Brazilian officials and commoners call it the Belo Monte Dam while environmentalists call it the 'monster dam', rather appropriately. It's been in the news for sometime now ever since the Brazilian environmental agency Ibama authorized the construction of this 3.7 mile dam across the Xingu river, one of the tributaries of the Amazon.
And that's where the problem lies… conservation vs. industrialization! Quite a choice, isn't it?
Apparently, this dam will offer the Brazilian people almost 11,200 megawatts of power at the expense of almost 199 square miles of forest that will be flooded in construction efforts.
Yes, let me say it again… 199 square miles of the precious Amazon forest! (Read this article for the entire story.)
Now I'm not going to cry "foul" but tell you that perhaps one of the things to do on your list should be to visit the Amazon, and if that's not possible at least build garden in your home.
It's one of the purest joys that this world has to offer… as we are one with the Earth. It's a feeling that cannot be defined!
The Art of Gardening
While several people are resorting to astro-turf for their lawn, the concept of natural grass is steadily being phased by several people as there are more and more benefits that are offered along with synthetic grass.
And who knows we might have a synthetic garden very soon that will take the place of natural plants and trees?
But until then, please understand that building a natural garden (it's sad that we have to make a distinction here!) is a labor of love, if you will.
How to Build Garden
Right off the bat, knowing why you want build a garden is important before you know how to build garden. The reason for this is because there are so many types of gardens that can be built and that suit various purposes such as cactus, bog and front and back gardens. This is step #1.
There are three common purposes why people will build a garden, and they are if you want to:
#1: Cultivate vegetables, herbs and even flowers (in the form of orchids and so on and so forth)
#2: Observe insects and birds, which would love to make their home in such serene (and natural) surroundings.
#3: Tune out from your busy schedule
Since the plants and flowers that you will place in the garden might vary depending on the purpose, another thing to check for is whether this type of garden is feasible by looking into other factors such as water, air, soil, light, rocks and wind. This is step #2.
Once these two steps have been taken into consideration, and you now know what you want, it is time to be creative about how you want the garden to look in terms of design. If you aren't sure how to go about this, you can also hire the services of a trained gardener who possesses a state license and has an excellent knowledge of horticulture.
Other elements of design that will be reviewed are horticultural requirements, walls, paths, sitting areas, water features, decking and rockeries.
As the unique combination of plants and flowers should add to the aesthetics of the entire garden, these experts will also analyze their season-to-season appearance, speed of growth, lifespan, size and their combination with other plants and landscape features.
And all you have to get the materials required and get to work…
Almost anyone will tell that it's a lot of work but once you are done, you be very satisfied…
In Closing
And whether we're talking about the Belo Monte Dam or even synthetic lawns, it's always been between conservation vs. industrialization! Going green is the only way forward, please…
