【大紀元5月13日訊】Welcome to your Australian garden. As Australia is one of the driest continents in the world, gardening techniques here require a unique approach. Our first thought should be how best to conserve water!
在澳洲，擁有一個花團是件美事。不過，在這塊世界上最乾旱的大陸之一上種花弄草，卻有一些特殊事項需要注意。第一項便是怎樣保持水分﹗
Before we explore ways in which that can be done, we need a little background information on the delicate environmental balance that exists in this country. Our soils are geologically ancient and therefore heavily eroded; the land is very flat with few mountains, and much of our soils are saline (salty). The incorrect use and overuse of inorganic fertilisers contribute to this factor.
在談及如何保持水分之前，我們需要先瞭解一些澳洲環境方面的背景常識。澳洲的土壤從地質學上講非常古老，因此被腐蝕得很厲害；地面以平原為主，只有為數不多的山，多數地區的土壤是鹽鹼性的，因此不適當或過多地使用無機肥料會加重這個成分。
Sandy loams and clays make up the average garden soil in various mixtures of these elements. Being, being low, in phosphorus, our soils have coevolved with native trees and shrubs such as the eucalypts (gums), melaleucas and leptospermum (ti-trees), acacias (wattles), banksias and callistemon (bottlebrushes). These plants have also evolved to have low water requirements of increasing importance in these hot, dry times.
除了鹽分高外，澳洲大部份的花園土壤是沙質土和粘土的混合物，土壤中磷的含量很低。桉樹（eucalypts）、白千層（melaleucas）、茶樹（leptospermum）、金合歡樹（acacias）、拔克西木（banksias）、紅千層（金寶樹）（callistemon）等天然樹木和灌木適應著這樣的條件世代相傳。它們對水分的要求變得很低。這在現今炎熱和乾旱的時期正變得越來越重要。
As Africa was once joined to Australia before the continental plates parted, similarities exist in the plants from the two continents, and many useful and drought-tolerant plants have even taken over and become pests! But used with caution, African plants help to provide variety and hardiness in Australian gardens. So using appropriate plants is one way to work with nature and save water, and they are relatively maintenance free.
由於非洲與澳洲在大陸板塊分開之前曾連在一起，所以這兩個洲的植物在許多方面有相似之處，許多有用及耐旱的植物因為過度生長而變成了有害植物。不過，只要小心慎用，非洲植物還是能為我們提供具有耐久性的更多的選擇。所以審慎地選用適合的植物，不但能適應天然環境，也能節水並省時省力。
Unlike the Aborigines, who lived in harmony with the natural processes, European settlers brought with them their own gardening methods which were more suited to a milder and wetter climate, with soils and waterways far different to those in Australia. Garden beds were traditionally left bare, and this method contributed to water wastage and “baked” soil. Even in the colder parts of Australia, the summers cause severe evaporation. Compost was relied upon heavily, but supplying enough for a large garden is time-consuming and backbreaking work!
來自歐洲的居民不像原著民那樣已學會了與這裏的自然環境合諧共處，而是將那套只適用於更溫和、濕潤的氣候和與澳洲大相逕庭的土壤及排水條件的種植方法也帶到了澳洲。花園裏的土壤經常就讓它裸露在外，這樣不僅浪費水，也讓土壤受到「烘烤」。即使是澳洲相對較冷的地區，夏季的蒸發也很嚴重，對堆肥（compost）的需求很大，然而將整個大花園裏都施上這種肥料不但要費很多時間，而且還會讓你累到腰酸背痛﹗
A better technique is to use mulch. Any organic matter can be used such as sugar cane mulch (looks like straw); hays like lucerne, oats or barley; finely ground bark; lawn clippings and leaves (always mixed so they break down and don’t actually repel water); sawdust; manures -even old clothing or newspaper can be recycled to conserve moisture. Pebbles and gravel also insulate the soil to keep surface temperatures low and preserve water. So keep the precious compost for vegetables or any special plants you want to pamper!
一個更好的方法是使用覆蓋物。覆蓋物可選用任何有機物質，比如甘蔗桿（看起來很像麥桿）、乾草（如紫花苜蓿）、燕麥桿、大麥桿、碎樹皮、剪草機剪下的草、樹葉（將它們混合起來以免排斥水分）、鋸末、肥料，甚至舊衣服、報紙等等，都可用來保持濕度。小石頭、砂礫層也可用來做隔絕層，以保持水分，降低土壤的溫度。這樣你可以將寶貴的堆肥留給蔬菜，或你想特別培育的特殊植物﹗
Another European garden concept that might not necessarily work best here in Australia is large expanses of lawn. In Britain the climate is very mild (although that is changing too!) that lawn grasses get the right amount of water without too much human effort. Not so here, where temperatures can exceed 40℃ for several days and certainly exceed 30℃ for a few months. This just “cooks” the lawns: in addition to all the watering, they need mowing every week during summer months. Apart from noise and oily fuel pollution, lawn mowing is a hot and heavy job, especially in the humid months of January through to March.
另一個不適於澳洲的歐洲花園（管理）概念就是大片的草坪。英國的氣候很溫和（雖然這也在變化﹗），所以草坪不需要過多的人工勞動就能得到足夠的水分。然而澳洲可不是這樣，這裡的氣溫每年有好幾天可能高於攝氏40度，有好幾個月則肯定高於攝氏30度。這種溫度就像在「烤」著草坪一樣。而且，除了澆水外，夏季的大部份時間都需要每星期剪草一次。剪草是件又熱又累的苦差，尤其是從潮濕的一月到三月，剪草機的燃料和噪音還會污染環境。
My suggestion would be: if you are designing a new garden, keep the lawn to a minimum, and if you buy a place with lots of lawn, plant more low-maintenance gardens.
所以我的建議是﹕如果你在設計一個新的花園，那將它的草坪面積減到最小﹔如果你已經買下了帶有很大草地的花園，那就多種些不那麼花功夫的東西。
So the ways to work with nature in the harsh Australian gardening climate are:
總之，在澳洲的幹熱氣候條件下侍弄花園的竅門是﹕
* Use plants that don’t need much water and that can handle the climate and the soils;
* 種不需要太多水分、能適應這裏的氣候和土壤條件的植物﹔
* Use mulch. The benefits are not just saving water, but also improving the soil in many essential ways
* 使用覆蓋物。這不僅僅是為了節約水，也能從根本上在許多方面改善土壤狀況﹔
* Keep lawn areas small as they are expensive and wasteful of water and time.
* 減小草地面積，因為它費水費時又昂貴。@(http://www.dajiyuan.com)
