Search results for "Gardening"

Medieval Monastery Gardens in Iceland and Norway

2021

Gardening was an important part of the daily duties within several of the religious orders in Europe during the Middle Ages. The rule of Saint Benedict specified that the monastery should, if possible, contain a garden within itself, and before and above all things, special care should be taken of the sick, so that they may be served in very deed, as Christ himself. The cultivation of medicinal and utility plants was important to meet the material needs of the monastic institutions, but no physical garden has yet been found and excavated in either Scandinavia or Iceland. Especially the Cistercians were well known for being pioneer gardeners, but also other orders like the Benedictines and A…

Urban gardens and institutional fences: The case of communal gardens in Turin

2017

Urban gardens take on different forms and meanings, which vary depending on the socio-economic context where they located/used and how it evolves over time. This makes a garden comparable to a micro-social ecosystem, different from other gardens and ever changing. As with every social-ecosystem resulting from a territorialisation process, there is a certain degree of social inertia that makes it difficult for outsiders with new motivations and demanding new spaces to enter into the "garden ecosystem". Drawing on existing literature and fieldwork in two urban communal gardens in Turin, the paper is mainly concerned with the spatiotemporal dimension of urban gardening, with a special focus on…

Ausstellung des Rigaschen Gartenbauvereins

1877

Community garden initiatives addressing health and well‐being outcomes: A systematic review of infodemiology aspects, outcomes, and target populations

2021

Previous research has suggested that activities such as community gardens could offer a wide range of health benefits. The aim of the article is to systematically review the available literature to analyse the magnitude of the phenomenon, the geographical distribution, and the main characteristics in terms of health outcomes and target populations. The search addresses the question whether the activity in community gardens improves health and well-being outcomes of individuals. From the total amount of 7226, 84 selected articles showed that:(1) up to 50% are published by U.S. universities or institutions; (2) up to 44% of the studies considered “community gardens” as the main activity of th…

Vitamin D deficiency and leisure time activities in the elderly: are all pastimes the same?

2014

Background Optimal vitamin D status is important for overall health and well-being, particularly in the elderly. Although vitamin D synthesis in the skin declines with age, exposure to sunlight still seems to help older-aged adults to achieve adequate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels. Elderly people would therefore benefit from outdoor leisure activities, but the effects of different types of pastime on serum 25OHD levels have yet to be thoroughly investigated. Aims To assess the association of different pastimes with 25OHD deficiency in elderly subjects. Methods A sample of 2,349 community-dwelling elderly individuals (1,389 females and 960 males) enrolled in the Progetto Veneto An…

The quality of websites and their impact on economic performance: The case of nurseries and gardening companies in the Italian 'Mezzogiorno' regions

2014

The aim of this paper is to examine the quality of websites and the entrepreneurial perception of the importance of the website to improve the business performance in nurseries and gardening companies adopting web-marketing strategies. On this purpose, the paper firstly analyses which structural features enable a potential website to be labelled as 'good'; the awareness of these aspects is pivotal to define effective web-marketing solutions. Secondly, it examines whether the plant nursery entrepreneurs perceive the company website as a tool of additional sales able to increase the firm turnover. The results show that the websites are well framed and with a well-groomed design, but lacking i…

Concentration of Potentially Toxic Elements in Various Berries Grown in Allotment Gardens of Rīga City, Latvia

2017

Abstract Concentration of trace and major elements is an important indicator of nutritional value of food, also regarding cultivated food crops like fruits, berries, and vegetables. Concentration of elements differs regionally and is influenced by various factors. Nevertheless, some chemical elements (As, Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, etc.) are known as environmental pollutants and may affect the quality and safety of crops and food products. The aim of the study was to determine the concentration of potentially toxic elements like Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn in samples of berries grown in allotment gardens of Rīga city. Dried and homogenised samples of raspberries, strawberries, red currants, bla…

The importance of the web marketing strategies for the nurseries and gardening companies in the Southern Italy

2013

In the last years, the integrated use of internet in the company marketing strategies has brought about deep changes in the economic sector of the countries. The World Wide Web has become the most important way companies share business information with other enterprises (B2B) and with consumers (B2C). Consequently, the companies have modified the processes making significant changes, mainly in the fields of communication and sales. The study presented here is to be situated in the category of the B2C relations and is specifically addressed to the nurseries and gardening companies in the Southern regions of Italy that use the Internet as a communication and promotion tool. The goal of this p…

Ruskoliljoja ja raparperia. Maalaispihojen kasvit ja puutarhatiedon leviäminen Kainuussa 1900-luvulla

2020

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan puutarhaviljelyn yleistymistä ja puutarhaneuvonnan vastaanottoa maamme syrjäseudulla 1900-luvun aikana. Suomalaisen puutarhakulttuurin ydinalue sijoittuu Etelä- ja Lounais-Suomeen, jossa väestön varallisuus, sivistystaso ja ilmasto mahdollistivat puutarhaviljelyn esimerkiksi kartanoissa jo varhain. Myös pappiloiden ja virkatalojen tiheä verkosto sekä julkiset istutukset edesauttoivat sekä kasvien että viljelytaitojen leviämistä kaikkiin kansankerroksiin. Sen sijaan maan itä- ja pohjoisosissa puutarhan hyöty- ja koristekasvit olivat vielä 1800-luvun lopulla lähes tuntemattomia etenkin maaseutuväestön keskuudessa. Ne alkoivat yleistyä vasta 1900-luvun alkuvuosikymme…