{"id":49718,"date":"2022-10-12T02:00:11","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T06:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/?p=49718"},"modified":"2022-10-10T10:28:40","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T14:28:40","slug":"natives-in-exile-the-experience-we-had-creating-a-flower-garden-featuring-endemic-plant-species-in-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/2022\/10\/12\/natives-in-exile-the-experience-we-had-creating-a-flower-garden-featuring-endemic-plant-species-in-the-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Natives in Exile\u2014The Experience We Had Creating a Flower Garden Featuring Endemic Plant Species in the City"},"content":{"rendered":"
In Russia, few home gardeners use native species and they are not available in nurseries. In creating Recollections of the\u00a0Meadow, we hoped to\u00a0test-run\u00a0the\u00a0approach where native plant species would be used to\u00a0build a\u00a0flower bed, and we intended to\u00a0share the\u00a0resulting algorithm with everyone willing to\u00a0follow suit. <\/blockquote><\/figure>\n

Last year in spring, we came up with an idea of creating a flower garden that would only feature native plant species. Why is that both difficult and important? And what conclusions can we draw after a full year of watching the flower garden grow and seeing how both community and specialists respond to it?<\/p>\n

Plants and pollinators have been evolving together for millions of years and depend on each other. For example, Moscow is home to the red bartsia bee (Melitta tricincta)<\/em> which only visits red bartsia. And the small tortoiseshell caterpillar feeds almost exclusively on common nettle, a\u00a0stinging plant considered a\u00a0weed.<\/p>\n

But the share of indigenous plants in the cities has been decreasing across Europe, and that has been dragging along insect and even bird biodiversity. Over the last 150 years and by the end of the 20th century, the share of indigenous species in European flora decreased from 88% to 68% (Kent, 1975). The majority of the deleted species, 27%, belonged to meadow communities. Meanwhile, the share of alien species has been on the increase. Popular in landscape gardening, they \u201cescape\u201d their cultured environments and invade local communities displacing wild species. Lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus)<\/em> and Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) <\/em>have already made it among Russia\u2019s\u00a0top 100 most dangerous invasives occupying huge territories of natural ecosystems, while 7\u00a0species of Moscow\u2019s native and very common bellflower have already been listed as threatened (Red List).<\/p>\n

One can speculate about the need to\u00a0promote \u201cproper\u201d landscape gardening and use only native plant species that can support pollinators. Let\u2019s actually do it. What would we have to\u00a0face? Last year in spring, our \u201cArchitects of the Meadow\u201d team which consists of landscape architects and biologists took the chance to recreate a\u00a0meadow with wild grasses in an\u00a0ordinary Moscow yard, so that it could both compete with other flower gardens in beauty and stand out significantly in terms of how it \u201cbenefits\u201d wildlife. We wanted to make a\u00a0point that, in Russia, native species were undeservedly forgotten and raise this awareness among both professionals and local residents.<\/p>\n

A month ago, our \u201cRecollections of the\u00a0Meadow\u201d was awarded a\u00a0prize by Moscow Urban Forum, Russia\u2019s\u00a0main architectural forum\u2014the\u00a0flower garden was put up for voting by an\u00a0independent jury, and the\u00a0winner was determined by Moscow residents in a\u00a0month-long voting session at the\u00a0main city website. But the\u00a0road to\u00a0victory and attention was bumpy.<\/p>\n

\"A
Photo by Michael Scheglov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Photo by Michael Scheglov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Photo by Michael Scheglov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No planting material in plant nurseries<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before starting the\u00a0work, we made a\u00a0list of 46\u00a0plant species that we would like to grow in our flower bed and divided them into 5\u00a0groups\u2014to be planted in blocks, to form the\u00a0core of the\u00a0flower garden, to\u00a0create a\u00a0structure, to support the\u00a0middle layer, and early bloomers to\u00a0decorate the\u00a0flower bed in early spring. This way, our garden would turn out diverse and as attractive as possible in every season of the\u00a0year. Eventually, plant nurseries could only provide a\u00a0third of the\u00a0list, which meant 14\u00a0plant species. But we decided to\u00a0go ahead with what we managed to\u00a0find while asking local residents to\u00a0bring those species from our list that grew on their own on their countryside plots. They are still common in the\u00a0countryside, whereas in the\u00a0cities, trimmed lawn prevalence has already made them a\u00a0rare find.<\/p>\n

Native plants are not easily found for sale in Russia. Landscape nurseries hardly ever grow them as there is no customer demand, while consumers do not want to\u00a0pay for something that is perceived as\u00a0a\u00a0weed, is mown off, and grows for free. As a\u00a0result, even landscape gardening specialists\u2014landscape architects\u2014have little knowledge of the\u00a0local flora, the\u00a0names of those plants, and their bloom potential. So, it turns out there is no one\u2014neither a\u00a0customer nor a\u00a0contractor\u2014to\u00a0initiate planting a\u00a0native flower in a\u00a0flower bed.<\/p>\n

Professionals surprised by plant \u201ccharacter traits\u201d in a\u00a0flower bed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Working with native species was a\u00a0professional challenge for\u00a0landscape architects who were responsible for drafting the\u00a0flower garden\u00a0concept. The way plants would behave in a\u00a0flower bed could mostly be imagined in theory only \u2014 knowing how they bloom and grow in the\u00a0wild is one thing and having them in a\u00a0closed area of a\u00a0flower bed is quite another. Eventually, we were in for both pleasant and unpleasant surprises. For example, field bindweed (<\/em>Convolvulus arvensis) <\/em>grew so big that it even tipped some of the\u00a0other plants to the\u00a0side by twining around them. On the\u00a0other hand, common mullein (<\/em>Verbascum thapsus) <\/em>was so grateful for fertilized soil that, instead of being predictably noticeable, it grew incredibly gigantic and could not but be a\u00a0real pleasure for the\u00a0eye.<\/p>\n

Constant need to\u00a0educate local residents<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the\u00a0very beginning, we decided to\u00a0build the\u00a0flower bed in a\u00a0community where locals would support the\u00a0idea and be ready to\u00a0tend the\u00a0flower garden on their own. As this is a\u00a0volunteer project for us and many team members live far from where the\u00a0flower bed was built, we knew we would not be able to either water it every day while the\u00a0plants take root or ensure other types of regular care. Eventually, we did right by relying on the\u00a0community. More than 50\u00a0people helped us plant the\u00a0flower bed (which is no less than 200\u00a0square meters big!), more than 100\u00a0people participated in the\u00a0crowdfunding efforts to finance its creation, and the garden was regularly watered throughout the hot summer. We started a\u00a0chat that was joined by the\u00a0most active gardeners. It seemed that everyone was on the\u00a0same page exchanging photos of the\u00a0blooming plants while in the\u00a0chat and pie recipes while around the\u00a0flower bed. But then winter was over, spring was late, and it became clear that not many residents understand and, most importantly, accept the\u00a0natural concept of their yard\u2019s central flower garden. Plant nurseries did not have early bloomers in stock, so our mini garden did not have them either, and after the\u00a0snow melted, it was first russet, and then bright yellow dandelion heads started covering it\u2014either their seeds had been brought by the\u00a0wind or their roots had been left intact. And Moscow residents associate dandelions with the\u00a0most aggressive weeds\u2014that is, if you are fond of even lawns.<\/p>\n

So, despite our belief that this yellow-colored meadow was pretty, discussions started sprawling across community chats suggesting the\u00a0flower bed needed other flowers as the\u00a0existing ones were not decent enough. We understood that a\u00a0one-off educational session on the\u00a0mini garden\u2019s natural concept was not enough and that regular educational activities had to\u00a0be included in such projects. When offered an\u00a0explanation of why this very type of\u00a0flower garden has been created and what its benefits and advantages are, former critics embraced the\u00a0idea. And knowing the\u00a0exact months when the\u00a0plants in the\u00a0flower bed are going to\u00a0blossom\u2014and that they simply need some time\u2014makes other opponents come to\u00a0terms with it too.<\/p>\n

As a\u00a0result, discussions about the\u00a0lack of decorative value in our flower garden had subsided by early June when many garden\u2019s plants reappeared and began\u00a0blossoming in all their natural glory. July, in its turn, would be a\u00a0downright fabulous time to\u00a0endlessly enjoy the\u00a0garden\u2019s colors.<\/p>\n

\"A
Photo by Michael Scheglov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When creating Recollections of the\u00a0Meadow, we hoped to\u00a0test-run\u00a0the\u00a0approach where native plant species would be used to\u00a0build a\u00a0flower bed, and we intended to\u00a0share the\u00a0resulting algorithm with everyone willing to\u00a0follow suit\u2014featuring places where flowers can be found and ways to\u00a0plant them to\u00a0get a\u00a0beautiful and useful result. But we have to\u00a0admit it turned out we still haven\u2019t a ready and simple scheme for doing this, even though a\u00a0lot of Moscow residents who care about nature would like to\u00a0implement a\u00a0similar project in their yards. One cannot foresee what choice plant nurseries will be able to\u00a0offer (especially given the\u00a0low demand for native species) and what the\u00a0soil or lighting of the\u00a0plot will be like, meaning that each similar project will be individual and labor-intensive\u2014and consequently, poorly scalable. On the\u00a0bright side, people\u2019s eagerness is scalable, judging by the\u00a0interest our project sparked in social and mass media, by the\u00a0feedback from people seeking advice or help, and eventually, by the\u00a0prize we received. And that means one day the\u00a0plants native to\u00a0the\u00a0city will be able to\u00a0return there as \u201cresidents\u201d in their own right.<\/p>\n

Nadezhda Kiyatkina<\/strong>
\nMoscow<\/p>\n

On The Nature of Cities<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year in spring, we came up with an idea of creating a flower garden that would only feature native plant species. Why is that both difficult and important? And what conclusions can we draw after a full year of watching the flower garden grow and seeing how both community and specialists respond to it? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":797,"featured_media":49727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,938,298,299],"tags":[401,25,34,38],"coauthors":[1067],"class_list":["post-49718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay","category-europe","category-essay-people-and-communitites","category-essay-place-and-design","tag-biodiversity","tag-europe","tag-experiencing-nature","tag-gardens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/797"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49718"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49856,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49718\/revisions\/49856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49718"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=49718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}