-487: Was Mackinac Island , gazetted in 1875. Australia 's Royal National Park , established in 1879, was the world's second officially established national park. The largest national park in the world is the Northeast Greenland National Park , which was established in 1974 and currently protects 972,001 km (375,000 sq mi). In some Federal systems , many parks are managed by

14036-529: Was closely followed by Princes Park in the Liverpool suburb of Toxteth , laid out to the designs of Joseph Paxton from 1842 and opened in 1843. The land on which the Princes park was built was purchased by Richard Vaughan Yates, an iron merchant and philanthropist, in 1841 for £50,000. The creation of Princes Park showed great foresight and introduced a number of highly influential ideas. First and foremost

14157-436: Was enhanced by landscape architects such as Capability Brown and Humphry Repton . The French formal garden such as designed by André Le Nôtre at Versailles is an earlier and elaborate example. As cities became crowded, private hunting grounds became places for the public. Early opportunities for the creation of urban parks in both Europe and the United States grew out of medieval practice to secure pasture lands within

14278-648: Was particularly influential. Also, in 1804 the Horticultural Society was formed. Gardens of the 19th century contained plants such as the monkey puzzle or Chile pine . This is also the time when the so-called " gardenesque " style of gardens evolved. These gardens displayed a wide variety of flowers in a rather small space. Rock gardens increased in popularity in the 19th century. In ancient India, patterns from sacred geometry and mandalas were used to design gardens. Distinct mandala patterns denoted specific deities, planets, or even constellations. Such

14399-400: Was strictly forbidden for commoners to hunt animals in these deer parks. These game preserves evolved into landscaped parks set around mansions and country houses from the sixteenth century onwards. These may have served as hunting grounds but they also proclaimed the owner's wealth and status. An aesthetic of landscape design began in these stately home parks where the natural landscape

14520-503: Was the provision of open space for the benefit of townspeople and local residents within an area that was being rapidly built up. Secondly it took the concept of the designed landscape as a setting for the suburban domicile, an idea pioneered by John Nash at Regent's Park , and re-fashioned it for the provincial town in a most original way. Nash's remodeling of St James's Park from 1827 and the sequence of processional routes he created to link The Mall with Regent's Park completely transformed

14641-691: Was upheld as part of the right of free expression . Community gardening comprises a wide variety of approaches to sharing land and gardens. People often surround their house and garden with a hedge. Common hedge plants are privet , hawthorn , beech , yew , leyland cypress , hemlock , arborvitae , barberry , box , holly , oleander , forsythia and lavender . The idea of open gardens without hedges may be distasteful to those who enjoy privacy. The Slow Food movement has sought in some countries to add an edible school yard and garden classrooms to schools, e.g. in Fergus, Ontario , where these were added to

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