History And Development Of Gardening Of Ornamental Plants in India

Categories: India

Derived from ancient Greek, “necrophilia” means “love of the dead,” and “biophillia” means “love of life.” In this case one studies how plants have a huge impact on human psychology providing various health benefits. What role does it provide in human life? What are the colour perceptions of plants that bring positivity in ones surrounding? What causes humans to get attracted to nature? It is observed that plants refresh a person’s mind and introduce an element of nature, even in a workspace, an environment in which each person works mechanical.

Involving nature in home décor can play an important role in creating an environment that promotes physical and mental health of the people. The use of ornamental plants in indoor spaces is growing day by day, being studied for their benefits on improving the quality of life.

For the project I have studied various plants and its impact on a person’s mind. From its texture to various patterns study, analysis has been done on how its colour, variations, patterns, shapes and its colours brings positivity? And how one can explore the healing power of nature? Therefore contact with nature is essential for the human psyche.

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Plants not only provide psychological and spiritual healing, but also provide other health benefits. For example there are few plants having medicinal properties that I have grown has helped in relieving in and curing common cold diseases.

Ornamental plants can be useful in many ways apart from just adding greenery to home space.

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It heals, provides medicinal, spiritual and psychological benefits with abundance of happiness in our surrounding.

The problem is partly due to the visual absence of plants, and may be by adding elements of Nature, e.g., by creating parks, by offering a view through windows, and by potted plants may resolve physical and psychological issues. The project is based on an evaluation of some ten relevant empirical studies with observation and interviews from people and expertise.

History and development of gardening of ornamental plants in India

It is believed that the gardening in India is as old as its culture. Five to six thousand years before Christ, gardening was in vogue. It is understood that Indians were the first to choose gardening as the proper atmosphere for meditation. Gardening has been mentioned in classical literature of India. Asokavana of Ramayana was believed to be established with trees, shrubs, ponds, etc. The use of ‘brindavan’ (landscaped city) and ‘Raja-vanam’ (large park where kings go for hunting) did find very frequent mention in ancient literature. Many trees were considered, ‘sacred’ to Hinduism e.g. Ficus religiosa, Saraca indica, Aegle marmelos and Mimusops elengi. During Bhuddha’s period (about 563 B.C.) gardening received further encouragement. Gardening is considered as a source of peace and solitude. Imitation of nature and improvement over nature were considered as a primary goal in these types of gardening. King Asoka could be considered as the Father of road side avenue planting as he was the first king to order planting of road side avenue trees in India. From 6 to 10th Century gardening received a great deal of encouragement from Indian kings.

The period between the beginning of the 14th Century to the end of 16th Century showed sudden change in the style of gardening due to influence of Mugal emperors who ruled India during these centuries. King Feroze Shah and King Baber brought with them the finest art of gardening from their country and the Mogul style gardens were established in Delhi, Hyderabad, Agra, Kashmir, Lahore and Pinjore. Some of these gardens are still famous to this day, e.g.

  1. Garden at Fatepur Sikri (U.P.) by King Akbar
  2. Moghul garden at Pinjore (Punjab) by King Fadai Khan
  3. Shalimar Bagh at Lahore by Shah Jahan
  4. Taj Mahal garden in Agra.

These Mughal gardens had a distinct style. They were laid out near river, or rivulets, slope of a hill or river bank. The garden may be square or rectangular and paths running parallel to water courses. Running water is the life and soul of the garden and the water channels are paved with tiles of brilliant blue colour to reflect the sky and give the impression of depth. On either side of the central channel or sheet of water were planted with flowering shrubs, trees, scented flowers like rose and jasmine. All the mogul gardens had high wall surrounding them.

Ornamental plants: their usage and purpose

Ornamental plants are basically grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for flowers and for showcase. Besides, ornamental plants play important role in human health and psychology. Human health depends on well-functioning ecosystems. We cannot live without the goods and services that nature provides to purify our air and water, maintain soil fertility, pollinate plants, break down waste, provide food and fuel and keep diseases in check. We live in a very artificial environment where we are dependent on mechanical systems. Alternatives to manufactured or engineered solutions improve occupant well-being, reduce operating costs and also improve environmental quality.

Exposed to plant settings, people have more positive emotions. In a plants caped office, people recover from stress quicker and employees show a significant improvement in their efficiency and concentration. Problem solving skills, ideation and creative performance all improve substantially. In a workplace when plants were added to an interior office space, the employees were more productive and less stressed (systolic blood pressure readings lowered by one to four units). Immediately after completing the task, participants in the room with plants present reported feeling more attentive than people in the room with no plants.

When we shop in a plants caped environment, we visit more frequently, stay longer, rate quality higher and are willing to pay more. Hence, interaction with plants, both outdoor and indoor, can change human attitudes, behaviours and psychological responses.

Importance of green concept and ornamental plants

The importance of gardening is realised by every individuals now in the globe. The gardens serve the purpose of public recreation and education. They serve to refresh the body and the mind. They are virtually a retreat for the public from the harsh strains and stresses of public life. Gardens have become essential to modern civilization.

Home gardening is an integral part of family life and it lends itself for the family to relax and enjoy the nature and beauty of garden. It also helps to develop some useful hobby and the ‘skill’ in flower and dry arrangements. In the recent years, landscape architecture has come to play a vital role in the developments of home, public institutions, public places like bus stand, railway stations, towns and cities.

Landscaping the roadsides on cities and towns is also given much importance in tropical countries like India as they provide shade and beauty to that area. In foreign countries landscaping of homes and public buildings is an important art and there are professional and qualified landscape architects who do the job. This field of gardening is slowly gaining momentum in our country especially in big cities.

The government has also established many parks and a few Botanic gardens in our country. In most of the big cities and towns, Agri-Horticultural societies have been established with the sole objective of promoting horticulture, more particularly gardening. These societies organize annual flower shows and garden competition to have healthy competition among the public to develop gardening.

Scope of ornamental gardening

Gardening which was only an art and science in the earlier days has now emerged as a huge industry. With the importance and need of gardening in improving and conserving the environment being strongly felt now, the concept of landscaping and gardening is growing rapidly. Ornamental gardening and landscaping has expanded as a multi-faceted industry encompassing activities such as propagating and rearing ornamental plants, landscaping, production of growing media, pots and other accessories, etc., generating huge employment opportunities and simultaneously promoting activities that would improve the environment.

Planning of gardening

One can plan to build an eco friendly environment anytime with ornamental plants with the following requirements mentioned in the following:

Land: Analyzing the soil for the suitability of planting is the most important beginning to start a thriving garden. After testing the soil, enrich it with the required nutrients.

Plants: Some basic knowledge about plants like, which are hardy plants, which are for hedging, flowering, shade giving plants etc. The knowledge about the plants suited for dry gardens, clay soils and acid soils will help in planning good gardens. One should know the selection of plant and styles of garden should be in such a way that it should look green and variety show that is going to last for a long time. This can be achieved by using different plants from trees to shrubs, to climbing plants, flowering, annuals and perennials.

Environment: one should choose plants that are suitable to the kind of environment and climate conditions of that particular area. It would be useless and expensive to waste money on plants that will hate the environment.

Styles and Types: There are several planting styles from cottage gardens to prairie gardens, from gardens for commercial purposes to those strictly for personal use. Based on the different types and styles, you can tackle the job of planting them all together in a garden, working out which ones will look best where and how they will complement each other.

Cultural aspects: Knowledge about preparation of land, fertilisation, weeding and disease and pests of plants is necessary to keep the garden productive and for proper maintenance.

Theory of Biophilia Hypothesis

In 1984, E. O. Wilson published his landmark book, "Biophilia," where he introduced his hypothesis that our instinctive affinity for life unites us with all living things. The now-retired biologist, naturalist, and the world’s leading authority on ants, borrowed the term “Biophilia” from Erich Fromm, the German social psychologist, who coined the word to describe “love for humanity and nature.” Wilson conducted research which involved asking people to describe the characteristics of their ideal location. Time and time again, participants mentioned the natural world when answering the question, often referencing locales looking over landscape features, located in close proximity to water, or scattered across vegetation.

When you bring a live plant into your interior, you are literally breathing new life into the room. We sometimes forget that plants are actual living beings. A recent study produced findings that suggest plants may talk and listen to each other just like humans.

There are a high number of indoor ornamental plants that can purify the air in living spaces. These plants acts as micro filters and removes some toxic substances emanated by various building materials, heating system, air conditioning system, but also from different indoor accessories. Numerous studies in this area show that people without plants can suffer various allergies, irritations, hypersensitivity, asthma, drowsiness, and eye problems. Also, it is known that the presence of plants can positively affect mood and health of humans. Based on the literature review, this article presents the most effective ornamental plants with direct action on improving the air from indoors and outdoors. A major problem in many cases concerning health problems was related to high concentrations of specific air pollutants in living space air, such as formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, which increased the attention to determinate the climate conditions and chemical compounds in the air of rooms, offices, classrooms, whenever people complained about bad indoor air quality. This leads the people to continually seek new and creative ways to maximize their productivity and provide the most effective living environment, and a low cost way is to add plants in office, home or classroom design, studies in the fields of interior design and cognitive psychology provides evidence that there are benefits not only physiological but also psychological for people surrounded by nature at work.

Business perspective of ornamental plants

In Lucknow city more number of plants selling shops increasing day by day. "More than fifty nurseries have been added in the market to sell ornamental plants as well as other types of plants setup in the last two years," says Mohan, a plant seller based in Gomtinagar, Lucknow.

A well renowned shop has got a new concept of ornamental plants known as Terrariums, a sealable glass container containing soil and plants, and can be opened for maintenance to access the plants inside, that costs around 600/ INR per small piece and the price may increase as per its size.

Whereas for succulent plants the prices vary with species and its purpose. For example an aloe vera may be priced between 350- 400 with the pot, ajwain plant (Plectranthus amboinicus) that costs around 250- 300 with pot. The price also varies when they are sold off without pots. A small pot costs at 50/ inr, medium at 100/ inr and large may cost between 200- 300/inr.

Virendra who owns a nursery at Hazratganj and Malihabad, says, "the previous government of Akhilesh Yadav was more concerned of environment and plants. the number of saplings planted were five cr. in a day that set a Guiness World Record. The plantation was done at 6166 sites, over 81000 hectare. Few of his government officials got plants from his nursery in bulk during that time." The business of plants selling boomed in last four years due to awareness and also health issues faced by people in the coming years.

The role of ornamental plants with reference to human's health, physiological and psychological in the workspace. The use of ornamental plants in indoor spaces is growing, being studied for their benefits on improving the quality of life. Plants have shown that bring psychological and perceptual benefits such as increased privacy, which act in a restorative manner and affect mood.

Research has shown that employees prefer offices with plants than without plants. Incorporating nature in interior design can play an important role in creating an environment that promotes physical and mental health of the occupants.

In the contemporary global business environment one of the key components for competitive advantage is the human capital assets – the employees and the intellectual value they bring to the table, but an essential element of a company's success is employee productivity. Unfortunately, productivity, health and creativity can be prevented by a high stress level in work environment.

The quality of air inside of living spaces has become a matter of growing concern over the last thirty years. A major problem in many cases concerning health problems was related to high concentrations of specific air pollutants in living space air, such as formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, which increased the attention to determinate the climate conditions and chemical compounds in the air of rooms, offices, classrooms, whenever people complained about bad indoor air quality. This leads the employers to continually seek new and creative ways to maximize their employees’ productivity and provide the most effective work environment, and a low cost way is to add plants in office design, studies in the fields of interior design and cognitive psychology provides evidence that there are benefits not only physiological but also psychological for employees surrounded by nature at work.

Incorporating nature or representations of nature, in the design of interior space can play a key role in creating environments that not only support their intended purpose, but promote the mental and physical wellbeing of their occupants.

Interior plants are a solid return on investment and a must for any corporation concerned with sustainable, or one can say ‘green building’ solutions. Due to a wide range of ornamental plants and well known culture technologies, indoor plants are the most common hobbies. Whether at first only the rich people could afford it, today is accessible to everyone. In any home the family atmosphere is warmer, more enjoyable, and more tranquil with ornamental plants.

Houseplants do more than bring brightness and colour into the design of a room; they also offer real benefits on the body. Ornamental plants like Dracaena, Palms, Ficus or few succulents are not just accessories in various indoor settings as workplaces, public institutions, but also a part of the design, giving liveliness and create a fresh atmosphere.

The benefits of indoor plants used in design are the following: spending longer period of time around flowers can reduce physical and mental fatigue, can improve the mood and can provide a sense of comfort and tranquillity.

How plant's colours have an impact on human psychology?

Flower colours have different effects on people for example: yellow flowers give a feeling of warmth, quiet, intimacy, satisfaction, reds causes irritation and incite; green flowers offers relaxation. In this continuous changing and modernization period man ever took care to combine the utility with the pleasure.

Indoor plants are known for their double function performed: is enhancement the aesthetic value of living spaces and purify the air efficiently, absorbing room toxins that are filtered by leaves. They contribute to accumulation of positive energy, as they develop a good mental strength. The effect of relaxation and calming that vegetation has on humans, release every day’s accumulated stress. Plants fit perfectly into any room in the home or in an office, being more effective in those areas where the air stagnates and accumulates toxins (bedroom, kitchen, dining-room), but in the same time they are having an aesthetic effect. Ornamental plants are recommended not only in living spaces, but also in public spaces and work or study environments.

Ornamental plants used in indoor for improve the quality of life Because the world is an inexorable trend in the direction of urbanization, citizens need nature more than ever. These problems of contemporary society involving urban lifestyle with more hours at work, time constraints and subconscious separation from nature can have negative effects on personal health and happiness, for this reason it’s necessary the identification and evaluation of psychological potential of ornamental plants in indoors.

Urban approach of ornamental plants

In an urbanized approach, the need for a thorough understanding of the relationship between plants and human well-being becomes more and more important;

These problems of contemporary society involving urban lifestyle with more hours at work, time constraints and subconscious separation from nature can have negative effects on personal health, mental, behavioural and social health problems;

The main goal was to determine if ornamental plants have positive effects on a wide range of factors such as productivity, mood states, creativity and stress. More number of people shuold opt for green concept in urbanized buildings to lead a happy, peaceful and healthy lifestyle.

Updated: Feb 17, 2024
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History And Development Of Gardening Of Ornamental Plants in India. (2024, Feb 17). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/history-and-development-of-gardening-of-ornamental-plants-in-india-essay

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