Developing a new Botanical Garden is no easy task as Dr. Siril Wijesundara, Director General of the Department of National Botanic Gardens, the man behind the Mirijjawila Dry Zone Botanic Gardens, Hambantota well knows. “Some people could not believe that it is possible to have lush greenery in the Dry Zone, let alone a Botanical Garden,” he says, happy to have taken on the challenge.

Greening Mirijjawila: Views of lush foliage and serene landscape

The Mirijjawila Botanical Gardens will be opened on November 14 to coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) being held in Sri Lanka this week.

Recalling Sri Lanka’s history Dr. Wijesundara reminds us that our Great Kings had built beautiful gardens in Anuradhapura and Tissamaharama. Sigiriya had a landscaped garden. “This shows that there were clever landscape artists in ancient Sri Lanka. Now we see only the relics of hard landscape.” he laments. Gardening is in our blood, he feels so, why not take a page from history and create a 21st Century garden in the dry zone.”

The British established Botanical Gardens in Sri Lanka mainly to introduce economic crops. The Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens in Gampaha was established to conduct trials to introduce Rubber to Sri Lanka. Rubber plants were first brought from the Amazon by the British to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England, then sent to Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya and then to the newly established Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens in 1876. Rubber seeds produced at Henarathgoda were introduced to Singapore and from there to Malaysia. 

We have three botanical gardens at present – Peradeniya (established in 1821), Hakgala (established in 1861) and Gampaha (1876). Now, after more than 130 years comes the Mirijjawila Botanical Gardens, the fourth in the country. “What is unique about the Mirijjawila Botanical Gardens is that there has been no foreign collaboration and 100% of the finances are from the Government Treasury, with the expertise from Sri Lankan scientists and professionals,” says Dr. Wijesundara with pride. “It is a home-grown garden!”

“The idea to develop a botanical garden in the Dry Zone had been there for some time. The first step was to find suitable land and then the required water.” Many places were visited and finally in 2004, a site, which belonged to the Mahaweli Authority in Mirijjawila was found to be suitable due to the large extent of land and most important a wila (lake) nearby. The water from the Baragama wila flows direct to the sea without being used for any agricultural purpose. This water could be used for the gardens. It was also an ideal place to preserve the fauna and flora abundant in the region. “Yes, there were peacocks, deer, water monitors, birds and butterflies. At present there are flocks of migrant birds in the area,” said Dr. Wijesundara.

But after the 2004 tusnami, plans were shelved. In 2005 the Botanical Gardens Division was separated from the Department of Agriculture to form a new Department, namely the Department of National Botanical Gardens. Secretary to the new Ministry of Promotion of Botanical and Zoological Gardens S. Liyanagama, visited Hambantota with Dr. Wijesundara to scout for a suitable site, along with the Government Agent, Hambantota.

Inspecting the site again, they found barriers due to the newly built tsunami houses and on the southern side, land being reserved for an Oil Refinery.  However, the Department was able to acquire the present site which is 300 acres in extent from the Mahaweli Authority in 2006. Planting began in 2008. The footpaths and terrain of the land were preserved as much as possible without disturbing the natural landscape. A section was developed for floriculture as a sustainable community development project.

Dr. Wijesundara says he had the full freedom to plan and design this project and is grateful to the ministers and secretaries who supported him. It involved a joint effort with several state institutions -the National Water Supply and Drainage Board helped in the development of a water tower with a powerful pump house and a capacity of 225 cubic metres, which is the largest water scheme constructed by the Board. The daily capacity of 1000 cubic metres is obtained from the nearby Baragama wila. The State Engineering Corporation, the Road Development Authority, the Buildings Department and the Central Electricity Board also provided their expertise.

Crediting his staff for the landscaping, planning , Dr. Wijesundara says his work was made easy by the contribution made by the site Officer-in- charge Sumith Ekanayake, floriculturist, Madhuri Peiris while the landscape supervisory work was done by A.B. Meddegoda, Sanath Udaya Kumara, Dinesh Fernando, Asela Leelarathna, Jayawardena, and Dulan.

With the country’s rich agro-biodiversity experiencing many threats due to unplanned land use, pollution, fragmentation and alteration of farming systems, Dr. Wijesundera’s view is that the benefits of conserving the dry zone habitat and its distinctive vegetation are many. This garden can play a role in ex-situ conservation of some of the more important components of agro-biodiversity found in the dry zone, he believes. 

Botanical Gardens are not just “flower gardens” or “malwattas”. They are scientific institutions holding a diverse documented plant collection (aesthetically arranged), maintained by scientists for conservation, research and education and of course display.

“We have a rich biodiversity (probably the highest biodiversity per unit area in this part of the world) and we need to conserve plants ex-situ (outside the native habitat), as the natural habitats are endangered. As our country is very diverse floristically, we need more gardens to conserve plants in different climatic zones. For example we cannot conserve a plant from Hambantota in a garden in Nuwara Eliya and vice versa. “Mirijjawila was selected as it is the driest area in the country with 650 mm. or less annual rainfall. Mannar gets 100 mm. more than that. Mirijjawila will conserve dry and arid zone plants. All our existing botanical gardens are in the Wet Zone.” 

With education and training programmes, the new gardens could be a resource for educational institutions at all levels.
A special area is preserved for indigenous herbs. Floriculture is also highlighted and local residents have already been trained and are encouraged to develop their home gardens for export of cut flowers and foliage as a self-employment project.
A wooded area is planned with trees such as Burutha, Domba, Ehela, Gammalu, Halmilla, Helamba, Ingini, Kaluwara, Kohomba, Kon, Kotamba, Kumbuk Madadita and many more.

Popular cut flowers such as anthuriums, gerberas and orchids are already thriving at Mirijjawela. “I never thought I would live to see the Vandas and Cattleyas bloom in such a riot of colour,” Dr. Wijesundara says 

He visualises the ‘patch of green’ like Central Park in New York in a few years time with houses surrounding it! An ‘escape’ from the concrete jungle! An environment for recreation and relaxation.

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Florence “Flip” Manne
Sun Valley

Answer: Florence, you are right — getting rid of grass is a great goal. Traditional lawns take so many resources — water, time, money, chemicals — while contributing so little to the aesthetic of a property.

Before we get into the mystery of lippia’s disappearance, let’s consider a few inexpensive, drought-resistant, readily available lawn alternatives that may suit your design needs. I’m suggesting three of varying heights, all with the qualities you attributed to lippia:

Yarrow

If you prefer a lawn-like look, try Achillea millefolium, commonly known as yarrow, for a year-round deep green. It’s one of the plants my firm uses for its IdealMow alternatives — lawns or meadows consisting of California natives and other plants suited to thrive in L.A. County with little maintenance, scant water and no synthetic chemicals. For the look of a traditional lawn, mow yarrow to a height of 3 inches once a month. A wildly attractive alternative: Don’t mow it, and allow yarrow to develop beautiful stalks of white flowers.

Hummingbird sage

For a rustic design, it’s hard to beat the charms of Salvia spathacea, better known as hummingbird sage. Its large, low, soft leaves will spread on their own, growing 12 to 18 inches high with multi-flower stalks appearing sporadically throughout all seasons. It will happily maintain a mild, shady slope and will thrive beneath fussy oaks with little or no water. As you may have guessed, hummingbird sage also attracts wildlife.

Breath of Heaven

The striking gold foliage of a Coleonema pulchellum cultivar called Sunset Gold grows 2½ feet high and can make a visual effect in groupings. For a contemporary look, place alternating masses of contrasting blue-colored foliage such as Festuca idahoensis adjacent to Sunset Gold. For drama, you could place architectural plants such as Agave attenuata to appear as if they are erupting from a sea of gold. This Coleonema is often sold under the name Breath of Heaven or Golden Breath of Heaven.

Each of these alternatives can be found at nurseries, and yarrow can be started economically from seed. They require no fertilizers to stay in optimal condition, and they demand about 70% less water than a traditional lawn. They have one other benefit that distinguishes them from lippia: They are not invasive.

Now we get to the mysterious disappearance of lippia (Phyla canescens). The plant spreads aggressively, so aggressively that it may invade not only the adjacent garden but also our region’s wild spaces. Much of what we’ve come to see as our inevitable cycle of fires and floods can be attributed to the proliferation of invasive species inadvertently introduced to our wild lands through our home gardens.

Although some of the worst offenders, including fountain grass, pride of Madeira, broom and pampas grass, are still sold in nurseries, standards are evolving. Lippia’s disappearance is part of this evolution.

Our expert

Our answer this week comes from Cassy Aoyagi, co-founder and president of FormLA Landscaping, www.formlainc.com. She is an accredited designer in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, a licensed contractor and board president of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants.

Florence “Flip” Manne
Sun Valley

Answer: Florence, you are right — getting rid of grass is a great goal. Traditional lawns take so many resources — water, time, money, chemicals — while contributing so little to the aesthetic of a property.

Before we get into the mystery of lippia’s disappearance, let’s consider a few inexpensive, drought-resistant, readily available lawn alternatives that may suit your design needs. I’m suggesting three of varying heights, all with the qualities you attributed to lippia:

Yarrow

If you prefer a lawn-like look, try Achillea millefolium, commonly known as yarrow, for a year-round deep green. It’s one of the plants my firm uses for its IdealMow alternatives — lawns or meadows consisting of California natives and other plants suited to thrive in L.A. County with little maintenance, scant water and no synthetic chemicals. For the look of a traditional lawn, mow yarrow to a height of 3 inches once a month. A wildly attractive alternative: Don’t mow it, and allow yarrow to develop beautiful stalks of white flowers.

Hummingbird sage

For a rustic design, it’s hard to beat the charms of Salvia spathacea, better known as hummingbird sage. Its large, low, soft leaves will spread on their own, growing 12 to 18 inches high with multi-flower stalks appearing sporadically throughout all seasons. It will happily maintain a mild, shady slope and will thrive beneath fussy oaks with little or no water. As you may have guessed, hummingbird sage also attracts wildlife.

Breath of Heaven

The striking gold foliage of a Coleonema pulchellum cultivar called Sunset Gold grows 2½ feet high and can make a visual effect in groupings. For a contemporary look, place alternating masses of contrasting blue-colored foliage such as Festuca idahoensis adjacent to Sunset Gold. For drama, you could place architectural plants such as Agave attenuata to appear as if they are erupting from a sea of gold. This Coleonema is often sold under the name Breath of Heaven or Golden Breath of Heaven.

Each of these alternatives can be found at nurseries, and yarrow can be started economically from seed. They require no fertilizers to stay in optimal condition, and they demand about 70% less water than a traditional lawn. They have one other benefit that distinguishes them from lippia: They are not invasive.

Now we get to the mysterious disappearance of lippia (Phyla canescens). The plant spreads aggressively, so aggressively that it may invade not only the adjacent garden but also our region’s wild spaces. Much of what we’ve come to see as our inevitable cycle of fires and floods can be attributed to the proliferation of invasive species inadvertently introduced to our wild lands through our home gardens.

Although some of the worst offenders, including fountain grass, pride of Madeira, broom and pampas grass, are still sold in nurseries, standards are evolving. Lippia’s disappearance is part of this evolution.

Our expert

Our answer this week comes from Cassy Aoyagi, co-founder and president of FormLA Landscaping, www.formlainc.com. She is an accredited designer in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, a licensed contractor and board president of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants.

Posted: Saturday, November 9, 2013 8:32 am

Home Garden Briefs

By Staff Reports

TulsaWorld.com

|
0 comments

Tulsa Home Family Expo begins Friday

Whether you are looking for tips on decorating, remodeling or landscaping your home, the 2013 Tulsa Home Family Expo is the place to go.

The event is Nov. 15-17 at the Exchange Center located on the Tulsa Fairgrounds, 4145 E. 21st St.

The expo features exhibitors offering the latest new products and services for your home, inside and out. The hours are noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 16, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 17. 

Winter gardening tasks topic of Brown Bag Lecture 

A successful landscape in the spring often depends on how well the landscape was maintained in the fall and winter.

The Brown Bag Lecture “Winter Gardening Tips” will be presented at noon at the Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria Ave. 

Mark Linholm, supervisor of the Woodward Park Gardeners, will present a program on winter gardening tasks. Just because we’re not mowing and planting in the winter doesn’t mean we should ignore our landscape and gardens.

Our winters are often dry, requiring supplemental watering to keep our shrubs and trees healthy. Linholm will cover the most common tasks that we need to perform.

This lecture is free to the public. Bring your lunch for the educational hour. For more information, call 918-746-5125 or visit our website at tulsagardencenter.com.

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Saturday, November 9, 2013 8:32 am.

Posted: Saturday, November 9, 2013 8:32 am

Home Garden Briefs

By Staff Reports

TulsaWorld.com

|
0 comments

Tulsa Home Family Expo begins Friday

Whether you are looking for tips on decorating, remodeling or landscaping your home, the 2013 Tulsa Home Family Expo is the place to go.

The event is Nov. 15-17 at the Exchange Center located on the Tulsa Fairgrounds, 4145 E. 21st St.

The expo features exhibitors offering the latest new products and services for your home, inside and out. The hours are noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 16, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 17. 

Winter gardening tasks topic of Brown Bag Lecture 

A successful landscape in the spring often depends on how well the landscape was maintained in the fall and winter.

The Brown Bag Lecture “Winter Gardening Tips” will be presented at noon at the Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria Ave. 

Mark Linholm, supervisor of the Woodward Park Gardeners, will present a program on winter gardening tasks. Just because we’re not mowing and planting in the winter doesn’t mean we should ignore our landscape and gardens.

Our winters are often dry, requiring supplemental watering to keep our shrubs and trees healthy. Linholm will cover the most common tasks that we need to perform.

This lecture is free to the public. Bring your lunch for the educational hour. For more information, call 918-746-5125 or visit our website at tulsagardencenter.com.

• 
  Discuss
  
• Print
  
  
  

Posted in
Homeandgarden,
Scene

on

Saturday, November 9, 2013 8:32 am.