The winds as seed-growers

 

The concerns that raise seeds in their big gardens we call seed-growers, although all they do is to plant seeds already made by Nature and leave Nature to multiply them. Certainly, then, we can call the winds “seed-growers,” can not we, when they actually help to make the seeds, just as much as shoemaker makes shoes when he puts the soles and the uppers together? All seeds that come from wind-pollinated flowers are, in this sense, “made by the winds”. Such flowers, having no direct means of communication with other flowers by the famous Bee Line, and similar routes, are obliged to produce their pollen grains in enormous quantities. Near Pine woods, in the season, you will find sheets of water covered with the yellow dust; and you know, when you bring home a Pussy-Willow or the catkins of an Elm or an Ash, how thick the pollen settles around the vases in which they are put. The pollen grains of wind-born seeds are smooth not rough, as are those of insect-pollinated flowers. This roughening is to make the grains stick to the bees and other visitors and to each other, so the little carriers will be well loaded; but the smooth grains of the wind-borne pollen do not stick to one another and thus are enable to float longer in the air and be carried farther. Moreover, the pollen grains of the Pine have two little balloons, called “flotation bladders”, at opposite ends of the grain. These remarkable “dirigibles” have been known to travel over 500 miles!

 

 

Scattering tree seeds by bows and arrows

 

So you see the winged seeds not only anticipated our air-planes but our dirigibles also!

Very picturesque is the method employed by the city fathers of Seattle to build up a better watershed near the source of the Cedar River from which Seattle gets its water –supply. Men plant the tree seeds along the barren, rocky walls of that region by fastening little bags of the seed to the heads of arrows and then shooting then against the walls. This bursts the bags, and many of the seeds, caught in the cracks and crevices of the rocks, later reappear as brave little Cedars, Firs, and Hemlocks. What these bows and arrows do, the winds are constantly doing. That is why you see trees of the Pine family clinging to rocks so steep and high that it would almost make a fly dizzy to climb them!

 

Exercises:

 

 

1 What is the difference between wind-pollinated and insect-pollinated grains?

2 Divide the text into logical parts.

3 Find the key words or key word combinations.

 

Text 6

 

Leeds Castle garden

 

Part 1

One of the most recent horticultural developments on the Leeds Castle Estate in Kent, has been the Culpeper Flower Garden. This garden, named in honour of the Culpeper family, owners of Leeds in the seventeenth century, has been created over the last six years on a gently sloping site of a 1/3 acre.

It is an oddly angled plot with period cottages and mellow brick walls offering protection on three of its sides. The fourth boundary of the garden is open to the south west, making the garden warm, if a little windswept at times. But it does give a panoramic view of the “Great Water”, a lake of six acres which was part of the medieval water defences of the Castle, and the rolling parkland that makes up much of this 500 acre estate.

The soil in the garden is generally quite good, being a well-cultivated loam, testament to the fact that this area was formerly a fruit and vegetable garden, and most recently a cut flower garden.

A summer flower garden

It was back in 1980 that the Trustees of the Foundation decided the Estate needed a summer flower garden to complement the considerable attraction of the Castle and thus extend visitors’ enjoyment of the Estate, as the grounds and gardens of all great houses invariable do. Indeed, I believe it is the gardens that attract repeat offer at all seasons, year to year.

So with this need identified, a suitable site was chosen and ideas initiated. The Trustees called upon the advice of Mr Russell Page to suggest a possible scheme for this walled enclosure and his solution was to subdivide the two large beds which had low boxwood hedges and largely filled the garden, so creating a series of compartments that would also be planted in the cottage garden style: an exuberant mixture of flowering shrubs, old fashioned roses, all the best kinds of herbaceous perennials, bulbs, and summer annuals.

 

1.Answer the questions:

1) Describe the Culpeper Flower Garden.

2) What is the history of the Garden?

3) What plants can you find in the text?

4) What is the difference between summer flower garden and winter garden?

5) What is the cottage garden style?

2. What is the Russian for:

-horticulture

-an angled plot

-loam

-a cut flower garden

-at all season

-to call upon the advice

-boxwood hedges

3. Find the terms from the text.

4.What are the nouns characterized by the adjectives:

Herbaceous, flowering old-fashioned, exuberant, large, low, possible.

 

Text 7

Leeds Castle garden

 

 

Part 2

 

 

With these ideas as a brief I was faced with the task of establishing this garden in this wonderfully nostalgic style, indeed, developing a garden that would appeal to many of the 400,000 visitors who come to Leeds annually.

I realized early on that visitors to the Castle were not necessarily ‘gardeners’, they were here in the first instance to see ‘The Castle’. I felt that bold splashes of colour in the garden were important to draw people in, or call their attention, but that also it should have sufficient diversity of planting with rare or unusual plants to appeal to the more knowledgeable visitor. Thus, the garden is an enjoyable experience for both the casual observer and the connoisseur of gardens and plants.

It is not long before all the bare earth is covered by the flush of growth that longer, warmer days encourage and by mid-June the shrub roses are poised to burst into spectacular fragrant bloom. About 50 shrubs, some 6 to 8ft high (1.8-2.4m), representing 25 different species and varieties are planted throughout the garden and are really the backbone of it. Among the collection are ‘Zephirine Drouhin’, ‘Louse Odier’, ‘Mme Hardy’, ‘Charles de Mills’, etc. And many others all apparently trying to be more fragrant and, for a few short weeks, more floriferous than their neighbours. Some are repeat blooming; the Rugosas being among the best group, but those that are not have various clematis, perennial sweet peas or tropaeolum planted at their feet to extend the display, these climbers gracefully scrambling over the support of their host.

I have also used this idea for the wonderful espaliered pear trees that hug some of the garden’ walls. These venerable specimens, 50 to 60 years old, are a legacy from an earlier kitchen garden and contribute greatly to the established appearance of the garden. Where there are no pears, a mixture of climbing roses, clematis and ivy have scrambled up to the first floor level in only three years. The earliest rose to come into flower is the semi-double pink ‘Mme Gregoire Staechelin’ followed by perpetual ‘Mme Alfred Carriere’ in cream and the beautiful apple-scented ‘Francois Juranville’, a delicate shade of pink.

 

1.Answer the questions:

1) What was the goal of creating the Garden?

2) What did the visitors of the Garden differ in?

3) What was the backbone of the garden?

4) How many rose species were planted throughout the garden?

5) Explain the phrase “Some are repeat blooming”.

6) What was the idea for pear trees?

7) Describe the mixture of flowers in the June-garden.

 

2. Find the plants in the last passage.

3.What adjectives are used to describe the flowers (other plants)?

4. What plants were used in the garden: mosses, ferns, coniferous, flowers, bulbs, perennials, dandelions, algae, oaks, hollies, ivy, clematis, roses, climbing roses, apple trees, pear trees, plum trees, chestnut trees, shrubs, herbs.

 

Text 8

 

Leeds Castle garden

 

Part 3

National Collections

The garden is a home for two national collections- Nepeta and Monarda both blending well with the other plantings in the garden. In fact I purposely did not make regimental botanical collections of them as I wanted them to be seen as garden plants rather then botanical specimens, and as such have attracted quite a lot of interest from some visitors to the garden.

Herbs are also one of the things that stimulate much comment. Like lavender, rue, the various sages (we have five different) and thyme are planted incidentally throughout the garden, adding a touch of spicy fragrance in this walled oasis. But there is also a whole border with 30 different kinds of culinary herbs for people to discover, with ten different kinds of mint also.

Other plants that cause questions and comments are many and varied, among them the giant silver thistle, Onopordon acantthium, looking like giant candelabras, and seeming to leap out of the ground in no time at all. These 8 to 10 ft high (2.5-3m) biennuals have a nomadic tendency, springing up far and wide. I cull selectively and they draw comments of either admiration or abomination with very little in between, like no other plant I know.

Everyone loves plants that encourage bees and butterflies like Buddleja and Sedum, but I have also found Verbena bonariensis to be a real magnet to both these creatures. The 4ft high (1.2m) wiry stems are topped with tufts of lavender blue flowers from June till first frost. It seeds well and I use it with Phlox ‘Prospero’, with which it looks good, and fills the void admirably after the Phlox has flowered.

Its shorter relative V. Rigida is also charming and a combination of the Verbena mixed with Helichrysum microphyllum (of gardens) in the foreground and backed by Pennisetum orientale, rose ‘Queen of Denmark’ creates a pleasant blend of pink, purple and blue-grey shades.

Annuals

Lastly, one or two thoughts on annuals. I’m not too fond of bedding plants as such but do use annuals in planters and hanging baskets. I like Nigella ‘Miss Jekill’ to drift among the roses, it is quite self-perpetuating once sown. I use the lime green and scented N.affinis ‘Tobacco’ among clumps of agapanthus, they look good together and, when the agapanthus have finished, ‘Tobacco’ just carries on furnishing the space with flower until first frost. The smiling faces of sunflower, ‘Autumn Beauty’ bring sunshine into the garden and I am very fond of the blooms of the annual peony-flowered or chiffon poppy, Papaver somniferum, that make drifts of pastel colours in July and August, tending to move around from year to year, depending on how and where the seeds has fallen previously.

It is a continuous job making a garden of this kind; it is never really quite finished. And that for me is its attraction and fascination. The quest for a more perfect picture, a more subtle balance of colour and form. Discovering new and attractive plants, or ways to use and grow them and having the opportunity todo it and share the results with so many people. Much more could be said about this charming garden but I implore the reader, if he has not already done so, to take the opportunity to visit the Culpeper Flower Garden. I feel sure you will not be disappointed.

 

Text 9

 

 

UNIT 1.

Garden Styles

 

Environmental Gardening

Environmental gardening emerged. Some of the decade’s liveliest debates included native vs. the all-American lawn, and organics vs. pesticides. The term Xeriscaping was coined, referring to drought-tolerant landscapes that help conserve water. Recycling efforts materialized in fences, containers, paths, chairs, and sheds. Gardeners understood that a healthy garden was home to birds, butterflies, bees, and other wildlife – although we usually drew the line at deer.

 

Container gardening.

Container gardening grew along with demand for new plants that thrive in pots. Manufacturers responded to the trend with self-watering systems, special potting soils, and plastic pots almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

 

Water gardens.

Water gardens remained popular, although we now know excavating the backyard is not necessary. A simple fountain or container water feature will suffice.

 

Kitchen Garden.

Kitchen garden enjoyed a resurgence, with striking designs and an emphasis on salad crops and heirloom tomatoes.(to be continued)

 

 

1. Read the text.

 

2. Put a question to every style of a garden.

 

 

UNIT 2.

 

Garden Styles

 

Cottage Garden.

Cottage gardens reflected many of the content trends, including a preference for fragrance, a renewed enthusiasm for heirlooms (especially annual flowers and vegetables), and a desire for herbs in the landscape.

 

Sanctuary Gardens.

Sanctuary gardens developed, mixing symbolism from different cultures (Tibetian prayer flags, Zen water features) to create a nurturing that revives both body and spirit.

 

Shade Gardening

Shade gardening grew as trees got larger and yard space got smaller. Several nurseries began specializing for shade.

 

Low-Maintenance Gardens.

Low-maintenance gardens appealed to the time-crunched and those who desired more time to relax and enjoy their gardens. Gardeners looked for plants described as easy-care, long-blooming, drought-tolerant, and desease-resistant.

 

Personal-Style Gardening.

Personal-style gardening captured a gardener’s imagination and sense of humor. More then a collection of flamingos (although there are making a comeback), personal style is about using a few old garden tools as an arbor or farm-machinery disks as stepping stones

 

 

1. Read the text.

 

2. Find a pivot of every garden style.

 

3. Give the Russian equivalents:

- heirlooms

- annual(s)

- biannual(s)

- perennial(s)

- nursery

- to specialize for shade

- to enjoy the garden

- to use old (things) tools

- to maintain the garden

 

4. Give the English equivalents:

- ароматный, сильный запах

- пряные травы

- питомник

- разбивать сад

- личный, индивидуальный стиль в садоводстве

- садовые инструменты

 

5. Find the adjectives in the text to characterize the plants.

 

6. What types of garden plants can you find in the text?

 

7. Find different plant in a dictionary:

 

FLOWERS

!!!!!!!

 

 

HERBS

!!!!!!!

 

 

TREES

!!!!!!!

 

 

VEGETABLES

!!!!!!!

 

 

8. How many garden styles do you know?

 

 

UNIT 3

Planning your garden

 

Tailor your gardening projects to fit the time you have available. Gardening should be fun! Whether you enjoy pottering around for hours or prefer easy-and quick, instant results, such as a container planting, use the projects to help you plan your garden so that you get the maximum enjoyment out of it.

Design the garden that suits your needs. Rather than being a slave to other people’s ideas of what a garden should be, make sure that your garden fits in your own tastes and lifestyle. Whether you want to be a horticultural showpiece with herbaceous borders or a place to relax and enjoy the sunshine is entirely your decision. Here are the main aspects you are to pay attention to: (to be continued).

 

1. Read the text.

 

2. Find the terms in passage 1.

 

3. Find the terms in passage 2.

 

4. Answer the questions in the written form:

 

1) What is the most important factor to design your own garden?

2) What helps to plan a garden?

3) How should you design a garden?

4) What types of gardens can you find in the text?

 

5. Translate into Russian:

 

1) You may choose any garden style to fit in your own lifestyle.

2) Not every garden is a horticultural showpiece.

3) Gardening projects should correspond to the time you have available.

4) You should enjoy the gardening!

 

6. Make word combinations with the verbs:

to design –

to enjoy –

to tailor –

to fit –

to pay –

to make –

to get –

 

7. Listen to the sentences twice to translate them into Russian:

 

1) Before developing any garden style, you are to plan a garden.

2) Gardeners should design their gardens to fit their free time.

3) Your garden shouldn’t be a horticultural showpiece, if you do not like the idea.

4) People must enjoy creating their own garden style.

5) You may use different projects to plan your garden.

6) Time-crunched people prefer easy-and-quick results in gardening.

7) Your own taste, free time and imagination will help to plan your garden.

8) Your garden can be a simple place to relax and to enjoy the suntan.

 

 

UNIT 4

Improving your soil.

 

Soil’s characteristics may limit the plants you can choose for your garden. There are a lot of things you can do to improve the soil. Soil that contains the correct balance of water, air, and nutrients will reduce the amount of maintenance you need to do and improve the performance of your plants.

Home-made compost is the most effective and economic type of soil improver. Many materials from the garden and home can be recycled into garden compost. Here are the most useful:

- fruit and vegetable waste; cooked or raw, tea leaves, coffee grinds, egg shells.

- Newspaper or cardboard, shred and wet to help them break down.

- Green pruning; from bedding plants, deadheading, cutting down herbaceous plants. Woody prunings should be shredded first.

- Dead leaves can be added in small quantities. Hay, dry grass; grass clippings are suitable if dried first or mixed with other material.

- Nettles are useful for activating the compost.

 

1.Read the text.

 

2. Find the international words in passage 1.

 

3. Find the international words in passage 2.

 

4. What are the terms in passages 1, 2?

 

5. What are the English equivalents:

- почвенные характеристики

- улучшать почву

- содержать воду и воздух

- правильное соотношение воды, воздуха и питательных веществ

- уход

- компост

- почвенное удобрение

- переработать в садовый компост

- отход(ы)

- срезать травянистые растения

- крапива

- ускорять процесс гниения в компосте

 

6. Answer the questions in the written form:

 

1) What part does the soil play?

2) What can you do if the soil characteristics are poor?

3) What is good soil?

4) Is the compost a soil improver?

5) How should you prepare a compost?

 

 

UNIT 5

Mulching

A bed of wood chips or coarse organic mulch around a tree’s base greatly increases root and tree health. Maintain a mulch bed around all newly planted and existing trees that extends several feet from the trunk; wider is better. Mulch should be 3 to 4 inches deep and should be renewed as it breaks down. Keep a mulch a couple of inches away from the base of the trunk to avoid root or trunk decay. Air tight plastic sheeting and rock beds should not be used around the trees. Porous weed barriers of woven or matted plastic provide effective weed control but can be difficult to install and maintain and are not much more effective than an adequate organic mulch layer.

Mulching is covering the surface of the soil with appropriate organic or inorganic material. Mulching prevents moisture from evaporating from the soil surface and prevents weeds from growing. So it can save time on weeding and watering throughout the growing season.

The best time to apply a mulch is when the soil is warm and contains plenty of moisture. One drawback of mulch is that if it is applied to cold soil, it acts as an insulator; the soil remains cold.

 

1. Read the text.

 

2. Find the terms in the text.

 

3.Answer the questions in the written form:

 

1) What is the difference between mulch and mulching?

2) How does a mulch work?

3) When should you apply a mulch?

4) Why should not you apply a mulch to cold soil?

 

4. Which verb is to be used with the following nouns:

 

Mulch; time; moisture; surface; (to cover; to save; to apply; to contain)

 

5. What are the English equivalents:

- сорная трава

- прополка

- вегетационный период

- недостаток, минус

- изоляционный материал

 

6. Translate into English:

 

1. Мульча покрывает поверхность почвы и не дает влаге испаряться.

2. Мульча препятствует росту сорняков.

3. Не следует мульчировать почву ранней весной.

4. Мульча препятствует прогреванию почвы, и это является ее недостатком.

5. Мульчирование экономит время на прополке сорняков.

6. Y каждого растения свой вегетационный период.

 

UNIT 6

 

1. Mind the terms:

Watering equipment, new planted/mature trees, shrubs, herbs, a lawn, to reduce/minimize evaporation,

 

Watering

 

When watering your garden concentrate your efforts on watering the plants that need it most. Have a good watering equipment to make the task easy.

Water new planted trees as their roots have not developed sufficiently to seek out water deep in the soil.

Herbs, mature trees, shrubs, and perennials should be able to cope during dry spells without watering. Lawns revive when it rains, so they are not a priority.

Reduce evaporating of water from the soil surface by applying a mulch in spring. Watering early in the morning or early evening, when the sun is low in the sky, also helps minimize evaporation.

 

2. Read the text.

 

3. What is the difference between “water”, “watering”, “to water”?

 

4. Translate passages 3,4 in the written form.

 

5. Answer the questions:

 

1) What plants can seek out water deep in the soil?

2) What plants are a priority in watering?

3) What reduces evaporating of water from the soil surface?

4) When is watering correct?

 

5. Translate into Russian:

 

- watering equipment

- new planted trees

- to minimize evaporation

- to reduce water evaporation

- early evening watering

 

6. Discuss the two situations (the students are divided into the groups of two):

 

Situation 1.

A new gardener is ignorant about watering. You read the text. What piece of advice would you give to the gardener?

 

Situation 2.

Two gardeners are arguing about watering. One of them is sure that all the plants must be watered in the morning daily.

Another one waters the plants that need it most.

Which of them is right?

 

Test on vocabulary after texts 1 – 6.

Variant 1.

1. Translate into English:

 

1. Садовый дизайнер поможет создать садовый стиль.

2. Цветы бывают двулетними, однолетними, многолетними.

3. Вам лучше приобрести поливочное устройство и поливать свои растения по утрам или вечерам.

4. Контейнерное садоводство не занимает много времени.

5. Хорошая почва – это правильное соотношение воды, воздуха и питательных веществ.

6. Компост улучшает почву.

7. Мульчa препятствует прогреванию почвы, и это ее недостаток.

 

2. What are the terms connected with:

Nursery

 

Variant 2.

 

1.Translate into English:

 

1. Существует много садовых стилей.

2. Многие люди сажают цветы с сильным ароматом, долгоцветущие и неприхотливые в уходе.

3. Мульчирование весной уменьшает испарение воды.

4. Люд выбирают садовый стиль по своему вкусу и образу жизни.

5. Вы можете использовать различные отходы для компоста.

6. Мульча экономит время на прополке.

7. Садовые инструменты помогают улучшить почву.

 

2. What are the terms connected with:

compost

 

 

UNIT 7.

Pests and diseases.

 

Prevention of a problem is always better than the cure. Good gardening practices, such as regular weeding, clearing away garden debris that may harbor pests and diseases, and keeping your plants watered and nourished, will do much to protect the health of your plants and to minimize the likelihood of problems arising. Encouraging natural predators, such as frogs, hedgehogs, birds, hoverflies, and ladybirds, into your garden will also help deal with many of the most common garden pests (aphids, slugs, and snails) in an ecologically friendly way. The other benefit of using natural predators is that you can avoid the overuse of environmentally harmful chemical controls.

If pests and diseases do occur, always deal with the problem as quick as possible. Remove affected plant material as soon as you see the first signs of attack. Dispose of diseased material in the trash rather than on the compost heap to prevent the problem from spreading.

 

1.Read the text.

 

2.Translate the first passage of the text in the written form.

 

3. Answer the questions:

 

1) What helps to protect the health of the plants?

2) Find the examples of the natural predators that can fight pests.

3) Give the examples of pests.

4) What is environmentally harmful way to fight the pests?

5) What is ecologically friendly way to fight the pests?

 

4. Put the actions in the correct order:

 

Checking plants, chemical control, encouraging natural predators, good gardening practices, disposing of diseased material in the trash.

 

 

UNIT 8.

Pruning.

Many trees and shrubs do not need regular pruning, just an occasional cutting back to keep them under control. Plants trained into formal shapes, such as wall shrubs or hedges, also need regular pruning to maintain their shape.

Whatever shrubs you have, always remove dead or diseased branches that can spread to the rest of the plant. You can distinguish the dead wood from live wood by scratching the stem with your thumbnail. If green-colored wood is exposed, then the stem is still alive; if it is brown or white, then the stem is dead.

Knowing whether your shrubs flower best on old wood or on new wood is lighter and smoother. Once a stem has flowered, cut it back to allow room for replacement flowering stems to develop the following year. Remember, always feed the plant after pruning to encourage new growth. Mulch in spring after the weather has warmed up.

 

1. Read the text.

 

2. What are the terms in passages 1, 2, 3?

 

3. Translate into Russian:

 

- to maintain the shape=to keep under control

- to prune=to cut back

- dead branches=diseased branches

- to train into formal shape

- to encourage new growth

 

4. Which adjectives/participles are used with:

a) wood;

b) stem?

 

5. Answer the questions:

1) Do many trees and shrubs need regular pruning?

2) What plants need regular pruning?

3) What is occasional pruning?

4) How can you distinguish dead wood from live wood?

5) What is another reason to cut the stems back?

6) Why should you feed a plant after pruning?

 

 

UNIT 9.

 

1. Mind the terms:

Paved areas, lawn, to soften the line(s), to divide the garden into sections, garden ornament, arbor.

 

Paths and paving

 

Paved areas have an important part to play in your enjoyment of your garden. They are great for entertaining – particularly if the weather has been wet or the dew heavy and you can not walk on the lawn without getting your feet wet. They also provide a wonderful setting for plants – but you need to counteract this by using strong-charactered plants around them – ones with large leaves and dramatic shapes and colors. In fact, paved areas need plants to soften their harsh lines. Paths have obvious practical uses in enabling you to walk from one part of the garden to another. They can also provide a framework for your planting, dividing the garden into discrete sections.

From an aesthetic point of view, they can be used to lead the eye to other features such as a garden ornament or arbor.

 

2. Read the text.

 

3. Which of the word combinations and words are terms:

heavy dew, harsh lines, dramatic shape, discrete section, aesthetic point of view, garden ornament, a setting for plants, the wet weather, paved areas, a lawn.

 

4. Determine the roles of paths and paved areas in a garden

 

The roles of paved area

---------------------------------

!!!!

 

 

4. Translate into English:

 

1) Садовые дорожки помогут вам не промочить ноги в мокрую погоду.

2) Растения с большими листьями смягчают четкие, строгие линии дорожек.

3) Садовые дорожки могут быть выполнены так, чтобы привлечь внимание.

4) Они могут делить ваш сад на отдельные части.

 

 

UNIT 10.

Ideas for sunny beds and borders.

 

Beds and borders in sunny situations allow you to grow flowers in abundance. Many of the perennials that form the mainstay of herbaceous borders are sun-loving species. If your garden gets the sun, you will be able to grow these wonderful flowers year after year for their stunning colors and intoxicating fragrance.

However, you must select plants that actually enjoy direct sun: moisture-loving species can survive in sunny spots – but only if you are willing to devote much of your time to watering them.

 

1. Read the text.

 

2. Translate into Russian:

 

- beds and borders;

- intoxicating fragrance

- perennials; -

- to form the mainstay;

- stunning color

 

3. What is the difference?

To enjoy direct sun; to be in sunny situation; to be in sunny spots; to get the sun

 

4. Find the two types of species from the text.

 

5. Answer the questions:

 

1) What beds can you grow if your garden gets the sun?

2) What is the difference between the sun-loving and moisture-loving species?

3) What shall you do if you have moisture-loving plants in a sunny spot?

 

6. Read the summary of the text and learn it:

The text is about ideas for sunny beds and borders. You can read about them in the first passage of the text. You have no restrictions in planting different species. Most of them enjoy direct sun.

he next part of the text describes moisture-loving species in sunny spots. They need much watering.

 

 

UNIT 11.

Ideas for shaded beds and borders

 

Flower beds and borders in a shaded situation will never be quite as colorful as those in full sun, but you can still enjoy a rich and varied range of flowers and greenery. Use cool colors – blues, purples, greens – to create a tranquil, relaxing feel.

There are also some simple ways of creating the illusion that more light reaches the area than is actually the case: plant pale-colored flowers to accentuate what little light there is, paint neighboring walls a light color, or position a mirror to reflect light outward. The plants you choose can help, too: small, feathery-leaved plants are better than large, solid-looking species as they give a lighter, less dense overall effect.

 

1. Read the text.

 

2. Translate the text in the written form.

 

3. Give the summary of the text, paying attention to the key ideas:

 

1) Special colors for shade to create a relaxing feel.

2) Ways to increase light in a shady place:

- pale-colored and small plants or flowers;

- light paint around;

- a mirror to reflect the light.

 

 

UNIT 12.

Water gardens

 

Water garden is one of the most peaceful and tranquil of all types of garden; the soothing sound of trickling water and the gentle buzz of insects make it wonderful place for a person to relax.

Once your water garden is in place, taking care of it is merely routine work. Although there is almost always some small task to do – fishing out excess pond weed, snipping off unwanted water lily leaves, tending any fish that you have in the pond – it is the sort of work that you can do out at your own pace.

The water gardens can be of formal and informal schemes or cover ponds, there is a great number of plants for a boggy area around a pond edge, and some ideas for an easy-to-install decorative pebble fountain. You may combine the colors of plants, for example, purple and yellow. Then you are to choose Caraway thyme, Heartsease, Kingcup, White water lily, or Japanese water iris. Different sorts of Hostas will do for moist soils. Your water feature will enjoy the fountain pump.

 

1. Read the text.

 

2. Find the terms in passages 1, 2, 3.

 

3. Translate the word combinations into Russian:

- pond area

- decorative pebble fountain

- water feature

- a boggy area

- routine work

 

4. Write the types of water gardens:

 

Water gardens

-------------------------

!!!

!!!

 

5. Name the species found in the text.

 

6. Answer the questions:

 

1) Is a boggy area different from a water feature?

2) What is characteristic of a water garden?

3) What plants can represent the combination of purple and yellow?

4) What is/are a gardener’s task(s) to maintain a water garden?

 

7. Put the key idea of every passage in order:

- the types of water gardens and special plants for them;

- taking care of a water garden is not hard work. It is a routine;

- a water garden and its characteristics.

 

8. Make the summary of the text.

 

A Vocabulary Test, Variant 1

1. A gardener can choose any plant as a... for the garden.

2. The earliest roses came into … in mid-June.

3. Lavender, sage, thyme, … are ….

4. A gardener … a cottage garden style.

5. A heavy … and high wind can …branches or a branch from Bradford pear.

6. Bradford pear was a … tree for a city and they used to line … with this tree.

7. All the branches of Bradford pear … from the same … point.

8. Bradford pear is an … type of tree that do not bear ….

9. Dandelion... consist of many florets.

10. The roots of a dandelion centre around a …, thick root called a ….

11. … of a dandelion consists of florets; it may contain up to … florets.

12. Dandelion seeds are very …, so they may travel … distances.

13. The easiest way to … a piece of the earth is to pick up ….

14. Any … of the earth will be more beautiful if you … trees, flowers, ….

15. A piece of the earth that is littered or has no … on it needs some attention.

16. Some seeds and seedlings help to … the soil.

17. Some rose... bloom twice during a season, so they are repeat-blooming.

18.... is a perfect plant for pruning and making a hedge.

19.... are plants that grow a season only.

20.... flower garden is the brightest one, color and fragrance are usual for it.

 

Vocabulary Test, Variant 2

1. Perfect flowers for a vase grow in a...-... garden usually.

2. … are fragrant and beautiful flowers, some of them are repeat-blooming.

3. Clematis, sweet peas, climbing roses, ivy are ….

4. The giant silver … is a very unusual plant, some people like it while the others disliked very much..

5. Aggressive … technique can prolong the life of Bradford ….

6. Arborists liked Bradford pear for early …, rapid …, and late shedding of ….

7. … foresters faced a problem with Bradford pear when the tree becomes …, many of them develop splitting and ….

8. Dandelions are thought to be troublesome ….

9. Dandelions are a type of … called perennial that continue to … year after year.

10. …, roots and flowers of dandelions can be used for a variety of purposes.

11. After … flower petals are replaced by …, tapped with feathery hairs.

12. Three or four “leaders” grow upward from the … and from the same …point.

13. You will attract birds if you hang a … ….

14. Shrubs and trees on your plot provide … and shelter for … and squirrels.

15. We can … trees, flowers, grass to adopt a … of the earth.

16. The easiest way to adopt a piece of the earth is to … … litter.

17. Flower... can be different in shape and color.

18. Thare are different rose... and varieties grow in the English cottage garden.

19.... trees can grow in a cottage garden.

20.... are plants that live two seasons only.

 

 

Landscape Designing. Variant 1

1. A garden designer helps to … a garden style.

2. Flowers can be biannual, annual and ….

3. A … equipment makes the process of watering easier, you can waer your … in the morning and in the evening.

4. Container … does not take much time.

5. A good … is the correct balance of water, air and …

6. … improves soil.

7. … prevents soil from warming, and it is the drawback.

8. … will help you not to get your feet wet if the weather is rainy.

9. Garden paths can divide your … into discrete sections.

10. Every plant has its own … season.

11. Compost ingredients are dried leaves, …, green and woody pruning, fruit … etc.

12…. And pond scum are called ….

13.A mushroom is a big ….

14. There are cone-bearing and … plants.

15. … are oak seeds.

16. Air plus water plus … plus … is sugary mixture.

17. Seeds may be spread by water, by …, by ….

18. The seeds of … are very light.

19. … and spruce are evergreen trees because they do not … leaves for winter.

20. … are the leaves of evergreen trees.

21. new leaves are in … covered with thick coats.

 

Landscape Designing, Variant 2

 

1. There are many garden ….

2. Many people plant long-blooming, fragrant and easy-care ….

3. … in spring reduces water evaporation.

4. People choose a …style to fit in their taste and the mode of life.

5.You can use different wastes for the ….

6. A mulch saves time on ….

7. … tools help to improve the ….

8. Plants with large … soften the harsh lines of the paths.

9. A path in your garden can be a wonderful … for plants.

10. … gardening specializes for shade-loving ….

11. New tree species, beautiful flowers are planted in ….

12. There is no food in a …, just the beginning of a new plant.

13. The examples of plants without seeds are algae, …, fungus,...

14. Different plants make different …, seeds can be … and heavy.

15. … are the containers for seeds of evergreen trees.

16. … gives green coloring to the leaves.

17. The seed of … … float away from a parent plant to find a new home.

18. … and chipmunks help to … the seeds.

19. A tree consists of roots, …, branches, ….

20. In spring sap rises up to the … from the ….

21. In autumn trees … their leaves because they prepare for winter.