How Ecological Landscapes Go Wrong

A comparison demonstrating common mistakes in ecological landscape design. The poorly designed version features: a pond with neatly concreted edges and a few aquatic plants, next to which stands an interpretive sign labeled "Ecology"; all plantings are exotic horticultural varieties, beautiful in bloom but devoid of insects; the ground is covered with permeable pavers, but an impermeable concrete sub-base lies beneath; the so-called ecological pond is actually maintained by a motor circulating tap water. The correct approach is for water to come naturally, soil to be naturally permeable, and plants to grow on their own. Avoid: neatly concreted pond edges, using exotic horticultural varieties as primary plantings, impermeable sub-bases beneath permeable paving, and maintaining water bodies with mechanical circulation.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一處示範常見錯誤的對照。做壞的版本是:水池的岸邊用混凝土砌得整整齊齊再插幾株水生植物、旁邊立一塊寫著生態的解說牌;植栽全部是園藝品種的外來種,開花很漂亮但沒有昆蟲;地面鋪滿透水磚卻在下面做了不透水的混凝土墊層;所謂的生態池其實靠馬達循環自來水。正確的做法是水自己會來、土自己會透、植物自己會長。避免:用混凝土做整齊的池岸、使用園藝外來種當主要植栽、在透水鋪面下做不透水墊層、用機械循環維持水體。