Garden Ecosystems – Identify

Design | JournalObserve | Identify | Research | Experiment |

Identifying and quantifying what you are observing will allow you to produce visuals of trends and patterns.

Identify Plants and Insects

Note common plants and creatures such as spiders, insects, pollinators, wildlife, and even domesticated animals. How are they are interacting with landscape features and each other.

Some resources:


Identify Site Features and Characteristics

  • Examine soil texture and composition. Is it clayey, loamy, sandy? Dry or wet? Consider getting a sorain gaugeil test.
  • Make a map of your site—identify on the map where certain plants/soiltypes/areas are located.
  • Determine which plant hardiness zone your site is located in.
  • Identify some of the specific plant species/cultivars you observed growing on your property site.
  • Identify how much rainfall your area usually gets? How much sunlight does each part of your site receive?
  • Identify native and invasive plant species around your property

Some resources:


Identify Patterns

  • Are there any places in the garden/property that are frequently inundated with water, or are more susceptible to drying out? Record the month/time and duration this usually occurs. (If you made a map including the terrain of your site, you may want to refer to it as a guide for where these places may be)
  • Mark the dates and weather conditions on which the plant shows developments of the first leaf, first bud, first flower, full bloom, and die-off.
    water map
  • When (what month/time of day) do you generally use the most water? Are there any garden practices that enable you to use less?
  • Quantify any damage that occurs to your plants (via pathogens, deer, insects, mites) and also the time it takes for the plant to recover (if it does). Did any variables induce these changes? Is there a type of damage a certain plant is resilient to and, are there some plants that are more resilient than others? Was yield affected?



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