MEDICINAL PLANTS IN LANDSCAPING

In Sri Lanka 80% of the parcels of land are smallholdings. Most of the gardens confined to home gardens. Some of the plants commonly used in landscape designs although attractive may not of any other value to the owner. Some of the medicinal plants are attractive as well as valuable. If these plants are used as landscape elements they will serve many purposes.Landowners usually try to include several plant species in their gardens. Flowering plants, fruit trees, spices, herbs, grasses and medicinal plants play prominent roles among them. Medicinal plants like any other plants act as primary food producers and purify the atmosphere. By including medicinal plants in the garden it will also help precise identification of the plants. It will lead to conservation of rare medicinal plants. It will also provide an additional income to the owner. Medicinal plants provide first aid material. It will help to maintain an eco- balance, provide shade and help soil conservation. Therefore concept of using medicinal plants as a landscape material is very important as it will not only provide pleasure and beauty but will help conservation of many rare species threatened with extinction. (Marasinghe 2000)A large number of medicinal plants can be used as landscape elements depending on the growth habit, from, texture, color and the size. These plants can replace others that are traditionally used in landscaping. Therefore a study was conducted to identify the potential of the medicinal plants for landscaping home gardens, parks and roadways. The overall objective of the study was to review the potential of some of the medicinal plants that can be used to replace plants that are commonly used in landscaping, to achieve various effects depending on their morphological characters.

Due to the large number of medicinal plants available in Sri Lanka, a selected number of plant species that seem to be more promising were considered.