Cultivating belonging: refugees,urban gardens,and placemaking in the Midwest,U.S.A.

In the aftermath of failed urban renewal projects and the decline of central cities, community gardens have become increasingly popular in urban planning, public health, and environmental circles. However, gardens still occupy a tenuous and contradictory position in the city. While urban gardens are bounded spaces, they are also dynamic places where different understandings of (agri)culture, land use, and belonging are enacted and contested. In this paper, we identify three distinct ways in which gardens in a small Midwestern city are used and experienced by refugee gardeners and local officials: the material garden, the imagined garden, and the community’s garden. The material garden, embodied in the biophysical aspects of the soil, seeds, and resources needed to cultivate plants, shapes what can grow in the garden and the transformations by refugee agricultural practices. While planners tend to see urban gardens as temporary spaces that can promote limited pathways of migrant incorporation, gardeners practice, and imagine gardening differently through social, cultural, and economic interactions. We argue that these practices challenge traditional understandings of nature and urban planning, and can promote inclusive understandings of agriculture, cities, and sustainability, embodied in the ideal of the community’s garden.     

Movement of Garden Plants from Market to Bushland: Gardeners' Plant Procurement and Garden‐Related Behaviour

In Australia, the largest importer of exotic plant species is the gardening industry, and most major environmental weeds originally derive from domestic gardens or nurseries. To provide strategies for weed management, this study aims to clarify two key points on the pathway along which garden plants flow from the market to the natural environment with the help of human activities. These are local residents' procurement of garden plants, and local residents' garden‐related behaviour (e.g. leaving organic materials in reserves). We draw on a survey (382 respondents) among Wollongong (New South Wales, Australia) residents whose property has at least one boundary adjacent to bushland. Frequency analysis and ordinal regression were used. The results indicated that most respondents obtained garden plants, and relevant information, from nurseries but perceived that there was insufficient plant origin information (that is, whether introduced from abroad, native to Australia or local to the Illawarra) to help them make choices. It also indicated that a minority of respondents frequently left organic materials (such as lawn clippings) in reserves neighbouring their garden, and many of these respondents saw some benefits in doing so. This study confirms the significant role of nurseries in gardeners' plant choice, and raises questions about the significance of dumping garden waste.     

Historical Vernacular Gardens Beyond Norway's Arctic Circle

Abstract

This study examines the historical vernacular gardens of North Norway, and is mainly based on a survey done in the county of Troms in the 1980s. The study shows that traditions for the design of gardens and the use of garden plants reflect climatic conditions, geographical location and current fashions. It is a general feature that main trends in the gardens of the affluent work as models for more simple vernacular gardens, and this is also the case with the surveyed gardens of Troms. We find here the proto-garden, a simple garden with beds and plantings controlled by a straight line. This is influenced hardly at all by style, trends or availability on the market. It may have been established during the last century or it could be older. Yet we also find the vernacular cottage garden influenced by a style developed from the Renaissance gardens of southern Europe. In the most carefully made gardens the proto-garden and the impulses from the Renaissance garden are fused together – it makes a type of garden which is genuinely northern. The fenced garden located by the wall of the dwelling house was most common. With the house situated on sloping ground, a stone-built retaining wall was constructed and the ground filled up in order to make the garden as level as possible and to create a terrace. It was mainly native trees fetched from the woods, as well as old “exchange and give away perennials” and flowers and vegetable annuals, all locally available, which characterized the plant material of the historic farm and cottage gardens of the north.     

Urban community gardens,commons, and social reproduction: revisiting Silvia Federici’s Revolution at Point Zero

Abstract

Revolution at Point Zero gathers together some of the major works written by Silvia Federici from the 1970s through the 2000s. It offers a series of incisive analyses and is replete with insights on identifying lines of effective intervention to overcome capitalist relations, including housework, care work, and the commons. As Federici identifies urban community gardening as an important development in the struggle for the commons, and thereby a postcapitalist future, I briefly discuss two general concerns that suggest caution in making more of urban community gardens than they can deliver politically. One concern is over an uncertain relationship between community, social reproduction, and commons that infuses urban community gardens. The community in the urban community gardens can be reactionary and capitalism-friendly, so that commons may not necessarily come out of such projects. Urban gardening, since it is still largely women’s work, may also impede the collectivisation of social reproduction by adding yet another set of responsibilities expected to be taken up by women. Another regards pollution problems and their under-appreciated political reverberations. Urban gardeners may be exposed to greater concentrations of toxic substances, possibly like farmworkers or miners. These imply highly uneven social consequences, as women, people of colour, and the elderly are the main urban gardeners. The health effects of prolonged exposure could also lead to greater needs for care work, which is also still mostly carried out by women. Finally, gaining, not just enrolling technical expertise on environmental processes will help build more autonomous urban commons.     

Gardens and gardening in early medieval Spain and Portugal

This is an overview of the range of gardens, garden plants and garden work in early medieval Spain and Portugal, and of the kinds of relevant source material available. There were different kinds of garden, from the architectural gardens of Andalusī rulers and officials to peasant plots in the countryside. Fine gardens were closely associated with an elite and were southern rather than northern. Productive gardens could be found all over the peninsula; vegetables were clearly grown in them, with the emphasis on pulses, but they constituted a small proportion of produce. Fruits were exceptionally important as a source of vitamins, sugar and mineral salts.     

读《洛阳伽蓝记》论北魏洛阳的寺院园林

北魏洛阳的寺院园林是中国园林的重要组成部分,其树种开始呈现出驳杂的 气象,因花草的种植,使寺院园林呈现出庭院的特色。寺院园林的构成有两种形式,其一为园林 与寺庙建筑融为一体;其二因达官贵人的佞佛,往往舍宅为寺,使寺院园林也具有了达官贵人 园林的特色。寺院园林的昌盛与北魏的精神风貌和价值取向是密不可分的。     

The garden in Umayyad society in al‐Andalus

The majority of Arab sources concerning gardens and spaces dedicated to the cultivation of any kind of plant species in al‐Andalus date mainly from the eleventh century onwards and offer very little specific information about the Umayyad period (mid‐eighth to the beginning of the eleventh centuries). However, we do know the importance that gardens, understood broadly, had both in the material and daily life, as well as in the emblematic and symbolic life, of al‐Andalus during the Umayyad period. The present article reconsiders the early history of the Andalus garden in the context of the cultural history of the Umayyad period in order to understand better the foundations of the specific nature of Andalusī gardens and to show that, despite the influence of the reigning dynasty, the history of the garden in al‐Andalus has a notably collective dimension.     

The Design of Historical Gardens Cultural,Magical, Medical and Scientific Gardens in Europe

Abstract

This review examines some little-known aspects of historical garden design, expecially those with meanings and complex allusions to ideas beyond the mere notion of an agreeable garden with plants to give pleasure. The author discusses some early gardens of classical times, including Roman funerary gardens, and describes mediaeval gardens in which certain allusions to the goddess Isis survived, especially when connected with the Marian cultus. Topiary is described in the contexts of several garden types, including the extraordinary battle-gardens, which are covered in some detail. The review reveals some unexpected aspects of the Enlightenment and traces the survival of certain ideas in garden design into recent times. Labyrinths, pilgrimages, healing springs, and enclosed gardens are shown to be much more than they appear on the surface.     

中国历史园林遗产时空演变特征及其影响因素

借助核密度分析、标准差椭圆和重心坐标探讨了历史园林遗产重心演化的轨迹与路径,梳理各类型历史园林时空分布,考察了影响其空间演化轨迹的重要因素。结果表明:我国历史园林遗产现状空间分布较为广泛,但空间集聚度高,分布不均衡,在园林类型上表现更为明显,与我国历史园林发展的脉络高度一致,与政治中心和经济中心迁移一致;不同类型的历史园林有着不同空间演变路径,皇家园林主要受朝代更迭与政令举措的影响,私家园林主要受经济发展与文化兴衰的影响,寺观园林主要受宗教政策与传教线路的影响。     

从“文化标本”到“文化生活”——以苏州古典园林为资源的社区旅游发展模式研究

苏州古城区现存的古典园林作为明清时期私家园林的典型代表,如同文化标本一般,体现了明清园林文化和风格。本文从苏州古城区的居住街区空间构成入手,通过重新评价古典园林作为街区空间资源的价值定位,探索居民生活和园林文化相互融合的途径,在此基础之上,构建了以苏州古典园林为资源的社区旅游发展模式,其特征为：旅游者和居民的利益统一在街区生活环境改善之上;以古典园林为平台形成旅游者和居民间的交流;园林资源保护的旅游者和居民双方参与。     

从园林起源谈六朝时期的皇家宫苑及其它园林形式

从我国古代神话及有关文献记载中探索中国古典园林的起源,以及早期园林构景要素的基本形式,并由此追溯作为六朝都城－建康城中皇家园林及佛寺园林、私家园林形式,尤其对当时著名的皇家宫苑－华林园、乐游苑的建园与盛衰过程的考释作了一定的分析与阐释。     

‘In the best interests of the child’: juggling the geography of children's gardens (between adult agendas and children's needs)

This review paper presents literature, particularly in children's geographies, in support of the proposition that the rationales for the current children's garden movement flourishing particularly in the United States, albeit well-intentioned, continue to be dominated by adult discourses acting ‘in the best interests of the child’. The paper concludes that broadening the debate on ‘children and gardens’ through inclusion of research that focuses on children's competence and empowerment offers a different perspective of what children might want from these spaces. This highlights new directions for research on children's gardens which would focus this garden typology more on children's needs than adult agendas, and therefore contribute positively to development of these gardens as sustainable environments for children's learning and enjoyment of nature.     

清代皇家赐园与北大校园

今天北京大学校园里的旧日园林,是清代皇家园林系统中的重要组成部分。本文根据大量的档案史料,对校园内清代的鸣鹤园、镜春园、朗润园、淑春园、十笏园、弘雅园、佟氏园、苏大人园、蔚秀园、承泽园十园进行了全面的梳理和考订。     

The affordable housing,transportation, and food nexus: Community gardens and healthy affordable living in Calgary

This study examining community gardens in Calgary was initiated in collaboration with the non-profit organization, Sustainable Calgary, as part of their housing-transportation-food nexus initiative. The main research objectives were to determine the socio-economic demographics of neighbourhoods that support community gardens and the proximity of community gardens to active transportation and public transit. Methods included the use of GIS visualization and quantitative analyses to investigate relationships between demographic variables of neighbourhoods that support community gardens, as well as the accessibility of active transit routes and Light Rail Transit stations. Findings show that community garden neighbourhoods are located in neighbourhoods with significantly fewer visible minorities, higher levels of educational attainment, and more attached dwellings such as apartments and townhomes. The average distance of community gardens from a major bike lane is 330 m, while the average distance from a Light Rail Transit station is 1.78 km. This study suggests potential inequities that may be present within the proliferation of public community gardens based on socio-economic factors other than economic capital. This paper concludes with a discussion surrounding implications and recommendations to further the equitable expansion of community gardens.     

Gardening the Wild: Change in the Flora and Vegetation of a Suburban Coastal Reserve 1911–2013

Intensively used and managed remnants of native vegetation in cities can have characteristics that result as much from ecological gardening as processes independent of humans. We test the degree to which the changes in vegetation of the Bayside Reserve, Melbourne, are consistent with the outcome we would expect from an ecologically gardened nature and to what degree they reflect ongoing processes of exotic invasion and synthetic vegetation dynamics. We compared species lists from 1911, 1971 and 2013 and sample area data from 1971 and 2013. The flora became richer and more exotic, although some native plant species lost in 1971 had been reintroduced to the reserve in 2013. Between 1971 and 2013, the vegetation increased in cover, shrub and tree density, sample areas species richness, and nativeness, the latter two results being inconsistent with the usual patterns of increasing exoticness and decline in species richness with shrub and tree encroachment. These variations from normality were likely to have resulted from the impacts of planting of natives and weeding of exotics, activity that has created combinations of species that probably never occurred in pre‐European vegetation. Although it might not be possible to return to pre‐European ecosystems within this vegetation remnant, the gardened approximation helps some locally uncommon species survive and may make people more sympathetic to nature conservation as a whole.     

Garden plants in medieval Iberia: the archaeobotanical evidence

Of all the plants that were used in early medieval times, many were grown in gardens and orchards and contributed to the subsistence of medieval communities. Archaeobotany provides direct evidence of the range of species used either for food or for other purposes. In this contribution, we explore the evidence of garden produce in early medieval Iberia focusing on archaeobotanical data. First, we will analyse the available data, taking into consideration different types of preservation. Second, we will examine the diversity of species, trying to establish the uses and purposes of the taxa identified. Finally, we will discuss results within the better‐known wider European context.     

浅谈园林规划设计的管理

目前,与环境保护、生态建设的潮流同步发展的园林规划设计事业在我国正如火如荼的开展。但是由于园林规划设计发展速度很快,同时缺乏统一有效的管理,当前的园林规划设计市场凸显资质混乱、设计不科学不合理、投资费用过高等现象。为了更好的解决诸多问题,必须进行园林规划设计的一体化管理。本文从设计资质、竞争机制、人才管理、图纸会审、投资费用等几个方面讨论了如何对园林规划设计进行更加合理有效的管理,从而实现园林规划设计健康发展,以提高园林规划设计总体水平。     

The Wizard War

Abstract

This review examines some little known aspects of historical garden design, dealing especially with meanings and complex allusions to ideas beyond the mere notion of an agreeable, shady, cool garden with plants to give pleasure. The author discusses some eighteenth century gardens in which mnemonic devices played a major role, and reveals some unusual themes of the Enlightenment.     

Rewilding – A New Paradigm for Nature Conservation in Scotland?

Abstract

Rewilding is a strategy for the conservation of complete, self-sustaining ecosystems, primarily involving the protection and, where necessary, reintroduction, of populations of keystone species in large, connected reserve networks. A potential method of preserving ecosystem functions and biodiversity, it is now receiving a great deal of practical and political attention, particularly in North America. In Scotland, where many native species have been extirpated in the relatively recent past, rewilding has clear relevance and may provide an overarching set of objectives for current programmes of native woodland restoration and species reintroductions. Nevertheless, rewilding is not widely used as a term or strategy in Scottish conservation. This review considers the development of the concept and its possible application in Scotland, and identifies substantial scope for rewilding, in terms of the restoration and protection of large areas of wild land, and of the reintroduction of native species which have been driven to extinction by human activity. As the environmental, social and economic benefits which are likely to result from a programme of rewilding in Scotland outweigh the potential drawbacks, the adoption of rewilding is recommended as one aim of environmental policy.     

The gardens of Dunroamin: History and cultural values with specific reference to the gardens of the inter‐war semi1

The study of landscape and garden history is now well established and is beginning to widen its focus. The importance of the vernacular garden both as an expression of popular culture and as an important element in the contemporary environment is beginning to be recognised and is forcing a reappraisal of the concepts of heritage and a reassessment of established recording techniques and methodologies. This paper is part of a study of one type of popular garden and looks particularly at the contemporary response to the gardens of the inter‐war semi‐detached house and at their role as complex social and cultural artefacts.