2 AORTA SORRELL IN MOT Ta oe RS Tt

ther

‘irrigated and are cut infre-

Hungarian stones and soil

- AS I travel around the
North Shore I am
both delighted and

disappointed with the.

general level of land-

’ scaping in our area.

~~ Overall, most private gar-
dens, commercial buildings
and public parks have artrac-
tive gardens that are well
maintained. This becomes
the base line but there is”

-always an expectation that

“ we can do better.

J. Sometimes, however, we

. don't know how good

‘things are until we see the

level of landscaping in
another area. This makes us
appreciate what our society -.

has been able to collectiv ely

accomplish. I recently had .
“the wee fortune to do's

’ compare. the eeaeral level of ©
landscaping in that city to
that in our area

Budapest is an anci
that has been established

cathedral and old imperi
al buildings perched’on the
top.of the hills of old Buda,
he city has an/air of. :
grandeur. Afte

miiunist rule and Russian’

now racing to.catch up to:
stern European standards
When it comes 'to land:

y exchange I. have wh
yone when, they
ent; to bea model of 2 gen

ung en ber men
ee hen girls grow to be
in¢ young ladies, not :
becatise thev: were bo

grows

has‘a tong history of con-
structing hard landscaping
such as rock walls, stone
stairs, paved patios and inter-

_ locking walkways. They rely

almost totally on concrete
and stone for all this work

, and do an excellent job.

~ By our standards there
‘seems to be a lack of design
and creativity when it comes
“to.instalting plants. Far fewer:
. plants are used in a’ oo
‘* Hungarian garden than ina -
similar Canadian garden and
larger trees are favoured over
smaller flowering shrubs. In
“the early stages the garden’
looks a Hittlebare and in the
_ later stages the ground is
~ heavily shaded by the. many’

. deciduous trees,.

(A very important part of.
good landscaping is mainte-
nance which, unfortunately,
doesnot seem to be a priori-

y for Hungarian gardeners,
Whether the reasons are cul- ©

“tural, economic or a combi-.”,
: -fiation of both Fam not

Tost lawns are rarely

quently. As large deciduous
trees mature they create a

‘ganopy which blocks the

light from the understorey
plants, forcing them to grow
spindly or slowly die. Grass
gives way to tree seedlings
and weeds. For a month
before [ arrived in Budapest,
temperatures had been.
around 40 degrees with po
rain, conditions which cer-

‘tainly made maintenance

more difficult.

All large homes are sur-
rounded by stone, brick or.
metal fences, some topped.
with barbed wire. Inside the
fence there is often a large
dog for security purposes.
The constant pounding of
paws creates a path around
the perimeter of the proper-
ty. .

Street tree care and main-
tenance seems to have a
higher priority.

- Unfortunately, Budapest is

facing a. crisis not. unlike the
one many of our eastern

North Anterican cities
underwent a few years ago
“when the Dutch elm disease .

wiped: out vast numbers of
boulevard trees. The insect,

suspected to have come from.
“Bulgaria, is attacking the

mature chestnut, London
plane, ash and ’s!ra trees by:
boring iato the cambium
layer ‘and preventing the nor-

mal tlow of nutrients. If the

infestation continues, the

‘beautiful tree lined streets of -
“Budapest will never look the

same.

'20 inches—72 inches wide .;

- Natural, Blue; Green, White.
Burgundy, ‘uniinished :

gh. 5 ft high, 4th

high or?”

landscapes

In spite of the problems
in the landscape industry the
nursery industry seems wo be
thriving. | visited one nurs-
ery thar had 440 hectares
(960 acres) planted in trees
and some shrubs. The facili-
ty had a good selection of
stack and was well organized

and maintained. Part of their

production went to the
domestic market but a good
portion was for expert to the
former East Bioe countries,
Russia, and as far away as
Finland in Western Europe.
Like us, the Hungarian ‘nurs-
eries can take advantage of a

‘tow valued currency.

When I was on a.oursery
tour and asked why there

“were no rhododendrons and

other ericacious plants being

. grown, the young guide

explained that the’ soil, part
ofan old lake bottom, hada
pH of 8.5. This is about
three points higher on the
PH scale than we are accus-
tomed to and far too alkaline
for rhododendrons. At ieast
with our acid soil we can add
lime and raise the pH. © =.
Lowering the pH tor. alkaline
soil is not as easy.

Travelling to other parts
. of the world and seeing the
growing conditions garden-

ers have to contend with cer-
~ tainly makes one appreciate ~~
‘the excellent climate and ©

beautiful gardens we have on”
. the North Shore. We often

forget how fortunate.we are.

., NEWS S photo Mike Wakefield
WHEN it comes. to landscaping practices, , Hungary

has a history of constructing hard landscaping such
as rock walls, Paved patios and interlocking walkways.

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