THEThe climate of our planet is changing. And also Our way of gardening must take this into account. For the good of the planet and for our pleasure of living in contact with plants and nature. The fourth edition of “Open horns. Green Festival in the city“, Which will be held to Pavia from 19 to 21 Septemberthis year he chose to focus on the theme ofAvant Garden, or how to cultivate the garden of the future.
The event, curated by Carlo Gariboldi who is also the creator together with Valentina De Tomasi, wants to be a place for meeting and exchange of ideas. “The adaptive gardens are righteous from an ethical and ecological point of view and offer many practical advantages. For example, they require less maintenance, “says Gariboldi.
This vision can be also extended to balconies and urban terraces, which can become more inclusive for wild nature and the low impact on the environment.
Just adopt a series of virtuous behavior, which open horns suggests in its “manifesto for climatic and resilient gardening”, in 50 concrete tips. We talked about it with Gaetano Zoccali, head of the strategy and content of open horns and a journalist specialized in the subject of green. “Today we get a lot of talk of nature, but in reality we are increasingly disconnected,” comments Zoccali. “Everything is filtered through the mobile phone. At the same time, The phobias proliferate: we are afraid of bees, insects, of the trees that fall. We must recover the connection with nature, which makes us feel good». With his help, we selected a dozen Avant Gardening pills, easy to implement also in the city.
Horti open: mushrooms, curls and lots of green
“Open horns. Green Festival in the city“, The Green event hosted in the Horti Park of the Almo Collegio Borromeo di Pavia (19-21 September)is not just a market exhibition of plants. It also proposes a schedule with 20 conferences of great experts in the context of plants and nature: from the vegetable neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso to the Climatologist Luca Mercalli, from the botanist of the Royal Botanic Gardens by Kew Carlos Magdalena to the veterinarian friend of the curls Massimo Vacchetta, and many others in the sector. In addition to a rich program of workshops for children. We will also talk about mushrooms, at the Botanical Garden of Pavia, which reopened after important jobs last June. And there will be synergies in the artistic field. “The objective of open Horti is to create knowledge and awareness, to stimulate consciousness,” said Gaetano Zoccali. For info: hortiaperti.com
Going to work or do some commission, we plan to cross a park for at least twenty minutes. This small appointment with nature will give us health benefits. “Many studies prove that being in the middle of the green lowers the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, and has a positive impact on cardiovascular diseases,” he says clogs. You don’t need to go far. “Also cure the plants on the balcony or stay at the window to listen to the song of the birds, they are anti -stress remedies.” Those who have a dog is benefited: his presence obliges the owner to take him out and walk in urban parks. However, we avoid the hottest hours: with the extreme heat the asphalt can reach 50 degrees, using our friend’s legs ».
Corolle open for pollinators
We focus on biophilic plants that attract insects, butterflies and birds. Those with simple corollas (with a single round of petals) or open semidoppies allow pollinators to easily get to nectar. “It is not a question of making a renunciation in favor of insects: nature offers us a wide choice of beautiful plants for us too,” punctualizes clogs. «There are roses such as Sanguinea or Rugosa (at the top right). Or from simple flower, autumn aster. There are also small shrubs, perfect on the balcony. Like the Caryopteris with blue flowers, the “Eternal Fragrance” Daphne x transatlantic which blooms four times a year. Lanana Camara, which once created huge bushes, is now available in compact and colorful varieties that butterflies like. Among the climbers, the phantan, very resilient.
Succulent on the balcony
We put at least 50 percent of succulent among the balcony plants. The advantage? They don’t need to be watering every day and many also resist frost. Which one to choose? «Delosperma, carpobrotus and Drosanthemum or beard of Jupiter, falling and with many flowers. But also Opuntia Humifusa, a small fig of India, and various agaves. Sempervivum Arachnoideum and Sempervivum Tectorum, which form small rosettes, and the sedums. In areas with mild winters, Euphorbia Milii, which has new varieties with large and flashy flowers ».
We focus on resilient plants
They must resist drought, but now also to abundant rains. In this category of resilient plants, the Syriac Ibisco, the Agocasto, the Oleander, the Agapanti, the Mirto are included. “I also suggest the Mahonia EurybraCteata “Soft Caress”, which gives sauces of yellow flowers »continues clogs. «Even the ligustro, the ornamental sambuchi, or the Magnolia Grandiflora “Little Gem”, cultivable in pot. And then, the Feijoaor ECA SELLOWIANA (in the photo), with flowers reminiscent of those of the caper ».
Small fruits for birds
In addition to predicting wooden houses such as Nido and a bowl of water, we can show us hospitable with avifauna also by offering berry plants, beautiful to look at and useful for the pennies of the city. Some examples? “Callicarpa with purple berries, thorny Olivello, cotoneaster,” red jewel “malus with small red fruits”.
Large vases against the heat
To resist the heat, avoiding that the earth overheats, better to choose large vases. The water evaporates slowerly, so you can water less often. “It is important that they are perforated and that there is always the sauce, which must spoil by about 1 cm from the perimeter of the pot” underlines Zoccali. “We absolutely avoid the black vases, in which the earth warms too much”.
We focus on young plants
With increasingly higher temperatures in northern Italy, the rule of Mediterranean gardeners can be adopted: transplanting at the beginning of autumn, when the earth is warm. “The plants will thus have time to develop the roots without the stress of the excessive summer heat, at least until December, and in the spring they will be ready to return to grow and face the heat with a good radical apparatus” explains Zoccali. It works for all plants, except subtropicals such as Passiflora (below), to be placed in the spring. “Paying on young plants increases resilience, because they are more adaptable.”
More shadow on the terrace
In times of climatic crisis, having a large shaded area on the balcony is important. Many plants do not resist a direct short sun and in any case a small barrier of saplings and shrubs protects the interior of the house from heat. «You can put citrus fruits that also hold in the cold, such as the Kumquat (below) or yellow grapefruit »specifies clogs. Also saplings and shrubs of the genre can also work Amelanchier And the twisted core, also cultivable in pots.
Against weeds, better the seedlings
Instead of using the usual chopped cortex to prevent herbacce from growing around our plant, we plant covers, which remain small in size and maintain the humidity of the earth. “For example, Erigeron Karviskianus (in the photo), Polygonum Capitatum And Oxalis Floribunda They are perfect to put under the roses. If the plant must be kept in the shade, better Ajuga Reptons “says Zoccali.
Word of order: biodiversity
It is the golden rule in the garden, but also on the balcony. Biodiversity is good not only for nature, but it is a protection against the spread of parasites and diseases of plants linked to the humid heat. “The monoculture is more vulnerable and risks turning into a restaurant for popillia Japonica, if the plant likes this infesting beetle”. We avoid the risk with a mix of plants that have the same needs and can coexist in the same pot.
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