Hortist

This Blog has been permanently shifted to Hortist.com

2010-09-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

Dearest readers and fellow bloggers,

As you know, I launched a horticultural website: www. hortist.com some months ago. It's not possible for me now to run two web ventures at the same time so I've decided to shift my blog permanently to my website. Of course, I'm going to miss the charm of "Blogger" and its global family. I'm really grateful to you guys who realised me that I have the germs to spread horticultural knowledge so I should use these germs wisely. I really miss you guys and keenly expect you there on my new horticultural venture the "hortist.com".

Keep on smiling and have a nice time.

The Rose is not fair

2010-06-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hellow everybody, I 'm back to blogger for a long time with a poem of Hafiz "The rose is not fair", hope you will like it like my return to blogger. However my horticultural website "http://www.hortist.com" is going quite successful even my busy life schedule. Please enjoy the "The Rose is not fair" and give your feedback.

THE rose is not fair without the beloved's face,
Nor merry the Spring without the sweet laughter of wine;
The path through the fields, and winds from a flower strewn place,
Without her bright check, which glows like a tulip fine,
Nor winds softly blowing, fields deep in corn, are fair.

And lips like to sugar, grace like a flower that sways,
Are nought without kisses many and dalliance sweet;
If thousands of voices sang not the rose's praise,
The joy of the cypress her opening bud to greet,
Nor dancing of boughs nor blossoming rose were fair.

Though limned by most skilful fingers, no pictures please
Unless the beloved's image is drawn therein;
The garden and flowers, and hair flowing loose on the breeze,
Unless to my Lady's side I may strive and win,
Nor garden, nor flowers, nor loose flying curls are fair.

Hast seen at a marriage-feast, when the mirth runs high,
The revellers scatter gold with a careless hand?
The gold of thy heart, oh Hafiz, despised doth lie,
Not worthy thy love to be cast by a drunken band
At the feet of her who is fairer than all that's fair.

Hortist launched hortist.com

2010-03-20T03:50:00.000-07:00

Hi, hope you are fine and flying in the smiling air. I could not write for a long time again as I've been busy in another project. Yes a new project of launching my website on horticulture to give reality to a dream which I saw two years back when I sent an article to a national newspaper and luckily they didn't publish it. On that particular day I thought to work on my own horticultural platform for the people working in my field where they could share horticultural information freely. Then I got lost in life and could not work on this idea immediately. Though it kept on stronger in my mind with every day passing. During last days I stole some free time from my busy and adventurous life and worked on this project by all means possible. Finally I’m humbly grateful to God that I'm successful to launch a “website: www.hortist.com” on horticulture. I don’t know how good or bad it is, point to ponder is that I’ve taken the initiative to get ahead while following my dreams and I’m really happy for that.

Hortist.com is an independent platform for the professionals, companies and organizations operating in the global horticulture sector where they can read, write, watch and share the horticultural information; can find and contact relevant company/organization to solve their problems; can offer and avail employment opportunities; and above all can promote their thoughts and businesses around the globe in multiple ways. It intends to provide as much information as possible and updates the masses vigilantly and consistently with latest happenings from global horticulture industry.

So please visit this global horticultural platform and see how it is effective fo you and your business, and how it can be made further. It’s not about me; it’s about horticulture and horticultural community (gardeners, farmers, retailers, landscapers, students, professionals, consultants, researchers, journalists, companies and organizations) from all over the world. No matter who you are, where you live and what you speak, your relation in any form with horticulture is sufficient to utilize this platform for the prosperity of horticulture ultimately benefiting the humanity in a real green sense.

Summing up the story, I warmly welcome you on hortist.com and looking forward to see your energetic participation and feed back to run this platform successfully. Thanks and have a nice day.

Annual Chrysanthemum and Autumn Flower Show, 2009

2010-02-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

It looks ridiculous, I'm going to post on Annual Chrysanthemum and Autumn Flower show 2009 at this particular time of the year when Chrysanthemum and autumn both have gone very far away. Many reasons behind that but I don't wanna go in this useless detail. Interesting part of the story is that today is my birthday (5th of February) and I'm going to decorate my blog with the pure natural colors of this flower show. OK, now enjoy this colorful feast of your imagination bursting with inspiration while celebrating my 29th birthday.

This show was organised by the Floriculture and landscape department (Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad Pakistan) in University of Agriculture Faisalabad Pakistan on 14th to 16th of December 2009. The Institute of Horticultural Sciences is the premier and first of its kind in Pakistan with the vision to impart horticultural education and conduct problem oriented operational as well as basic research for the benefit of the farmers and horticultural development in the country. It is also engaged in capacity building for improving ornamental crop production and to provide on-job training for the Horticulturists. This show was a part and demonstration of regular activities being run by the institute.

The main objectives of this show were: to impart awareness among general public about the importance of flowers in human life, to introduce modern concepts about planting material and equipments available, to enable the participants collaborate with other organizations concerned with Floriculture and Landscape, to transfer latest and advanced technologies for growing Chrysanthemum, rose and other annual flowers to growers through practical demonstration, to share the advancements in post harvest management of floricultural products and dissemination as well as demonstration of new technologies developed by various research organizations.

Inauguration and evaluation of the event:

The show was inaugurated by the University Vice chancellor Professor Dr. Iqrar Ahmed khan. He then visited the exhibits with some other honorable guests from USA and Pakistan. While members of evaluation committee evaluated the exhibits exhibited under different categories.

Professor Dr. M. Aslam Parvez (Chairman of IHS and Convener of management committee), Professor Dr. Rana M. Aslam Khan (Project Director IHS and member of organizing committee), Dr. Adnan Younis (member of management committee) and Nadeem Anjum (member of management committee) remained side by side with the honorable guests to brief them about the exhibits.

After the evaluation of exhibits by Evaluation committee, the show was opened for the general public. Exhibits were exhibited under different categories like:

Potted plants of Chrysanthemum:

Most of the potted plants of Chrysanthemum have been shown in the above pictures.

Flower arrangement:

Fresh flower arrangement:

Dry flower arrangement:

Cut flowers:

Special display:

Prize distribution ceremony:

In the afternoon of 16th December, prize distribution ceremony was organized in which prizes were distributed among different participants for their distinct performance in this memorable flower show. University Vice chancellor Professor Dr. Iqrar Ahmed khan was the chief guest of this ceremony.

Convener of management committee Dr. Atif Riaz remained on stage to help the prize awarding guests for prize distribution.

We are a peaceful nation:

At the end of this mega event, a peace procession was arranged by the all university members (staff and students) and guests under the great leadership of honorable Vice chancellor in the night of 16th December. In this procession, candles were lit to demonstrate the need for peace and to acknowledge the sacrifices of whole Pakistani nation against terrorism.

We are a living nation:

Flower show is ended but I have shown the following pictures to give you a glimpse on the potential, talent and passion of Pakistani youth. In these pictures, different participants are busy in the on-spot preparation of their exhibits. Result of their creativity and hard work you have seen above. By God, I'm really impressed, what about you!

So guys how was the show? Great na, I already knew it. OK, now is the time to put your thumbs up to appreciate all the participants, organizers especially the members of organizing committee and management committee and all the students and workers from Institute of Horticultural Sciences for organizing this event and then making it so successful and so colorful.

Hey, did you forget my birthday in the colors of that colorful show? I'll not let you do this. I have worked hard on this post to reproduce smiles on your beautiful faces on my birthday for keeping this day alive in your brains at least for some days. Just kidding.

I look forward to see your comments. Don't be shy, get bold enough to put your typical, critical, smiling and generous comments on this post.

Flowering trees of tropics

2010-01-31T17:02:00.000-08:00

While writing my last post "Resistant trees", I got an idea to compile all flowering trees of tropics so that one may get a quick and comprehensive look as well as information whenever he/she is thinking or curious about tropical flowering trees. This quick guide will also help to travelers having interest in plants, to these tropical foreign lands.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3131/3087132512_0d0cae0689.jpg

To make the list reader friendly, the tropics or tropical region around the globe have been divided into nineteen localities and each locality is given its ten most outstanding beautiful flowering trees. I'm not going to show the pictures of these trees this time because it will make the article too much long and laborious for both of us, writer and readers. However, I'm giving the link so when you will click on the tree title, you will be lead to its detailed information web page having its all necessary details and pictures. Hope you will enjoy this post also.

So following are the nineteen tropical localities with their most outstanding flowering trees, ten trees per locality as mentioned before.

Amazonia:

Coumarouna

Elizabetha

Eperua

Erisma

Qualea

Australia:

Acacia

Barklya

Nuytsia

Brazil:

Vantanea

Central America:

Andira

Belotia

Billia

Faramea

Chile-Peru-Bolivia:

Asteranthos

Azara

Befaria

Columbia-Panama:

Quassia

Hawaii:

Agati

Hong Kong:

Litsea

Pavetta

Schima

Tutcheria

India:

Acrocarpus

Aesculus

Amherstia

Butea

Crateva

Duabanga

Holarrhena

Mesua

Millingtonia

Tecomella

Madagascar:

Strophanthus

Malaya:

Fagraea

Ixora

Jackia

Lumnitzera

Mussaendopsis

Saraca

Mexico:

Couma

Talauma

Vitex

Wigandia

New Zealand:

Banksia

Brachyglottis

Elaeocarpus

Entelea

Hoheria

Ixerba

Knightia

Kunzia

Leptosmum

Metrosideros

Pacific Islands:

Evodia

Sukunia

Xanthostemon

South Africa:

Alberta

Faurea

Protea

Schotia

Virgilia

Trinidad:

Byrsonima

Delonix (yellow)

Eperua

Isertia

Warszewiczia

Tropical Africa:

Cordyla

Lophira

Securidaca

Venezuela:

Bowdichia

Brownea

Clusia

Elvasia

Inga

Tyleria

West Indies:

Chimarrhis

Sabinea

Talauma

Resistant trees

2010-01-28T00:36:00.000-08:00

Like other plant species, trees have a lot of variation on the basis of certain features like growth habits, cultural or habitat needs, aesthetic or practical usefulness to mankind, and some other qualities. Today I'm going to write about the trees which are resistant to wind, salt, drought, fire, ice, heat and shade amazingly. Having my strong relation with plant sciences, I believe that this article will be informative and helpful to the landscapers, town planners, environmentalists, horticulturists, botanists, and also for the educators and students from plant sciences.

Resistant trees are indexed below. To get detail of each tree, please click on the title which will lead you to a detailed webpage of that particular tree.

Wind resistant trees:

They stand up best against the storm's buffeting.

1. Caesalpinia:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Caesalpinia_pulcherrima_0005.jpg

2. Clusia:

http://www.hear.org/starr/images/full/starr-010425-0042.jpg

3. Delonix:

http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_images/651/390Delonix_regia.jpg

4. Eugenia:

http://housing.caltech.edu/plants/eugenia%20myrtifolia.jpg

5. Metrosideros:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Metrosideros_umbellata_1.jpg

6. Peltophorum:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3408/3228867587_0fffe42616.jpg

7. Pterospermum:

http://www.webbuild.net/AOSgarden/images/Bayurtree.jpg

8. Radermachera:

http://www.geographylists.com/chinadoll.jpg

9. Samanea:

http://www.hear.org/starr/plants/images/image/?q=030523-0146

10. Symphonia:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Treestub.jpg

11. Syzygium:

http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/water/paper/Relic/1_Syzygium%20sp_13.JPG

12. Tabebuia:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/2835510117_01968565b1.jpg

Salt resistant trees:

These trees like growing near the sea or in salty soils.

1. Acacia:

http://www.veeriku.tartu.ee/~ppensa/Acacia1.jpg

2. Ardisia:

http://www.invasive.org/weedcd/images/1536x1024/5286053.jpg

3. Butea:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Dhak_%28Butea_monosperma%29_flowering_tree_in_Kolkata_W_IMG_4259.jpg

4. Calophyllum:

http://hpb.narod.ru/adyar/calophyllum_inophyllum-habitat.jpg

5. Clusia:

http://www.floridagardener.com/FLNatives/ClusiaRosea.jpg

6. Cordia:

http://www.floridagardener.com/FLNatives/CordiaTree.jpg

7. Delonix:

http://mgonline.com/media/Images/r/royal08.jpg

8. Dryandra:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zKDjcLXZBTI/Sw7jl-p_-vI/AAAAAAAAC8U/R_bwFcy7tXg/s1600/Dryandra_woodland_6_break_away.jpg

9. Eugenia:

http://www.wellgrowhorti.com/Pictures/Landscape%20Plants/Trees/Thumbnail/Eugenia_13.jpg

10. Guaiacum:

http://www.dasignsourcebotanicals.com/plantphotos/Guaiacum%20sanctum%20form.jpg

11. Hibiscus:

http://www.art.net/studios/hackers/strata/hibiscus/pink-hibiscus-tree.JPG

12. Hymenosporum:

http://asgap.org.au/jpg/960713.jpg

13. Liriodendron:

http://image.gardening.eu/giardino/Alberi/Liriodendron/Liriodendron.jpg

14. Lonchocarpus:

http://media.photobucket.com/image/lonchocarpus/wdwplants/Animal%20Kingdom%20flowering%20trees/1b01.jpg?o=5

15. Metrosideros:

http://www.valenciahoa.org/MetrosiderosExcelsus.jpg

16. Montezuma:

http://lhostelaw.com/djl/belize/991003be_nesttree.jpg

17. Myoporum:

http://bss.lacity.org/UrbanForestryDivision/gif/MyoporumLaetum.jpg

18. Pittosporum:

http://www.australianplants.com/images/photos/Pittosporum_undulatum.jpg

19. Thespesia:

http://hpb.narod.ru/adyar/thespesia_populnea-habitat.jpg

Drought resistant trees:

These trees never bother about drought conditions.

1. Adenium:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/345384080_26a4559160.jpg

2. Aloe:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1198/552073234_904070aa7d.jpg

3. Baikiaea:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/images/profiles/terrestrial/at/sm/at0709a.jpg

4. Banksia:

http://bluecray.org/files/banksia.jpg

5. Bulnesia:

http://zoneten.com/_borders/Bulnesia%20arborea%20tree%20in%20bloom.JPG

6. Chilopsis:

http://www.landscape-resources.com/portfolio/treesx/images/Chilopsis%20linearis%20Lucretia%20Hamilton%20tm.jpg

7. Dalea:

http://z.about.com/d/geology/1/0/p/4/smoketree.jpg

8. Dolichandrone:

9. Hakea:

http://www.marinatreeandgarden.org/treelist/hakea_tree.jpg

10. Inga:

http://www.ozpolitic.com/gardening/trees/photos/inga.jpg

11. Ipomoea:

12. Leucospermum:

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantklm/plimagesklm/leucospercono2.jpg

13. Markhamia:

http://www.geographylists.com/markhamia.jpg

14. Olneya:

http://www.delange.org/IronwoodTree/Dsc00001.jpg

15. Pachira:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Pachira_aquatica_Tree.jpg

16. Pereskia:

http://www.banana-tree.com/catalog%20images/image2431.jpg

17. Pomaderris:

http://floraofberowra.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/pomaderris-lanigera_small.jpg

18. Protea:

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/4897856.jpg

19. Pterodon:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2628/4225972526_e70e501536.jpg

20. Qualea:

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/small/27512101.jpg

21. Tecomella:

http://static.newworldencyclopedia.org/b/bf/Rohida1.jpg

Fire resistant trees:

These trees have bark think enough to ignore the hottest blaze.

1. Bowdichia:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2733444309_5f372bc503.jpg

2. Melaleuca:

http://grove.ufl.edu/~cittdev/tame/html/gallery/melaleuca/001.jpg

3. Tecomella:

http://www.ecoworld.com/animals/arid-agriculture-vs-deserts.html

4. Tectona:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Tree_%28Tectona_grandis%29_I_IMG_6081.jpg

Ice Resistant trees:

These tree species resistant to ice damage can be planted to reduce tree and property damage from ice storms.

1. American sweetgum:

http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/images/Sweetgum-Am_220_7.jpg

2. Aborvitae:

http://www.tree360.com/Trees/arborvitae_trees.jpg

3. Black walnut:

http://www.mitzenmacher.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/Black%20Walnut_001.jpg

4. Blue beech:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UIy2jOt5ST0/Sj0I6WM5yyI/AAAAAAAAARc/0kNOyIoqNwY/s400/Beech+Tree+VS+09-024.jpg

5. Catalpa:

http://barnacles.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/catalpa1.jpg

6. Eastern hemlock:

http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/hemlock_eastern/tree.jpg

7. Ginkgo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba

8. Ironwood:

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ca/images/palmsprings/wildflowers_palm_springs.Par.19105.Image.640.490.1.gif

9. Kentucky coffee tree:

http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/howard.whiteman/field/plants/KentuckyCoffeetree.jpg

10. Little-leaf linden:

http://www.itrees.com/buy-trees/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/f/i/file_8_5.jpg

11. Norway maple:

http://www.shoppingbank.com/sb/pia/d/acer+platanoides+crimson+king+norway+maple+tree/pid/4262621

12. Silver linden:

http://www.tree-pictures.com/silver-linden-tree.jpg

13. Swamp white oak:

http://www.cirrusimage.com/Trees/swamp_white_oak_4.jpg

14. White oak:

http://www.holtonframes.com/_img/oak/white-oak-tree.jpg

Heat resistant trees:

Trees that thrive in hotter climates are:

1. Rabbit-eye blueberry:

http://www.texarkanacollege.edu/~dallard/505/Image251.jpg

2. Silver linden:

http://www.centralparknyc.org/images/content/pagebuilder/10823.jpg

3. Chestnut oak:

http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/oak_chestnut/tree.jpg

4. Ussurian pear:

http://www.mortonarb.org/images/stories/tree_advice/tom-som/TOM092009_Ussarian_Pear.jpg

5. European olive:

http://home.online.no/~jawaage/OliveTree.gif

6. Crape myrtle:

http://www.geographylists.com/crape_myrtle.jpg

7. Arbutus marina:

http://www.jamesdeandesign.com/Slide_Show/Plant_Catalog/TREES/Arbutus%20Marina.jpg

Shade resistant or shade bearer trees:

These trees grow underneath other trees.

1. Brunfelsia:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_M6zpIFJ8984/SUsevFC8vII/AAAAAAAACdg/mI05fYhq2hI/s400/May+24+134.JPG

2. Burchellia:

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/plimagesab/burchellbulb.jpg

3. Conopharyngia:

http://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/2004/4/4100.jpg

4. Eucryphia:

http://www.free-images.org.uk/trees/eucryphia-cordifolia.jpg

5. Hirtella:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pxJxB2Pigds/Rtn9Tb5B9-I/AAAAAAAAABo/E0rrC3HDQVI/s400/hirtella.jpg

6. Palicourea:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/485787640_c506633641.jpg?v=0

7. Quintinia:

http://media.photobucket.com/image/Quintinia%20tree/xavenz/tree_titoki.jpg

8. Solanum:

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/841/20048716.JPG

9. Tricuspidaria:

http://www.burncoose.co.uk/site/img/products/large/Crinodendron_hookerianum_1.jpg

So guys, hope you've liked my "Resistant trees" very much. Yes, good. Please feel free to add your comments about the post and its content.

Glory of Ornamental grasses

2010-01-06T05:32:00.000-08:00

Autumn has gone now but the splendid autumn grasses have motivated me to publish on them. These ornamental grasses are splendid in autumn but they can really transcend any season. Many of these grasses like Ravenna, Calamagrostis and tall Miscanthuses, can be left standing all winter. They perform elegantly in the garden for almost ten months of the year when they are cut back in very early spring to spur them intio another season's growth. Some of Carexes and other few retain their color for the whole year.

http://www.saversplanet.com/wallpapers/autumn-grass-wallpapers_10612_1600x1200.jpg

They are increasingly used in parks and public plantings, commercial landscaping of office buildings and even fast-food restaurants. They are quite easy to maintain, like they are cut back close to ground once a year and incidentally provide good attractive material for mulching. The best thing about these grasses is to observe them grow and change with the season. Additionally they grow very rapidly.

http://outdoorlifestyledesigns.com/ornamental_grasses.html

http://www.outbackphoto.com/dop_interviews/Charles_Cramer/Cramer_Autumn2.jpg

The elegant heights of these grasses make them conspicuous and well-suited for every type of garden. The appeal of these grasses lies mainly in their diversity.

Holcus mollis 'Variegatus', commonly known as variegated velvet grass for its green and white striped leaves with pinkish overtones and for its downy texture, grows no more than six inches high. It spreads a bit, but Festuca ovina 'Glauca' forms little domes or mounds, also low to the ground at about eight inches.

http://www.jacksonsnurseries.co.uk/images/plantpictures/large/grasses/HolcusAlbovariegata.JPG

http://www.sheffields.com/data/4877_GRAMINEAE_Festuca_ovina__var._glauca_.jpg

http://www.sheffields.com/data/3526_GRAMINEAE_Festuca_ovina__var._glauca_.jpg

Carex morrowii 'Variegata' forms not a mound but a mop.

http://www.plantes.ch/images/detailed/carex_morrowii_variegata.jpg

Grasses of intermediate size include Helictotrichon sempervirens, which makes spiky clumps about three feet high, with leaves arching gracefully at their tips.

http://www.bluestem.ca/images/helictotrichon-semp-04.jpg

There is also Pennisetum alopecuroides or fountain grass, which grows around 3.5 to 4 feet tall and produces an abundance of feathery, pink-toned flowers in late summer. Fountain grasses never overwhelm its neighbors in border. Growing them around yuccas for contrast make a nice combination.

http://www.ausgardener.com.au/product_images/x/pennisetum_fountain_grass__35678.jpg

http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/research/iowagrasses/ornamental/aaimages/PenAlo35s.jpg

Among the miscanthuses, Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' which grows between four and six feet tall and makes a fine upright accent in a border.

http://www.overdam.dk/mis-gracillimus.jpg

http://img.hgtv.com/HGTV/2004/10/04/grass_miscanthus_gracillimus_lg.jpg

Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Stricta', with soft green leaves that weep slightly, forms a mound. In midsummer its narrow, erect, silvery pink flower spikes rise to five feet.

http://www.gapphotos.com/images/WebPreview/0046/0046061.jpg

http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/images/arselect/2003/Calamagrostis-Carl-Forster.jpg

These grasses also vary widely in their color, both in a single species over the span of the year and from one species to the next.

The leaves of Miscanthus sinensis, a good shade of green in late spring and summer, gradually change to light tan as the autumn gets on, and its pink flower tassels go through several transformations, changing to pale, pale gold, then to straw, and finally to light beige.

http://www.bellevuebotanical.org/plantmonth/miscanthus_sinensis.jpg

Lyme grass (Elymus canadensis), a spreading and stoloniferous low plant that is tough enough to grow, is a pale gray-blue.

http://www.nicerweb.com/doc/class/pix/PRAIRIE/2005_07_27/Elymus_canadensis.jpg

http://grandmorainegrowers.ca/images/Elymus%20canadensis.jpg

Some of the fescues and blue oat grasses (Helictotrichon semperviens) are still bluer.

http://www.gardenexpress.com.au/images/P/Blue_fescue_07-01.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_glNmVJDQgL4/SNP3bV1nPvI/AAAAAAAAAEA/0bJwyPIqsc0/Elijah+Blue+Fescue.jpg

Pennisetum setaceum 'Burgundy Giant' has extremely handsome purple leaves.

http://www.itsaulplants.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-61.jpg

Miscanthus sinensis 'Purpurascens' develops red tints in summer and by early October is almost scarlet.

http://www.bluestem.ca/images/miscanthus-purpurascens2.jpg

http://www.landscapedia.info/images/plant_images/Miscanthus_sinensis_purpurascens_silvergrassFlame_Grass_550_550.jpg

http://www.robsplants.com/images/portrait/MiscanthusPurpurascens041016.jpg

Panicum virgatum 'Rubrum', the red switch grass, shows reddish tones in the summer and turns crimson when night begin to cool down.

http://dovecreekgardens.com/images%2Fproducts%2F2008%2Fpanicum%20virgatum%20rotstrahlbusch.jpg

https://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~jhayden/landscape_plants/ornamental_grasses/panicum_virgatum_%27north%20wind%27_USNA_03s.JPG

The champion of all the red grasses is Japanese blood grass (Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra'). Its leaves are dark burgundy for half their length at least from the time they first emerge in the spring. The color deepens in September and spreads to the entire length of the leaves. It is ensational when grown in combination with silver-stemmed Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) and blue oat grass.

http://www.spaldingbulb.co.uk/images/Catalog/normal/large/12889.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51avwHylXiL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
Another Carex, Carex buchananii, is more of a novelty than a thing of beauty.

http://www.zahrada-zizka.cz/obr/Carex%20buchananii%202c000-301-03.JPG

Besides their subtle colors, ornamental grasses bring to the garden the important elements of movement and sound.

Seven horticultural wonders of the world

2009-12-28T22:34:00.000-08:00

Last night while getting through an old horticultural magazine, a phrase "horticultural wonders by Guinness book of world records" caught my eye and left me in the astonishing world of surprises and mysteries. I kept on searching, watching and reading for a long long time until I felt my thirst for the subject had been quenched to a reasonable level. As a consequence of this effort, I found many surprising horticultural wonders as well as facts from which a bigger part of human world is still unknown or at least I was not familiar to many of these wonders till last night. So I thought it better to write on these fabulous horticultural wonders to get the attention of world towards them so that they can be well-enjoyed and well-cared for their maximum existence.

By Guiness book of world records, following are the seven horticultural wonders of world. Get through them and enjoy them.

1. Sequoia National Park-Redwoods:

Redwood and national parks are located in the United States of America along the coast of north California, consisting of a combined area of 131,983 acres. This park has 35 groves of giant Sequoias (Sequoia sempervirens).

(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/331426544_80958d5e80.jpg?v=0)

(http://travelpod.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/71223936400hpim1904.jpg)

(http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np-image.redw25088.html)

(http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np-image.redw25086.html)

(http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np-image.redw20672.html)

(http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np-image.redw2082.html)

In this park, one of the largest oldest living things in the world is the General Sherman tree, which is estimated to be more than 3,500 years old, standing 272 feet high and 37 feet in diameter.

(http://www.makli.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sherman6.jpg)

(http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/general-sherman-tree.jpg)

(http://www.inn-california.com/valleys/images/ca0863.jpg)

(http://www.matthewweathers.com/year2006/sequoia_np_july/branch_general_sherman.JPG)

(http://www.gothereguide.com/sequoia+kings+canyon+national+park-city/)

(http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/big_trees_of_california/images/sherman_tree.jpg)

Also this forest is home to many coniferous evergreen trees.

2. Amazon Jungle:

This most endangered rain-forest covers most Amazon basin of South America. The total area covered by this jungle is 1.4 billion acres, happening a territory of nine nations ( Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. However Brazil contains the majority of the forest.

(http://www.treehugger.com/amazon-jungle-permits.jpg)

It was short-listed in 2008 as a candidate to one of the ''new seven wonders of nature" by the "new seven wonders of the world" foundation.

(http://ronwalker.org/amazon_iquitos_peru/giant_tree_amazon_jungle_peru_feb_2002.jpg)

(http://www.hacienda-ecuador.com/Am_Mujer_Huaorani.jpg)

This jungle contains atleast 40,000 plant species. It has been estimated that about one square mile might contain 750 tree and 1500 plant species. Brazil grow nuts in its part of forest.

(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01405/amazon_1405893c.jpg)

The nuts are inside a round grapefruit size ball. Each ball can contain 20 to 25 nuts. About one-third of all coconuts grown can be found in is South American rainforest.

(http://www.malaysia.or.kr/national/images/BrazilNut.jpg)

Ferns of all varieties, from very small to large bushes, hibiscus, periwinkle and several varieties of orchids, palm trees, vines climbing up looking for the sun also make this their home.

(http://www.aquahobby.com/tanks/img/810_Amazon_Jungle_Tank_1.jpg)

(http://www.naffziger.net/images/peru/IMG_5805.jpg)

(http://www.naffziger.net/images/peru/IMG_5786.jpg)

(http://www.tqnyc.org/2006/NYC063206/2.jpg)

(http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Alocasia-Amazonica-new.gif)

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RX5uFsup6zI/SXXh7JwVgfI/AAAAAAAABSI/YzEzhlrS9SA/s1600-h/cloud+forest+2-2.jpg)

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RX5uFsup6zI/SXXkRW3Ra-I/AAAAAAAABSo/XwNNCIGsSsw/s1600-h/gunnera+leaf-1.jpg)

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RX5uFsup6zI/SXXipHN-w4I/AAAAAAAABSY/m46Cef1jRBA/s1600-h/ferns+and+EE.jpg)

(http://www.andesamazon.org/common/uploads/media/Horticulture1.JPG)

(http://www.naturehills.com/images/rainforest/shutterstock_35655982.jpg)

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__DSGQBbKXLY/SS7Id6plRSI/AAAAAAAAAQo/2lpYAcrtakc/s400/IMG_3409.JPG)

(http://www.gardendesignonline.com/.a/6a00d8345167b669e201157231708c970b-800wi)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3575/3342044895_54f54f3f01.jpg)

(http://www.squidoo.com/Amazonwaterlily)

(http://www.gardenrant.com/.a/6a00d83451bd5e69e20112796c3e6228a4-800wi)

(http://www.andesamazon.org/common/uploads/media/botany4.jpg)

(http://www.nparks.gov.sg/blogs/garden_voices/wp-content/2007/02/wilson-wong-02-pitcher-plant.jpg)

(http://zaxy.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/orchidaspidistra.jpg)

Among fruit products of this rainforest are pineapples, mangos and guavas.

3. Wisteria House:

Wisteria has been determined by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the largest blossoming plant in the world. The single wisteria vine covers over an acre in size. It has more than a million blossoms and weighs 250 tons. This horticultural wonder has already engulfed one home and is on its way towards another and can be seen by taking a trip to Sierra Madre.

(http://dckaleidoscope.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/wisteria-house-detail.jpg)

(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/11/94638274_a295be4286.jpg?v=0)

4. Xochimilco Floating Gardens in Mexico:

Xochimilco means “Garden of Flowers.” Raised agricultural fields called chinampas, dating back to the Aztecs, are surrounded by canals. Alternating weeds and earth are packed inside cane frames that are rooted to the lake floor by trees planted along the edges of the field. The chinampas are living examples of sustainable agriculture but a historical artifact. Today’s farmers scrape the organic debris from the canals to use as fertilizer in their agricultural gardens. In the winter they plant flowers and in the summer you will see fruit, corn, and summer vegetables in the canals.

(http://www.corbisimages.com/images/DY004710.jpg?size=572&uid=30672A1E-C8E6-4D94-B300-B6E9EA8DEBC1)

(http://img1.photographersdirect.com/img/484/wm/pd1196184.jpg)

(http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/uploadimages/119_00_2.jpg)

5. Garden of Taj Mahel:

This garden is designed in Islamic style of architecture and symbolizes spirituality. Total area of Taj complex is 580m by 300m, of which Taj garden alone covers 300m by 300m.

(http://gardenhistorygirl.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html)

(http://www.persiancarpetguide.com/sw-asia/Islamic/Mughal/images/Mughal_Art_The_Taj_Mahal_Garden_View_Circa_1890.jpg)

The central raised pool is divided into 16 flower beds, making a total of 64 beds in all, each bed containing 400 plants which includes flowers, birds, and fruit trees. The fruit trees and cypress are planted to maintain symmetry. This garden is a man-made garden based on the arrangements of nature.

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_REjQQ5OAUrM/SYy41lZ9lPI/AAAAAAAADBA/jbo4ApOCfZU/s400/taj+mahal+garden.jpg)

6. Garden of Buckingham Palace:

It is situated at rear of Buckingham palace. It covers 42 acre area and 2.5 miles of gravel paths. Plantation in this garden is varied and exotic, with a mulberry tree dating back to the times of James 1 of England.

(http://www.advance.org/attachments/wysiwyg/10783/j0402424.jpg)

(http://spiritualtravelman.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/buckingham-palace.jpg)

A large 19th-century lake graced by a flock of flamingos and the Waterloo Vase is one of the most notable feature of the palace.

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/2635068350_5d03f8961e.jpg)

Indian chestnut, silver maple and swamp cypress are some of the elegant trees in this garden.

7. Yokohama Rock Gardens, Japan:

These gardens have been made in the traditional Japanese way. Of which rock and water are prominent features. These gardens have their roots in the 13th century.

(http://www.nihonsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/image4.png)

(http://www.nihonsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/rikugien-pond.jpg)

(http://www.nihonsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/image7.png)

(http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/promotion/yokohama/img/coupons_hotel_pic03.jpg)

So guys these are the seven horticultural wonders of the world. Hope you found this post very interesting as well as very informative. If you've really enjoyed it then please give me your feedback though your comments. It's almost whole day finished now working on this post, I'm really broken, so pass your comments generously to prove my effort meaningful.

Famous gardens of Europe: a bird's eye view through Google earth

2009-12-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

Last month before that sad incident occurred in my home, I was working on this post. Today I'v some free time so thought it better to complete and publish this post, hope you guys will like it.

While breathing in the fresh air of October morning, I was thinking on the possibilities to visit the famous gardens of the world, but how, was the most pinching question at that time. Suddenly a novel idea came into my mind that I should locate and visit those all gardens through Google earth, may be I can get any idea about the location, plan and pattern of each garden. I worked on this idea and was amazed to see a new world of tourism. The doors of all gardens were open to me and I could visit every garden like a bird. I really enjoyed this bird's eye view tour and learned many technical things about the landscape plan and pattern of each garden. Now It is not possible for me to keep this all to myself, so I'm going to forward this knowledge or virtual tour to you people, hope you will like and enjoy it. Besides it's also not possible to present all the gardens here at once so only some most famous gardens of Europe (which impressed me very much) will be presented here .

Versailles, France:

Villandry, France:

Hetloo, The Netherlands:

Keukenhof, The Netherlands:

Villa lante, Italy:

Boboli, Italy:

Mirabell, Austria:

So guys what you say now? Did you like this virtual gardening tour through Google earth? Hope you liked it. Please pass your comments freely, I'm looking forward.

Reason for absence

2009-11-20T01:01:00.000-08:00

Hellow all, Some of you would be thinking where I'm disappreared suddenly as you saw no activity on my blog since last month. Reason for that is my father was assasinted and seriously injured by decoites equipped with dangerous fire arms, so I'm quite busy in his treatment, just his treatment....no more other activities even my job. Pray for my father, he may get well soon so that I may get back to my life, my own life. Have a nice day :)

Keukenhof, the world's largest flower garden

2009-10-22T12:12:00.001-07:00

I remember that sunny morning of April 2008 when I visited Keukenhof with my colleagues from Pakistan. Keukenhof is the world's largest flower garden where approximately 7,000,000 (seven million) flower bulbs are planted annually.

It's located in South Holland in the small town of Lisse, south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam. Bus can be catched from train stations of Haarlem, Leiden and Schiphol to access this bulbous paradise.

Kaukenhof was established by mayor of Lisse in 1949, to promote the Netherlands flower export industry ( Netherlands is the world's largest flower exporter now).

It opens normally from the last week of March to mid-May. In 2008 when I visited, it was opened from 20 March to 18 May. While in 2010, it will be open from 18 March to 16 May according to its official website.

This historic park is spread colorfully over a big land piece of 32 hectare with 15 kilometers of footpaths. It's very well planned and enormously filled with blooming tulips, hyacinths, irises, daffodils and other spring bulbs.

The area where it's situated is also know as the "Dune and bulb Region" (Dune- en Bollenstreek in Dutch). The flowers fields outside the garden are evidence of this.

This park is also quite visible through following video.

Overall, this was a great experience and I enjoyed it very much. I get excited by the magnificent specs of color whenever I remember this exquisite work of art and nature. I strongly recommend that take your camera along on this unique experience to get it with you for your whole life.

Palm Royale, not Royal Palm

2009-10-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

Global trends of human population show hat urbanization is increasing day by day. As a result of which, modern housing projects are coming on the view along with a lot of global planning and environmental concerns. Like other nations, Pakistanis also like to get urbanized in a short time and their keenness on these lines has lead them to work on modern urban housing projects and/ cooperative housing societies intensively. Dozens of housing projects have been accomplished successfully and dozens of projects are still in the way of completion in different cities. No matter how big the city is, modern house building activities can be observed enormously. Apparently it's good that my motherland is getting urbanized at a quick pace, the concern is these housing societies are being often built on agriculture lands because of which food insecurity is increasing. Besides food insecurity, disturbance or complete removal of local flora and fauna will lead to the highly important global environmental issues. Present wheat and sugar crisis, electricity crisis and environmental risks somehow come under the consequences of this so called urbanization or modernization trend. But on the other hands, they claim that they are going to strengthen the country economy, by creating too many business opportunities (as construction work creates the business opportunities for all kind of industry) for different stockholders and by creating the job opportunities for the local citizens ultimately playing their role highly in the poverty alleviation. What if they cut and remove some old plantation to meet their purpose, they plant thousands of modern colorful plants by following the proper landscape principles. True they disturb the local environment initially but they are going to give a brand new environment also with a lot of rare landscape features additionally, in the nearest future.

Leaving all the urban planning issues aside, I''m concerned here about how an environmental balance can be created locally. In the title, Palm Royale (a modern housing society in Faisalabad whose landscape project I've been doing in the recent past) represents the housing societies built or being built in the country while Royal Palm (which is of course the most famous palm plant Roystonia regia) represents all type of plantation, being removed or being installed to complete these modern housing projects.

It's true that these housing societies are creating a lot of business opportunities for the local industrialists and also playing their role in the poverty alleviation by creating hundreds of job opportunities for the local manpower. They also look true in their modern landscaping claims, these pictures which I've drawn from different housing societies are also the evidence of this claim.

Like these have very beautiful and well planned green belts.

and

These have well landscaped amenity parks

are well maintained

and well equipped with modern landscape features.

Hence they look absolutely true in generating secure and serene environment for their inhabitants, a lot of business opportunities for the local industry and a lot of job opportunities for the local manpower. However these societies should be planned by the concerned authorities in such a way that agriculture land and old flora and fauna should be saved as much as possible, to avoid the national food insecurity and environmental concerns.

Plants in the holy Quran

2009-10-18T10:52:00.001-07:00

Quran is the holy book of Islam, revealed to the holy Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) through the Angel Jibril (Gabriel). Plants described in this holy book are as follows.

Manna or Camelthorn:

Bot. name: Alhagi maurorum
Family: Lguminosae
Described: 3 times (2:57; 7:160; 20:80-81)

Date Palm:

Bot. name: Phoenix dactylifera
Family: Arecaceae
Described: 20 times (2:266; 6:99; 6:141; 13:4; 16:11; 16:67; 17:91; 18:32; 19:23; 19:25; 20:71;
23:19; 26:148; 36:34; 50:10; 54:20; 55:11; 55:68; 69:7; 80:29)

Olive:

Bot. name: Olea europea
Family: Oleaceae
Described: 6 times (6-99; 6-141; 16-11; 23-20; 24-35; Tin-fig:1-4; Mu’minun:20)

Grape:

Bot. name: Vitis vinifera
Family: Vitaceae
Described: 11 times (2-266; 6-99; 13-4; 16-11; 16-67; 17-91; 18-32; 23-19; 36-34; 78-31, 32;
LXXX-28)

Pomegranate:

Bot. name: Punica granatum
Family: Lythraceae
Described: 3 times (6-99; 6-141; 55-68)

Fig:

Bot. name: Ficus carica
Family: Moraceae
Described: 1 time (Tin-the –Fig: 1-4)

Cedar:

Bot. name: Cedrus libani
Family: Pinaceae
Described: 4 times (34-15,16; Waqia-27-33; Najm-7-18)

Tamarisk:

Bot. name: Tamarix aphylla
Family: Tamaricaceae
Described: 1 time (34:15-16)

Tooth-brush tree:

Bot. name: Salvadora persica
Family: Salvadoraceae
Described: 1 time (34:16)

Henna or Camphor:

Bot. name: Lawsonia inermis
Family: Lythraceae
Described: 1 time (LXXVI:5)

Ginger:

Bot. name: Zingiber officinale
Family: Zingiberaceae
Described: 1 time (LXXVI: 17)

Lentil:

Bot. name: Lens culinaris
Family: Leguminoceae
Described: 1 time (2:61)

Onion:

Bot. name: Allium cepa
Family: Liliaceae
Described: 1 time (2:61)

Garlic:

Bot. name: Allium sativum
Family: Liliaceae
Described: 1 time (2:61)

Cucumber:

Bot. name: Cucumis melo
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Described: 1 time (2:61)

Acacia:

Bot. name: Acacia seyal
Family: Fabaceae
Described: 1 time (61: 27-33)

Gourd:

Bot. name: Lagenaria siceraria
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Described: 1 time (37: 139-146)

Mustard:

Bot. name: Brassica nigra
Family: Brassicaceae
Described: 2 times (21: 47; 31:16)

Sweet Basil:

Bot. name: Ocimum basilicum
Family: Lamiaceae
Described: 2 times (60: 12; 61:89)

Zaqqum:

Bot. name: Euphorbia spp.
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Described: 4 times (17: 60; 37: 62-68; Dukhan: 43-48; Waqia: 52-56)

Besides all above plants, many other i.e. fruit, vegetable, fodder, grain, leafy and agricultural plants (whose particular names are not mentioned), have been described in the holy Quran.

Source: Different kind of literature for text and google images for the pics).

English vs. American Autumn, a Poetic comparison

2009-10-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Great Britain and United States of America are different in many ways including the seasonal differences, like a different autumn. Here different autumn means that autumn spreads the gloomy message across the whole Great Britain, while in United States it’s still the season of collecting smiles if garden little wisely. This big difference, on seasonal or gardening grounds, is also quite visible in the literature of both nations. If we critically get through the poetry of these nations, we come to know that the specs of their poets towards autumn are totally different. Like British nature poets, on comfortable and lyrical ground with spring and summer, turn dour and unenthusiastic when autumn is the topic. Keats, in his ode “To Autumn” writes that

Then in wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies.....

(http://charlottemasoneducation.files.wordpress.com/2007)

Thomas Hood’s “ode: Autumn” mentions

I saw old autumn in the misty morn
Stand shadowless like Slience, listening
To silence, for no lonely bird would sing
Into his hollow ear from woods forlorn.....

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/cherp58/321658983)

On another place, this British romantic poet adds completely no to autumn in his poem “No”, as follows:

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member----
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds----
November!

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons)

Tennyson was equally lugubrious in his poem “Song”:

The air is damp and hushed and close,
As a sick man’s room when he taketh repose
An hour before death----
My very heart faints and the whole soul grieves
At the moist rich smell of the rotting leaves,
And the breath
Of the fading edges of box beneath,
And the year’s last rose.

(http://www.florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/images)

Alexander Pope’s Third Pastoral, “Autumn,” mentions similarly gloomy thoughts:

Ye flowers that droop, forsaken by the spring,
Ye birds that, left by summer, cease to sing,
Ye trees that fade when autumn heats remove,
Say, is not absence death to those who love.

(http://images.andale.com/f2/109/101/12725694)

To the contrary, if British poetry about autumn is dismal and cheerless, American poetry is strikingly sunny and bright. Thoreau was enamored of the pleasure that fall brings:

The moon now rises to her absolute rule,
And the husbandman and the hunter
Acknowledge her for their mistress.
Asters and goldenrod reign in the fields
And the life everlasting withers not.
The fields are reaped and shorn of their pride
But an inward verdure still crowns them;
The thistle scatters its down on the pool
And yellow leaves clothe the river----
And nought disturbs the serious life of men.

(http://static.open.salon.com/files/wearing_autumn_colors1224698399.jpg)

And Emily Dickinson, writing about the native fringed gentian, a late bloomer often the victim of a sudden frost, shows no melancholy whatsoever, but only delight in its beauty-----

But just before the snows
There came a purple creature
That ravished all the hill:
And summer hid her forehead,
And mockery was still.
The frosts were her conditions:
The Tyrian would not come
Until the North evoked it,
“Creator! shall I bloom!”

Occasionally popular nineteenth-century American poets could wax melancholy about autumn, mourning it as a season of decay and loss. Both Celia Thanxter and William Cullen Bryant expressed this mood, but they seem to be following conventional English poetic themes, not quite putting their hearts into their elegiac words. In “Third of November” Bryant was far from bleak of spirit:

Glorious are the woods in their latest gold and crimson
..........................................................................
Such a kindly autumn, so mercifully dealing
With the growths of summer, I never yet have seen.

(http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/attachments/month_0809)

In “Evangeline,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow hailed autumn as “that beautiful season, the summer of All-Saints.” Another popular American poet of the last century, Helen Hunt, wrote in “Asters and Golden Rod”:

The lands are lit
With all the autumn blaze of Golden Rod
And everywhere the purple asters nod
And bend and wave and flint.

(http://www.gardenvisit.com/assets/madge/brigits_garden_bealtaine)

The differences between the poetry, autumn has inspired in Great Britain and in America are not the product of differences in national character. They are founded; I believe, on scientific reality----a matter of latitude and the earth’s tilt.

Summing up the story, differences in the thoughts and attitudes of two great nations towards autumn are very clear through this poetic comparison. That means English autumn is totally different than American autumn, so gardening practices in autumn must be different in these regions. Here England represented the temperate regions while Unite States represented tropical regions of the world.

Source : The Garden in Autumn by Allen Lacy; pp:19-22.

Greenhouse on the Mars

2009-09-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

In the upcoming billions of years, it will be obligatory for the humans to migrate to other planets because of expected nuclear wars, and furthermore the sun will become too hot for Earth to carry on life. In this context, Mars is ideal with an environment appropriate for human colonization and potential for modification into a stable ecosystem in the far future.

As a result of human colonization on Mars, it is obvious that these colonies can not be totally dependent on Earth for life support especially with relations to the food perspectives. The concept of greenhouse used on Earth to provide a confined space maintained at desirable environmental conditions for plant growth, can be extended to applications on the surface of Mars also. Furthermore, the psychological benefits associated with the sensory value of fresh food and of cultivating plants make greenhouses important components of manned missions to Mars.

Adopted from: http://www.radarstat.space.gc.ca

The greenhouse designed for the Mars must be structurally sound and be able to sustain desired interior climate in the presence of exterior climates with very low pressures and temperatures. The overall greenhouse system should be designed in a way that the interaction of plants with greenhouse system such as ventilation and overall water cycle may work properly and furthermore physiological requirements for the plant growth such as light, temperature, internal pressure and humidity may be maintained in the desired limits. Short window of operation to conduct maintenance and service, extreme environment for plant growth, limited electrical power production and heat generation, and low-bandwidth communication for remote monitoring and control are the challenges to overcome while making the greenhouses on the Mars. Leafy vegetables are the first potential crops being experimented to grow in the Martian greenhouses with hydroponic or aeroponic systems. Thus to find the solution of many challenges in this regard, I did a case study research project last year with my Turkish colleague Deniz Sanal under the kind supervision of Dr. Jeremy Harbinson while studying at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. The prime objective of this research was to assess the possibilities of making Greenhouse on the Mars by analysing the various concerned factors through physical, technological and eco-physiological approach. The purpose of publishing this case study research here on this blog is to feed the curious and hungry minds anxious to make their moves towards Mars.

Factors which affect the preparation and success of Greenhouse on the Mars are Day length, Internal pressure, Water, Light, Temperature, and Greenhouse structural design. So each factors is discussed here separately to get the facts more clear.

Day Length

Axial tilt and rotation period of Mars are similar to those of Earth and it experiences the seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter much like Earth and its day is of about the same length. The average length of a Martian solar day (Sol) is 24 hours and 37 minutes which is only about 2.7% longer than Earth’s. Martian year is tracked by the use of ‘seasonal longitude’ abbreviated as Ls, the position of Mars in its orbit around the sun. The time length for Mars to complete one orbit around the sun is its sidereal year, and is about 686.98 Earth solar days or 668.5991 sols. It is equal to 1.8809 Earth year or 1 year, 320 days and 18.2 hours. Due to eccentricity of Mars orbit, the seasons are not of equal length, with northern hemisphere spring the longest season (Ls = 0-90), lasting 194 Martian sols, and northern hemisphere autumn (Ls = 180-270), the shortest, lasting only 142 Martian sols.

Hence the day length variation is of utmost importance while selecting the appropriate greenhouse structural design, crops and location for the installation of these greenhouses. Besides these considerations, it will significantly affect the crop physiological aspects because light, temperature and even internal pressure will be changing with the day length or seasonal variation. Furthermore seeding, pollination, harvesting, energy conservation in the summer for the winter harsh conditions, maintenance and overhaul operations can be well planned according to the day length and seasonal variation on the Mars as it is currently being done in the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse located on the Canadian Arctic Devon Island.

Internal pressure

The plant consideration that has the largest impact on structural design is the internal pressure of the greenhouse. The total minimum internal pressure is the sum of the partial pressures of carbon dioxide, water vapor and oxygen inside the greenhouse. The overall atmospheric pressure of Mars is very low as compared to that of Earth. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is 0.035 kPa. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere is about 0.57 kPa. The partial pressure of water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere indicated as the vapor pressure varies with temperature and relative humidity. At comfortable room conditions of 25°C and 50% relative humidity, the vapor pressure for Earth’s atmosphere is 1.6 kPa. However total surface pressure of Mars is 0.6 kPa which is too low.

Experments conducted on Arabidopsis thaliana under different low pressure coditions just like Mars show that Plant net photosynthesis (Pnet) will relatively be unaffected if CO2 concentrations are kept elevated on the Mars surface. Plant growth modules must be operated around 10 kPa without undue inhibition of photosynthese and surface pressure of at least 10 kPa (100 mbar) is required for the normal growth of deployed plant species. Plants are able to survive even less than 10 kPa and their Pnet and Enet (net evapotranspiration) continues to increase with the decrease in pressure except wheat however these effects might be short termed. Thus carbon fixation and plant growth rate might be enhanced at low pressure. Further, while looking at different physical and metabolic processes concerned with plant biology and physiology, we come to know that diffusion of CO2 and O2 gases also increases with the decrease in internal pressure across plant leaves resulting in increased CO2 assimilation. Changes in boundary layer effects might lead to changes in leaf conductance at low pressures, and may enhance Pnet by reducing the resistance to the diffusion of gases at the leaf surface. Low pressure also affects the photorespiration significantly and Pnet in C3 plants can also be enhanced highly at low pressure.

Besides this the possibilities to create internal pressure also vary with the greenhouse structural design. The Mars atmosphere contains 0.1% ( 0.0006 kPa ) N2 and 0.07 % CO. If we assume that this ratio is constant and the total atmospheric pressure increases to 100 kPa, then the concentration of O2 will be 0.1 kPa. This O2 amount is close to the levels needed for plants but the CO level will be 0.07 kPa which is seven times the limit for the humans, plants and microorganisms can survive. The amount of atmospheric N2 must be enough as well to provide the biological nitrogen fixation. The experiments show that bacteria can fix N2 at levels of 0.5 kPa but the current pressure of N2 on Mars is about 0.02 kPa. Theoretical considerations and observations suggest that Mars must have had much larger quantities of N2 , CO2 and H2O. Thus the internal pressure of greenhouse can be balanced to desirable amounts. However it still needs a lot of brainstorming to find out the exact figures for the Martian greenhouses.

Water

Presence of water on Mars has been confirmed by the recent observations of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers and ESA’s Mars Express. Water is truly vital for plant growth. To review basic plant physiology; a tiny amount of water is used in photosynthesis to make sugar. The rest is used to carry the sugar through the plant to where it is needed. Scientists have long studied the possibility of water on Mars, analyzing evidence that suggests liquid water existed on the Mars in the past. Recent evidence of gullies formed, raises the possibility of liquid water on or near the surface of Mars but still there is no real evidence about the existence of water. However there is a direct evidence that early in Martian history, liquid water was stable and present at the surface. The large flood features on Mars indicate that the total stock of water was considerable.

In the light of the information about the water existence on Mars, one good idea be the formation of liquid water artificially for plant growth under laboratory conditions. As it’s known the molecular formula of water is H2O. The needed oxygen for this basic formula can be obtained via decomposition of the carbon dioxide molecules into carbon and oxygen, and hydrogen can be obtained by the Martian atmosphere or the oxidation of hydrocarbons like CH4 which has been already detected in the surface atmosphere of Mars.

After getting the liquid water, water management in the greenhouse is an important aspect for the successful crop growth. Most of the water used by an irrigated crop is drawn through the roots and transpires through the leaves. Only small amount (more or less 0.1%) of the water taken up by plants will actually be used to produce plant tissue. Evapotranspiration is an important part of the water cycle. Stomates are fully open when plants receive enough water through the soil and when both transpiration and photosynthesis are occurring at maximum rates. If soil water becomes limiting, stomates begin to close causing a decrease in transpiration and photosynthesis. The control of humidity is essential as well. In the greenhouse, warm air holds the moisture in the vapor form. At night as the air cools to the dew point, condensation occurs and water droplets are formed on cooler surfaces such as the leaves and greenhouse surfaces. A balance must be kept in the water cycle in the greenhouse by the help of heating and ventilation keeping the photosynthesis and evapotranspiration at economical levels. Water must be recycled through different techniques to overcome the water scarcity for the plant growth in the Martian greenhouse. The Penman-Monteith equation is helpful in this regard, which is:

Light

The sunshine is not bright enough on Mars to let usual Earth plants to prosper, still it provides a valuable part of light energy for plants. However additional energy will be obligatory for the sake of lighting, heating, monitoring and other necessary greenhouse operations. For this purpose solar collectors are the first option. A solar collector consists of four major parts: the light concentrating and filtering device, light transport device, and the casing or the structure of the system. Of these four major parts, the light concentrating and filtering device is the most important. The function of this device is to take light efficiently from the sun and concentrate the visible spectrum onto the ends of fiber optic cables while filtering out the harmful ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths. The tracking system can be either single-axis for daily solar tracking or dual axis for both daily and seasonal solar tracking. When this system is used as the primary light source for the crop production module, it is necessary to maximize the collection of light. Therefore a dual-axis (figure shown below) tracking system is the superior choice. The function of the casing of the solar collector is to protect the collector from the harsh Martian environment, including extremely cold temperatures, magnetic dust, and harmful radiation. Material selection for the casing is based on expected performance in such extreme environmental conditions. The solar collectors with fiber optic system are the best option for the underground greenhouse structures on the Mars surface. Beside this, transparent material allowing maximum sunlight to pass should be used in the construction of greenhouse. The spectral properties of the material should be optimized to match the absorption characteristics of chlorophyll, maximizing the energy gain. A set of mirrors might be a good option to bring more sunlight into the greenhouse than the base area of the greenhouse receives directly from the sun. Three times the amount of Martian sunlight should be adequate to serve terrestrial plants.

Plant photosynthesis does not respond to the entire spectrum of light. Values of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) levels are needed for Mars. Ambient light levels on Mars are high enough to sustain plant growth. However, because of the extremely low temperatures and pressures, any plant production must be conducted inside an enclosure. Even the best clear wall material for an enclosure will reduce light levels. The ideal wall material would allow transmittance into the structure of the wavelengths above 400 nm at angles of incidence from zero to 90° and zero transmittance out of the structure for all thermal wavelengths beyond 3000 nm. Glass is transparent to visible wavelengths of light and opaque to infrared wavelength and is an ideal wall material for greenhouses. Unfortunately, many plastic films such as the common greenhouse films of polyethylene are transparent to infrared radiation. The radiation characteristics of wall materials must be carefully selected to optimize transmission of Photosynthetically Active Radiation and block as much radiation in the infrared range as possible. To get the maximum transmittance level with keeping heat loss at tolerable levels would be one of the important challenges in the formation of greenhouse on Mars. The interactions between low density atmosphere, internal pressure, wind speed and convection and conduction processes are of high importance in this respect and need to be analysed properly before making any practical decision. Beside this, an underground greenhouse (Figure shown below) would be easier to insulate and hold warmth inside on the expense of more efforts for lighting since then no direct sunlight will be available for use. The ambient light with artificial lighting might be necessary to use for the satisfactory plant growth. LEDs (Light emitting Diodes) are the best option for providing the plants favourite blue and red radiations helping a lot in their photosynthesis process. The extra power required for artificial lighting can also be generated by the heat produced by the LEDs.

Adopted from: http://www.marspedia.org/

Temperature

Temperatures will rise and fall in very rapid synchronicity with the sun because, unlike on Earth, the thin atmosphere and lack of water do very little to buffer temperature fluctuations. The dominant environmental parameter in a Martian greenhouse will be temperature. The average surface temperature on Mars is approximately -63°C with an average diurnal range of around -103°C to 5°C. The diurnal temperature range observed by the Viking 1 Lander (the first of two spacecrafts sent to Mars) was -89° C to -32°C. Temperatures may rise above freezing during the summer at the equator. Daytime temperatures in the summer at the equator may be suitable for plant growth, but nighttime temperatures are far below the temperature range where plants can survive. Thus any plant growth on Mars must take place in the heated environments.

Significant quantities of solar energy are available on the Martian surface, but as on Earth, the solar energy on Mars is not always available when required and is never available at night. If supplemental lighting is used in greenhouse, cooling may be necessary because electrical lights produce very large quantities of waste heat. Furthermore a heating system will be necessary at night. There may be times during daylight hours that enough solar energy is available to maintain desired temperatures. The inside temperature of greenhouse should be optimal (10-30oC) for the plant growth. Hence the temperature should be regulated at least between this temperature ranges.

The control of relative humidity due to temperature variations is essential as well. In the greenhouse the warm air holds the moisture in the vapor form. At night as the air cools to the dew point, condensation occurs and water droplets are formed on cooler surfaces such as the leaves and glazing. This moisture causes the germination of fungal pathogen spores. Dripping water from condensation on the greenhouse covering also wets plant surfaces and spreads plant pathogens from plant to plant by splashing soil. To keep the plant canopy dry with a controlled humidity level suppresses the diseases. Thus a ventilation and heating system will also be required to control the temperature variations and keep the water balance inside the greenhouse.

Greenhouse structural design

The type of greenhouse structure that might be used for plant production on Mars vary from small automatically deployed structures with a small number of plants for research purposes to larger structures that would be used to grow plants to feed human colonies on the Mars. Structure requirements will vary accordingly to different size and purpose of the greenhouse; however function of the greenhouse will be same to produce the plants successfully. To determine loads is the first step in the greenhouse structural design. Dead loads will be considerably less than Earth because of less Martian gravity (0.38 of the Earth gravity). The density of Mars atmosphere is 0.01 that of Earth, so the wind loads are expected to be small on the deployable Martian greenhouse. However in the major storm conditions, the fast air velocity combined with lower Martian gravity can create a risk of uplifting or overturning of light greenhouse structures. The wind loads on the structure can be calculated from the following relation.

q = (1/2ρV2)Cd

where
q = pressure on the vertical falt plate, Pa
ρ = air density, kg/m3
V = air velocity, m/s
Cd = drag coefficient

Inflatable greenhouse structures with curved geometry are focus of different studies for Lunar and martian use. Inflatable structures are a type of tensile structure which includes tents and other structures fabricated using membranes as structural elements. Membranes only carry tensile loads in the plane of the shell or fabric and can not carry compressive or bending loads. The main load on this Martian greenhouse will be imposed by the internal pressure while gravity and wind loads will be smaller. The greenhouse wall must be thin, transparent and light weight with good strength against different stresses. Furthermore design must provide itself to being stored in a folded configuration and then automatically deployed into its functional configuration. The wall material must also be capable of being folded and be able to be automatically unfolded into the functional configuration. The curved shape of the Martian greenhouse seems more effective because its lower surface area to volume ratios which might be beneficial when considering the heat loss through the wall surfaces but it might also be of disadvantage when considering the light collection.

The underground structures seem more effective, safe and durable with multiple advantages of shielding the plants and colonists against harmful radiations, supporting the structures, moderating the environmental variations present on Mars surface and providing the shirt- sleeve environment with an atmosphere of 101.3 kPa to the colonists in which they can work normally without their space suits. This type of greenhouse might be installed at a depth of 4 m below the Martian surface. It must provide the enough floor space for irrigation, heating, electrical and other greenhouse related systems. Some structures of been shown below get a clear idea of the discussion.

Adopted from: http://www.marsonearth.org

Adopted from: http://www.science.ksc.nasa.gov

Adopted from: http://www.marsonearth.org

Adopted from: http://www.grcimagenet.grc.nasa.gov

Conclusions

To conclude the story, it is possible to make the greenhouse on Mars. Reductions in atmospheric pressure, light, temperature, water and day length and seasonal variations are the challenges to face in this regard. Maintenance of minimum internal pressure 10 kpa for good plant production, use of solar collectors and hybrid solar wind system for enegry collection and generation, control on evapotranspiration rate useful for greenhouse design and management related decisions, and use of underground structures due to their multiple advantages are the certain remedies of these challenges in the way of making greenhouse on Mars. Further, leafy vegetables, aeroponics, and control on dust and wind problems are the other important considerations.

In the end, I'm confident to claim that this research will open the doors for Plant Physiologists to join astronauts while exploring Mars. But It's still the idea, centuries are needed to see something practical on Mars.............!

Note: It was not possible for me to make the Greenhouse on Mars completely myself. So all above data including text and pictures, was compiled from different sources. I need your feedback to know the strength of my effort, so please comment freely and generously.