Muscat's green attire landscape draws attention

                                

As one drives along the roads in the city these days, beautiful rows and columns of green plants and small trees can be seen alongside each stretch…colourful flowers seemingly smiling at passers-by, lush lawns greeting onlookers with open arms and beautifully carved shrubs and bushes reflecting the fact that they are under the care of tasteful hands.

These refreshing sights not only spruce up the city's appearance but also bring solace to citizens.

The task of landscape beautification of the city is being pursued with much devotion and panache by the Muscat Municipality's horticultural division, and SPREADING greenery is the central message behind every project.

Main roads and streets are lined with lawns and ornamental plants on both sides and new parks have started sprouting in different areas.

"Beauty has a deepening effect on both the mind and soul.

It beautifies the thought process, and makes the person saner, and more creative. For any community to prosper in the real sense, beautification of its surroundings is a must," said Salim Al Ghamri, member of the Muscat municipal council.

Rhoeo Discolor    

 Bougainvillea     

 Desert Rose

Ghamri said the West was a prime example of this phenomenon. As a society, they were progressive and advanced because they were more aware on an individual level, and realised more of the phenomena around them. "The people there realise the importance of arts and beauty in their lives, due to its presence around them in abundance. Their minds and souls absorb that elegance, as they relish it in a true sense, which is then reflected in their actions."

However, for the plants to look soothing in the harsh and arid climate of the city, utmost care and attention to detail is required; it is an exhaustive JOB carried out by the hundreds of gardeners to be seen across the city, mowing, pruning, cutting, watering, religiously tending the plants and the green patches. Separate teams are allocated for the upkeep and maintenance of parks and green patches in different areas.

"The climatic conditions in the city are not very supportive of optimal plant growth. The gardens and green patches are to be minutely observed and taken care of on a daily basis.
From soil, to surface, to water, and air, all the elements, necessary for the plants' upkeep are to be maintained optimally," said Naushad Ahmad, the gardening supervisor of Wadi Kabir area, whose task begins at 5 a.m. and goes on all day long, till 6 in the evening, overseeing the maintenance WORK being carried out by his team.

 Peacock Flower    

Canna lily   

Thuja

               

Pampering plants
For the plants to remain healthy, and retain their shape, proper care is required on all the three plant atmospheres – soil, surface (sub-aerial), and aerial, according to Naushad.

"Atmospheric conditions need to be conducive for plant growth. The soil should comfortably hold the roots, and the surface below soil should have optimal water retention and aeration."

Calcium carbonate, and perlite (porus volcanic rock) is mixed in the soil to enhance fertility, revealed Naushad. Loamy soil (mixture of silt and sand) a good medium for plant growth, essential organic material, like animal manure is also added for increased moisture retention, beneficial bacteria growth, and nitrogen fixing for growth of plants.

                    

Pruning to keep the plant surface area checked and reduced was also done on an everyday basis alongside pest control and weeding. Along-with pest control, weeding is also the most important and exerting part task to be carried out daily, which involves careful examination of each and every plant in the garden.

"Weeding is essential because it eats up the plants' nutrients very fast. Even if left to grow for a single day, it significantly effects the growth and beauty of the plant," Naushad pointed out.

Watering of plants is also to be done at specific timings – only at sunrise or sunset. "In Arid zones, water should only be sprinkled in the absence of direct sunlight. Watering plants in daylight will harm them, as the latent heat of water is more, and with sunlight it increases even further. The Water droplets on the plant surface act as a magnifying glass in sunlight, escalating absorption of the moisture content from the leaves and burning them due to excessive energy intake in a process called photo-oxidation."

Pruning and shearing of the decorative trees, is also to be carried out on daily basis, to retain their shapes. Once they lose their shape, it becomes quite cumbersome to carve it again, asserted Naushad adding that most gardens have a compost pile which allows recycling of the waste products into a nutrient-rich additive for the gardens.

Pick the right one
To ensure round the year greenery, and that, too, in such harsh climatic conditions, is not an easy task, and not every plant will be able to keep up, says Zulfikar Ali, Dean of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) centre in Oman, and an expert botanist.

"Muscat has arid climate, having slow soil formation with very low organic content and alkalinity in the soil along with high salinity in some areas, which is a condition that inhibits plant growth. It is, therefore, important to know about the feasible plant varieties, favourable conditions, and the precautions to observe for successful gardening."

                       

Adaptive plants are best grown in open areas in the city, according to Ali. "To ensure greenery throughout the year, plant leaves should have a high water retention rate, and flowers should be very showy while plants should not be poisonous. The size of the plant should also not be very extravagant as it will need more amount of water," he explained.

For the beautification of the town, like vast open spaces and roadsides, the plants should be such that they are lush green, visible from far away, and last a long time, said Ali.

"There are three main criteria for effective plant selection; it must be soothing to the eye, have low maintenance, easy to propagate, and should not be toxic, as alkaloid material (nitrogen containing residual material of plants) of most plants are harmful for humans and could lead to allergic reaction, like skin irritation."

On the basis of their structure, and adaptability, plants could be classified into three categories – herbs, shrubs, and trees. Herbs are the plants which are fleshy and soft and do not have wood. These generally do not survive under harsh climatic conditions, require a lot of water and maintenance (like regular pruning), to survive and will complete their life cycle in one or two seasons. Trees, on the other hand, require large amounts of water and, thus, are also not feasible to grow in the present climatic conditions, explained Ali.

The ideal plants for beautification purposes are shrubs. Shrubs are woody plants, but branch from the ground itself. The plant propagates in a very easy way and the best part is one could give desired shapes to the plants very easily.

Furthermore, on the basis of their life cycle, plants could be classified into annual, biennial and perennial. "In botanical terms, annual plants complete their life cycle in one season, biennial finish it in two seasons, whereas perennials last for the whole year.

So for areas like Muscat, which have arid soil with low water content, it is the perennial shrubs that are most well suited for the purpose of plantation, as they last longer," said Ali adding that some herbs, like the Porcelain vine, and Doob grass, are also found abundantly across the city since they adapt well to the climatic condition.

Certain plants also adapted well to the local conditions and modify themselves to save their water content."Theseplants have thick and fleshy bark, with leaves thicker and smaller in size with high mucilage quantity which helps in holding water," he said, adding Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthusroseus), Cockscomb (celosia), and Marigold (Tageteserecta) were some other
common examples.


                      


Likewise, some trees like the Kuwaiti plant are best adapted to arid conditions of the gulf region and are seen planted across the city.

However, Neem trees which are planted in many areas, could be harmful in certain ways, Ali warned. "Although Neem is beneficial to health in many ways, their major drawback is they require huge amount of water and fertilisers to survive, while their flower and fruit attracts poisonous insects."

Another important aspect related to plants for beautification purpose, according to Ali was the selection of plants having optimal height – neither too high, nor too short, just at eye level – which is being well considered by the civic gardeners all over the city.

A green coat for Muscat
Toxic, as alkaloid material (nitrogen containing residual material of plants) of most plants are harmful for humans and could lead to allergic reaction, like skin irritation."

On the basis of their structure, and adaptability, plants could be classified into three categories – herbs, shrubs, and trees. Herbs are the plants which are fleshy and soft and do not have wood. These generally do not survive under harsh climatic conditions, require a lot of water and maintenance (like regular pruning), to survive and will complete their life cycle in one or two seasons. Trees, on the other hand, require large amounts of water and, thus, are also not feasible to grow in the present climatic conditions, explained Ali.

The ideal plants for beautification purposes are shrubs. Shrubs are woody plants, but branch from the ground itself. The plant propagates in a very easy way and the best part is one could give desired shapes to the plants very easily.

Furthermore, on the basis of their life cycle, plants could be classified into annual, biennial and perennial.

"In botanical terms, annual plants complete their life cycle in one season, biennial finish it in two seasons, whereas perennials last for the whole year. So for areas like Muscat, which have arid soil with low water content, it is the perennial shrubs that are most well suited for the purpose of plantation, as they last longer," said Ali adding that some herbs, like the Porcelain vine, and Doob grass, are also found abundantly across the city since they adapt well to the climatic condition.

Certain plants also adapted well to the local conditions and modify themselves to save their water content."Theseplants have thick and fleshy bark, with leaves thicker and smaller in size with high mucilage quantity which helps in holding water," he said, adding Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthusroseus), Cockscomb (celosia), and Marigold (Tageteserecta) were some other common examples.

Likewise, some trees like the Kuwaiti plant are best adapted to arid conditions of the gulf region and are seen planted across the city.

However, Neem trees which are planted in many areas, could be harmful in certain ways, Ali warned. "Although Neem is beneficial to health in many ways, their major drawback is they require huge amount of water and fertilisers to survive, while their flower and fruit attracts poisonous insects."

Another important aspect related to plants for beautification purpose, according to Ali was the selection of plants having optimal height – neither too high, nor too short, just at eye level – which is being well considered by the civic gardeners all over the city.