Garden Space Research Articles

Rippling Intimacies: The Queer Waters of Lady Audley’s Secret

Abstract This article relies on ecocriticism to explore Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s most popular novel, Lady Audley’s Secret, to understand the queer ecological potential even within a Victorian novel that relies on key conventional tropes. It analyzes moments when the three main characters, Lady Helen Audley, Robert Audley, and George Talboys, engage in queer ecological intimacies before the advent of sexological studies. Looking first at how Lady Audley interacts with the garden spaces surrounding her estate, the article offers a new theoretical framework, domestic queer ecology, to explore the asphyxiation the domestic space pushes onto the titular protagonist, and how the garden space offers her an escape. It then moves on to critically assess sites of water as spaces that promote queer intimacy between the two male protagonists. Ultimately, Braddon’s novel suggests a misogynistic ecological queerness that favors eco-queer men over eco-queer women.

Authentic caring in online professional development for early childhood teachers in South Africa

Background: The professional development (PD) of early childhood teachers is of strategic importance in higher education and the profession given the need to improve responsiveness and progress towards millennium goals.Aim: The purpose was to analyse classroom practices and teachers’ experiences of PD programmes, through the theoretical lens of the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers to construct an authentic data-based model, which can be used to understand PD challenges and guide decisions about the improvement of education quality.Setting: The study was conducted in Gauteng with teachers from a selection of early childhood centres.Methods: A phenomenological inquiry explored the settings and practices of 23 selected teachers in Gauteng province. Interview and observation data were analysed for content categories and grounded theory articulations.Results: The main finding is that teachers facing everyday educational challenges benefit from school-based support and available media but need additional learning to advance their professional aspirations. The grounded theory analyses of the data highlighted that early childhood practices and articulated development needs are best explained as authentic caring. This was conceptualised metaphorically as garden spaces where careful tending, deliberate planning and various elements of nurturing knowledge may harmoniously be blended. The model extends prevailing theories of PD and the flipped ICT Competency Framework for Teachers.Conclusion: The model of authentic caring is a grounded theory articulation based upon beliefs of practising EC teachers.Contribution: The article provides a comprehensive online teacher professional development framework for EC teachers, emphasising authenticity, care and alignment with global educational standards.

Transformations in urban gardens: Neoliberal influences and land use conflicts in Shiraz's Qasr al-Dasht Gardens

The extensive transformation of urban gardens is a significant element in the process of planetary urbanisation. This is driven by the constraints of a neoliberal political economy aimed at maximising the capitalistic utilisation of urban spaces. This study examines the conversion of urban gardens to paved or hard surface areas, a phenomenon described as "de-gardening". The study is conducted through a qualitative methodology that involves engagement with key stakeholders around Qasr al-Dasht Gardens in the city of Shiraz, Iran. The investigation traces the origins of these transformations to the 1960s, noting an acceleration in recent decades. The analysis identifies the pervasive influence of neoliberal urban planning and management discourse as a critical factor. This discourse redefines the value of garden spaces by escalating land costs and altering economic valuations by various social actors. Consequently, diverse social groups, ranging from traditional gardeners to modern urban developers, engage differently with these spaces. For traditional farmers, gardens are essential for livelihood, whereas for advocates of neoliberalism, these areas represent potential for investment, luxurious havens for peaceful and comfortable living, and capital accumulation. These conflicting views have led to extensive land use changes in Qasr al-Dasht Gardens. The study concludes by proposing policy measures and institutional frameworks aimed at preserving and enhancing urban gardens. Recommendations include the establishment of an independent municipal body dedicated to the gardens, forming non-governmental organisations and oversight groups, and reevaluating the "Organisation and Conservation Plan of the Qasr al-Dasht Gardens of Shiraz".

Pedagogy, place, and food education in Australian schools: lessons from Tropical North Queensland

ABSTRACT Children today have limited food origin awareness. The further we move away from food production practices, the less exposure children have to them, and the more food vulnerable we become. This is especially true for children growing up in urban areas where there is limited space for food gardens. Schools have developed targeted pedagogical approaches to raise food origin awareness, and this paper examines one such attempt in Cairns, Australia. We compare how students aged 5-6 responded to an activity where they drew their immediate response to the word ‘food'. Comparisons were then made between those learning under explicit instruction and those using a more experiential, place-based pedagogical approach. The findings suggest students in the experiential class who regularly use the garden as a learning space drew significantly higher levels of fresh, place-appropriate fruits and vegetables (U = 61.5, P = 0.002). We discuss the ramifications of exposure to a globalised food system and how experiences at school can nurture children's understanding of food. We interpret the outcomes of the different pedagogical approaches and unravel the importance of ‘place' in a child's food experience. The evidence presented suggests that children’s food knowledge could improve if food education is bolstered with experiential and place-responsive pedagogies.

Home Composting and Factors for Potential Adoption: Knowledge and Persuasion

The increase in municipal solid waste has been considered a worldwide issue and the organic fraction represents the largest share of total solid waste. Home composting is an efficient way to convert organic waste into fertilizer, but so far this technique has not been widely adopted by society. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the factors of knowledge and persuasion that boost the adoption of home composting through Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory. A survey was conducted with respondents from the city of La Paz B.C.S. Frequency analysis, crosstabulations, and ordinal logistic regression was performed for data analysis. Most of the respondents were found to have awareness and knowledge of composting. Among the factors promoting adoption were gender, garden space, time investment, willingness to teach others, and perception as a simple activity.

Chan, Garden, and Poetry: The Tidal Sounds in the Changshou Monastery Garden of Canton in the Qing Dynasty

The Caodong School (曹洞宗) advocates the integration of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism (三教會通) and interprets Chan through the I Ching (以易釋禪). During the transition from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty, there was extensive interaction and mobility between the Ming loyalists (遺民) and Chan monks. This accelerated the secularization of monks and promoted the construction of temple gardens, which were expressed and preserved through literary Chan poetry. This study explores the relationship between Buddhist concepts and garden construction through a specific case, the Changshou Monastery Garden (長壽寺花園) in Canton (now Guangzhou) during the Qing Dynasty. This study examines how the Chan master Shilian Dashan 石濂大汕 (1633–1705), who journeyed to Dang Trong (Cochinchina 廣南) to spread Buddhist teachings, shaped the design and layout of the temple garden, reflecting Buddhist ideals and Caodong principles. This study analyzes the changes in landscape at the Changshou Monastery Garden, according to “the sound of tides” (潮音) from a Buddhist perspective. It also reveals how Dashan, as both a monk and a literati, blended Chan and Chinese philosophy in making the garden. The cultural resonance of tides within religious and literati traditions furnishes novel insights and prospects for the development of garden spaces.

No-Restraint Committed General Hospital Psychiatric Units (SPDCs) in Italy-A Descriptive Organizational Study.

This study describes and explores the application of no-restraint policies in General Hospital Psychiatric Units (GHPUs) in Italy, a country pioneering in deinstitutionalization and psychiatric reform. The research aims to assess the organizational characteristics and effectiveness of no-restraint practices, contributing to the global discourse on humane psychiatric care. Following a purposive sampling approach, a nationwide descriptive study was conducted involving a detailed online survey distributed to 24 GHPUs actively engaged in or aspiring toward no-restraint practices. The survey, comprising 60 items across seven sections, gathered comprehensive data on the structural, organizational, and operational dimensions of the units, along with the prevalence and management of restraint episodes. Results reveal a significant commitment to no-restraint policies, with 14 GHPUs reporting zero restraint incidents in 2022. Despite variations in infrastructure and staffing, a common thread was the implementation of systematic procedures and risk management training aimed at reducing coercive practices. The study identified a correlation between the use of exclusive garden spaces and an increased incidence of restraints, suggesting nuanced factors influencing restraint practices. The findings underscore the viability and ethical alignment of no-restraint practices within psychiatric care, highlighting the crucial role of organizational protocols and training. This research adds empirical weight to the advocacy for restraint-free environments in mental health settings, signaling a paradigm shift toward more humane and rights-respecting psychiatric care.

Prospect and Refuge in Villette’s Forbidden Garden

During the Victorian period, the expansion of the domestic sphere into the garden afforded women greater agency within their own physical and psychological landscapes. The Pensionnat in Charlotte Brontë’s Villette (1853) provides Lucy Snowe, the protagonist, with access to a forbidden avenue within the school garden, initially providing her with shelter and solitude. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this article reads the novel through the lens of the ‘prospect–refuge’ theory developed by the aesthetic geographer Jay Appleton, which considers people’s emotional and psychological responses to their environment. It explores the symbolic uses of the garden space to convey the emotional landscape of characters as well as examining how Brontë positions her protagonist in the garden to allow Lucy freedoms not easily afforded within formal indoor settings.

Sylvia Townsend Warner and the Revolutionary Garden Georgic

This article appraises the role of the country garden in the interwar development of Sylvia Townsend Warner's writing and politics. Reading Warner's interrogation of genre and form as an example of the Georgic, it examines her published texts alongside personal papers and garden spaces to demonstrate how she worked to interrogate, and highlight, the social costs of misrepresentative literary landscapes. As she considered what it meant to inhabit a rural country cottage, and then a small country house, as a poet with keenly felt social responsibilities, her texts and gardens provided a way to work through her landscape anxieties. The cultivation of landscape on and off the page informed her development of a radical way of writing about landscape, and the gradual development of a radical politics.

К НАУЧНЫМ ОСНОВАМ СОЗДАНИЯ ЦИТРУСОВЫХ «ДЕРЕВЬЕВ САДОВ»

The main breeding techniques used in the 50s of the 19th century by breeder F.M. Zorin – creator of the Friendship Tree, candidate of agricultural sciences (1944), are considered. Fyodor Mikhailovich developed valuable varieties of mandarin oranges, grapefruits, lemons, plums, figs, and hazelnuts. Author of more than 40 scientific papers. He was awarded the State Prize for the creation of new varieties of fruit plants. This article shows theoretical research and practically used methods for breeding new varieties of citrus fruits. The basis of his research was vegetative hybridization (from Greek “hybris” – inbreeding) – the production of hybrids by grafting. Zorin F.M. paid a special role in the breeding work to “tree gardens”, which were of both scientific and industrial importance. Fruits from such a tree could change shape, size, color and ripening time. At the same time, he paid attention not only to the selection of the scion, but also the rootstock. As a result, such a tree had many trunks, and the crown consisted of numerous varieties and species of three genera – Citrus, Fortunella, Poncirus of the Rutaceae family. Almost the entire Pomeranian subfamily (Aurantioideae) grafts onto each other and is highly compatible. It is important to take into account varietal characteristics: timing of flowering and ripening, as well as their biology. The main advantages of citrus «tree-gardens» are the saving of garden space, the aesthetic appearance of the trees and originality, as well as the ability to obtain more varieties per unit area.

Spatial configuration analysis of a traditional garden in Yangzhou city: a comparative case study of three typical gardens

ABSTRACT This study examines the spatial layout characteristics of three existing traditional gardens from the 18th–19th century with featured historical backgrounds and landscape designs in Yangzhou City: Heyuan Garden (1862), Geyuan Garden (1818), and West Garden of the Daming Temple (1751). Two space syntax models, i.e. visibility graph analysis and segment angular analysis, were used to clarify the characteristics of the garden spaces. A quantitative analysis was conducted using statistical programs to reveal similarities and differences in invisible space-structure relationships among the three gardens. These gardens exhibited comparable centralities in terms of their accessibility distribution characteristics. The “mean depth” and “intelligibility” values were allocated such that visitors could access the global spaces effortlessly owing to the arrangement of these gardens. Scrutinising the “connectivity” parameter revealed that the intuitive perceptions of visitors were more diverse at the knee and eye levels because of the spatial structure of the gardens. This study can help understand the effect of cultural practices and societal norms on the design of traditional gardens. The findings of this study can aid in the conservation of cultural heritage and help restore the gardens in Yangzhou City from the perspective of analysing invisible space structures.

Improving Elementary Pre-Service Teachers’ Science Teaching Self-Efficacy through Garden-Based Technology Integration

School gardens and outdoor learning spaces are increasingly available to support authentic, student-centered exploration in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Integrating technology tools into school garden spaces in alignment with modern agricultural practices can support inquiry-based learning in which students engage in science practices such as collecting and analyzing data. However, educators currently lack the necessary knowledge, skills, and instructional support to enact technology-rich, garden-based STEM learning experiences. The Garden TOOLS program was designed to support teachers in leveraging technology to support inquiry-based teaching (IBT) in outdoor learning spaces. In this paper, we examine the impact of combining Garden TOOLS professional development workshops with lesson plan implementation in a practicum setting on elementary pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) science teaching self-efficacy. We administered the STEBI-B pre- and post-intervention and assessed change in the STEBI-B subscales, personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE), and science teaching outcome expectancy (STOE). Participants included thirty-nine elementary PSTs enrolled in a 300-level science methods course in the rural Midwest. Garden TOOLS professional development workshop participants saw a statistically significant increase from pre- to post-workshop in their PSTE. Participants who also implemented the Garden TOOLS lesson showed both an increase in PSTE and STOE.

Restoration and integration of the Huang Family Garden within the contemporary urban fabric of Shanghai

<abstract> <p>In the backdrop of Shanghai's century-long urbanization and modernization, traditional private gardens have undergone a profound transformation influenced by Western lifestyles, concepts, and garden characteristics. This transformation, marked by an East-meets-West fusion, deviates from the conventions of traditional gardens. In this study, we delved into the historical evolution of these private gardens into urban parks against the canvas of evolving urban life and point out that the construction of the city-park interaction mechanism hinges on how to consolidate transformation motives and empower urban space. Focusing on the case study of the Huang Family Garden owned by the Qing Gang tycoon Gold Wing and employing a spatial culture research perspective, we illuminated how the metamorphosis of a private garden into an urban park catalyzed the development of an urban area and scrutinized the spatial transformation of the Huang Family Garden amid Shanghai's urban modernization. Furthermore, our results revealed the inherent public nature of the Huang Family Garden's evolving garden space, along with the continuous manifestation and strengthening of this characteristic through successive urban renovations. The results emphasized the role of gardens in urban resilience and sustainability, highlighting the contribution of garden spaces as public domains. The features exhibited during the transformation of private gardens into urban parks create conditions for enhancing urban resilience, while providing insights into the significance of understanding garden traits in the evolution of cities.</p> </abstract>

AI-Driven Decision Support System for Green and Sustainable Urban Planning in Smart Cities

Abstract This study focuses on innovative practices in sustainable urban planning, demonstrating significant advancements in key areas such as solar panel efficiency, rainwater harvesting capacity, community garden space, and bike-sharing station accessibility through in-depth experimentation and analysis. The research results show that the energy conversion rate of solar panels reached 25%, surpassing the market standard of 24%, which is crucial for enhancing self-sufficiency in energy in urban areas. The rainwater harvesting system performed well, achieving a capacity of 600 liters per square meter, slightly below the market rate of 650 liters, but still demonstrating significant potential in dense urban environments. Additionally, our project provided 3 square meters of community garden space per resident, exceeding the market average, effectively promoting urban greening and improving residents’ quality of life. In terms of transportation, our experimental model featured 1.5 bike-sharing stations per 1000 residents, better than the market data of 1.2 stations, contributing to the development of sustainable urban transportation. These outcomes not only showcase the potential of sustainable urban planning but also provide practical references and guidance for future urban development.

Altın Sarısı ve Mavi Geҫişi - Tarihi Bir Yerde Çağdaş Bir Gerçekleşme

The paper aims to demonstrate the creative process of the realization of a fountain in the courtyard of the Archbishop’s Castle in Kalocsa, Hungary. Lead architect of the diocese, Márta Vörös designed a complex artwork symbolizing the Trinity. The rounded shape concrete body of the fountain is seven metres in diameter and positioned in the middle of the inner garden space. In the centre of the composition, an orb and a dove figure are encompassed by a thin layer of water in a calyx-form. The surface of the fountain will be covered with Murano glass mosaic executed by the author. The dark colours from deep tones through the transition of blueish and greenish tints turn to golden shades reflecting to the Earth and Sky. The mosaic is made by direct technique in studio following a division system composed by 36 slices with 11 sections of each. The prepared sections are edited to fit to the curved design of the fountain, and the setting style desires to delicately amplify the symbolic content. From above the work will look like the eye of God as a universal protective symbol. This contemporary artwork exemplifies the fusion of traditional visual and theoretical values.

Assessing five decades of garden bee studies

Urban garden spaces are potentially important habitats for bee conservation. Gardens can host diverse flora, which provide floral resources across foraging seasons for bee species. Recent reviews have focused on the impacts of cityscapes on urban bee assemblages in different green spaces. Urban gardens are distinct from other urban green spaces, and bee communities in urban spaces have been an increasing topic of study over the past few decades. We reviewed 28 urban garden bee studies spanning five decades and 14 countries to compile an original metadataset of bee species' functional traits to understand the conservation value of gardens, identify gaps in bee sampling efforts, and summarize the calls to action included by their authors. Studies of urban garden bees have documented between 674 (conservative count, excluding morphospecies) and 830 (liberal count, including morphospecies) bee species. Urban garden bee communities were taxonomically and functionally diverse, although bee species that were non-eusocial, ground-nesting, generalist foragers, and native were most common in garden habitats. The proportion of parasitic bee species and specialist foragers found in urban gardens was comparable to proportions for global bee taxa. This suggests that gardens contain the hosts and forage needed to support bees with specialized life history requirements, and thus represent high quality habitat for a subset of bee communities. Garden bee research was strongly biased toward the northern hemisphere, which signifies a large gap in our understanding of garden bee communities in other regions. The variety of, and non-standard sampling methods in garden bee research makes it difficult to directly compare results between studies. In addition, both intentional low taxonomic resolution and a lack of collaboration with taxonomists constrains our understanding of bee diversity. Our analyses highlight both successes of past urban garden bee studies, and areas of opportunity for future research as we move into a sixth decade of garden bee research.

Edible Garden Cities: Rethinking Boundaries and Integrating Hedges into Scalable Urban Food Systems

Connecting to and extending recent debates around more-than-human thinking, this paper explores how porous boundary treatments and plot layouts might encourage ecological exchanges within new urban and peri-urban developments. This study therefore responds to suggestions for innovative plot designs that facilitate positive trans-species interactions, especially considering wider anxieties surrounding biodiversity loss and recognition of the need for climate-resilient garden spaces. Focusing on a recent example of a large-scale residential development in the English midlands, this paper outlines the socio-economic, cultural and ecological significance of embedding different hedgerow designs into early planning considerations; revealing the need to move beyond current models. The discussion then turns to how such ambitions might encourage sustainable land use, particularly through creating potentially scalable urban agricultural systems that sustain healthy food choices.

During COVID-19, Californians sought food security, connection and solace in their gardens

Gardening offers a range of benefits, from food production to social connection to improved mental and physical health. When COVID-19 struck, interest in gardening soared, but it was unclear whether and how gardens would deliver these benefits in the midst of a global pandemic. We analyzed survey responses from 603 home and community gardeners across California, collected between June and August 2020, to assess trends in pandemic gardening. Gardeners highlighted the importance of gardens as therapeutic spaces where they could escape the stress of the pandemic, and as safe outdoor places for socializing. The study also revealed people's concerns about food supply, along with an accompanying interest in growing their own food to increase food security and self-sufficiency. The pandemic posed challenges for home gardeners, though, with 62% struggling to access gardening supplies. These findings suggest the importance of providing garden space, resources, and support, especially to those populations with the least access to green space, so that gardens can serve as resources to improve community health, food security, and resiliency during future disasters.

Enhancing Food Literacy and Food Security through School Gardening in Rural and Regional Communities.

A qualitative case study approach with in-depth, semi-structured interviews of key school staff, and student feedback was used to assess a school kitchen and garden program in the regional area of North-West Tasmania, Australia. A detailed program description was produced to conduct a realist evaluation with a Context-Mechanism-Outcome configuration, followed by a program theory evaluation through the construction of a retrospective program logic model. Dedicated kitchen and garden spaces, knowledgeable teachers committed to the program, provision of sufficient materials and consumables, and support from the school and community were found to be the basic requirements to establish a program. Additionally, it is essential to integrate both the kitchen and garden teaching components into the school curriculum. The positive outcomes (e.g., engagement, participation, knowledge, skills, behavioral change) of the program were dependent on the underlying factors, including dedicated support of school leadership, teaching staff, and the parent body for effective student engagement in the teaching spaces and for wider engagement from families and the community. The students' feedback provided supporting evidence of increased food literacy with improvements in their understanding, abilities, and attitudes towards gardening, producing healthy food, and preparing food. This may further lead to enhanced food security for students' families and the broader community.

A view from the garden: Interrupting politics of attainment and re-orienting education towards sustainable futures

There is growing recognition amongst scholars that addressing the current global ecological crisis requires a new ecological awareness, and a different model of education, in order to live together on a ‘planet under pressure’. Against this backdrop, several studies internationally have pointed to initiatives such as school gardens, with the capacity to address sustainability issues, enhance participation, engagement and responsibility of young people from different backgrounds and locales. However, questions remain about the extent to which garden spaces may leverage current educational discourses, and the work of schools, to meet the needs of all. This article draws upon interviews with teachers, head teachers and student teachers who had been involved in growing food with children in school garden spaces. Drawing on the concept of ‘learning ecology’, data illustrate the co-existence of multiple views and purposes of engaging children with gardening in school, and the impact of linear discourses of education framing the teachers’ gaze. Findings from the study are twofold: (i) they illustrate that gardens have the potential to interrupt economic discourses around attainment defined as cognitive gains and (ii) that such awareness is paramount to re-direct attention to that which is often marginalised and forgotten in educational policy discourses.