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| Sunday, 27 July 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Getting down to earth with your garden by Jayanthi Liyanage
Are you a city dweller who longs to create a little bit of landscaping in the little piece of backyard which is about the only thing that you might ever own to resemble a garden? What is your dream for this backyard landscaping? A pond full of water lilies? A cascade with a roaring gush of silvery water? Rows after rows of roses, daisies and mango trees? Well, beware that this dream does not turn into a nightmare. The pond might just about turn out to have a leak and the water might run out, leaving all your precious fish as dead as door nails. The cascade might end up monopolising the whole backyard and becoming nothing but a tyrannical water spout. Plants, shrubs and trees may battle for territory in your neat little plots, leaving half of them dead in their struggle for survival. In the end, the money you generously forked out for "landscape expertise" had accomplished nothing but flowed steadily down the drain.
Just how do you achieve those little bits of colourful poetry of flowery foliage and other landscaping marvels in the small bits of land scattered around your house? "When you begin to do something methodically, you stand a better chance of ending up with a better landscaping design," advises Kamal Perera, patron of the Landscapists Association which enjoys a membership of keen landscaping enthusiasts of varied backgrounds. Be they housewives, urban professionals or pensioners, they all share a common love for nature, gardening and the eagerness to learn the intricate details of the practical, do-it-yourself, art of landscaping. The Association is the culmination of the human desire to recreate and rediscover something of the nature that the human race destroyed in creating artificial environments for the progression of civilisation, settlement and development. "We call it the creation of green lungs," says Perera, referring to the planting of grass, shrubs and trees to improve the micro climates of the home terrain, often made uncomfortable by the sun glare and heat, devoid of a soothing rustle or a flash of green or brown. The Landscapists Association came to being when the Japanese International Corporation Agency Alumni Association asked Perera, a veteran landscapist, to develop a programme to make their members skilled in developing their own garden compounds into attractive landscapes. "Many city residents lack knowledge of gardening which is not only plants but a multi-faceted mixed discipline of soft and hard landscaping," explains Perera. From those who followed the programme, a circle of landscape adherents were born in 1997, keeping alive the traditions of landscaping for others lacking the methodology to create a beautiful garden through one's own efforts. While the plant component, including ground covering and herbs constitute soft landscaping, the hard prong refers to the non-living, built component of landscaping comprising paving, ponds, cascades, bridges, arcs, pergolas, brick and cement work which add up to conjuring the overall picture. "City Fathers speak of making Colombo a Garden City. How do we do it?," questions Perera, supplying the answer from his cache of painstakingly accumulated landscaping experiences. "You must know your land, its specific problems and the kind of materials you must employ in it. If water gathers in it during rain, does it form puddle? How does it percolate? Identify what you require from your garden, resources available to you and the constraints which obstruct you from creating your dream garden," he spells out the formula. "When you acquire this knowledge, even if you don't do your own landscaping, at least you can get the job done through another person without being played out." His misgivings are quite natural when one considers the merits of the numerous small landscaping businesses which continue to mushroom in the city and suburbs. "This being an unlicensed profession, it is difficult to prevent unqualified people masquerading as qualified landscapers," says Perera. "Under the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Centre for Housing, Planning and Building conducts a two-year Diploma in Landscaping which is nationally recognised. Unfortunately, we do not have a Bachelor's Degree in Sri Lanka, but only a master-level degree course at the Moratuwa University." The Association's programme, designed for practicality, visits landscaping sites and involves other activity, catering to the housewife or to the informal gardening enthusiast wishing to experiment on their own. This type of sandwich course is ideal to bring out their hidden talents and skills in landscaping. Those who contact the Association, desiring to become part of it, are kept on a waiting list until sufficient numbers are collected to take them through the programme. "They must do the course project and furnish an attendance of 80 per cent," Perera warns. "This way, we make sure that the real landscaping enthusiasts join us." Landscaping in Sri Lanka is hampered by not having adequate pre-fabricated materials of required standards for incorporating into landscaping, laments Perera. "One usually designs what one feels is ideal for one's land, letting one's imagination and originality run riot. But, due to the unavailability of material, we are forced to design according to the material available." Yet, for the true landscaper, the terrain is still full of possibilities. The Association's annual competition never fails to bring out something different in the landscapes vying for grades. "The competition is solely to encourage people to do their own gardens and not pit one against the other," emphasises Perera. If you are keen on trying your skills at landscaping, contact the President or the Secretary, Landscapists Association on Tel. 853172 or 074-203692. |
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