Seed distribution
Depending on the area to be sown, broadcast sowing can be undertaken by hand by a chest-mounted spinning disk, a wheel-mounted spinning disk spreader or tractor-mounted equivalent. For really large-scale …
Soil types
As can be gathered from the section ‘Types of herbaceous plant communities: habitat stereotypes’, there is potentially an attractive naturalistic herbaceous vegetation for every site, no matter how wet or …
‘Robustness’ as established plants
This characteristic derives from the combination of high tolerance of competition, longevity and low palatability to slugs as established plants. When dealing with very weedy sites or sites where management …
Palatability to slugs and snails
Relatively little is known about the palatability of seedlings of different species to slugs and snails. As a general rule, as seedlings age they become increasingly less palatable, due to …
Ecological strategy
This has been discussed in terms of the plant strategy models of Grime in Chapter 4. These models, in essence, integrate some of the factors already discussed, with regard to …
Growth habit
Wide-spreading species with dense foliage at grown level, for example Coreopsis lanceolata or Rudbeckia hirta, tend to eliminate slower growing shadeintolerant species. Tall, erect species, even when vigorous, have a …
Ecological/phenological compatability of species in mixes
The need for species in ecologically based vegetation to be broadly compatible with one another has been discussed previously. When creating novel plant communities that may lie outside the community …
How much seed is required per square metre?
When making up seed mixes it is desirable to set a target number of plants per m2, both as a total for all species present and for individual species, and, …
Cost of seed in relation to number ofplants established
The cost of seed varies considerably between different species. Seed of agricultural strains of native grasses is the cheapest, followed by field-grown native wildflowers and the seed of wild collected …
Treatment with dormancy breaking plant hormones
Deeply dormant species, such as Trollius, can be made to germinate reliably by soaking in gibberelic acid, or in combination with other treatments, for example leaching (Hitchmough et al. 2000). …
Chilling in a fridge
This is generally most effective with slightly, as opposed to deeply, dormant species. The seed is mixed with damp sand (not wet) in a sealed polythene bag and is placed …
Treatment to overcome seed dormancy
Where treatments are necessary to break seed dormancy or to improve germination in nondormant species, simplicity and efficacy are the key to choosing a technique. Commonly used techniques are as …
Seed dormancy
Seed of herbaceous plants may be either dormant or non-dormant. Dormancy is the condition when the seed is capable of germination but fails to do so when provided with the …
Establishment by sowing in situ
Choice of communities and species As has been discussed in the section ‘Types of herbaceous plant communities: habitat stereotypes’, basing choice of communities and species upon habitat stereotypes, as presented …
Creation of naturalistic herbaceous plant communities in practice
Naturalistic herbaceous communities can be created by either sowing seed in situ where the plants are to grow, planting nursery grown transplants, or through a combination of planting and sowing. …
Designed urban herbaceous vegetation
There are many examples of these in gardens and parks, however very few are naturalistic (as defined in this text) in conception and their existence is dependent on traditional intensive …
Spontaneous occurring
These types of vegetation have been identified in many cities around the world, often on derelict land in transition from one use to another. They generally involve a mix of …
Annual plant communities
Communities of annual plants are generally a response to either regular cycles of disturbance, as in agricultural situations, or highly seasonal rainfall patterns. In regions with temperate climates and reliable …
Prairie
Prairie vegetation is naturally restricted to North America, where it stretches from the east of the Rocky mountains to the Appalachians (Figure 6.4). Its most northerly occurance is in Saskatchewan, …
Steppe
Steppe is the term used to describe a diverse range of dry grasslands that occur from Central Europe through Eastern Europe, to Siberia and China (Figure 6.3). A number of …
Moist meadows
These are found in many parts of the world, in the lowlands in the oceanic climates in western Europe through to high altitudes in more continental climates (Table 6.2). Generally, …
Dry meadows
Dry meadows (Table 6.1) occur in response to either low rainfall during the spring to summer period or dry infertile soil types, often, but not always, derived from limestone. As …
Meadows
This word is rather generic and, in terms of seminatural vegetation, tends to be used to describe almost any community of forbs and grasses that do not grow beneath trees …
Types of herbaceous plant communities: habitat stereotypes
When creating naturalistic herbaceous plant communities, it is extremely helpful to base the design around a habitat stereotype. The rationale for doing so is that species that occur naturally together …
AVAILABILITY OF ADEQUATELY FUNDED, SKILLED, LONG-. TERM MANAGEMENT
Naturalistic herbaceous vegetation varies in its infallibility and cost, although all are more fallible than vegetation such as mown turf or woody shrub mass. Within communities, individual species also vary …
COLOUR
This is an extremely important factor in designing plant communities in urban landscapes. Although tall green, grassy vegetation is not regarded very positively, Dai (2000) found that when colour is …
Aesthetic requirements. PHENOLOGY
Perhaps as a result of experiences within their own garden, there appears to be a widespread presumption among urban people in the temperate regions that vegetation should be ‘attractive’ throughout …
Habitat value
The general presumption is that habitat value of vegetation will be maximised by the use of communities that are based around native species. Again, this issue needs to be seen …
What type of naturalistic plant community is appropriate?
‘Nativeness’ Plant communities can involve native species only, exotic species only or both. Making this decision is most straightforward in rural situations where native species predominate and are the overwhelming …
Overall design considerations
Site planning Naturalistic herbaceous vegetation is most dramatic when used on a relatively large scale, i. e. in blocks larger than 100 m2. This is most likely to be economically …
Naturalistic herbaceous vegetation for. urban landscapes
James Hitchmough Introduction Naturalistic herbaceous vegetation differs from conventional herbaceous vegetation in that it mimics the spatial and structural form of semi-natural vegetation. Individual species are generally not planted in …
‘Streamside’ forest and meadow
The low, periodically wet zone in front of the museum was planted with tree and shrub species that normally occur in streamside sites: red maple, musclewood, swamp azaleas, elderberry and …
Early successional forest
On the open slope along the east fapade of the museum building, an early successional Piedmont forest is dominated by closely-spaced loblolly pines of various sizes. On the front, the …
Roadside/woodland edge
In these sunny zones along the entrance drive, relatively short sun-loving grasses and forbs (e. g. purple lovegrass, silkgrass, evening primrose and verbena) blend into taller herbaceous species (e. g. …
Case study design: Atlanta History Museum
The landscape surrounding the Museum of History at the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta, Georgia, was designed by the author as an illustration of the use of regional plant communities …
