Over the years, people have selected, adapted and bred plants to suit their purposes. Our surroundings are made more pleasant by parks, gardens and landscaping. This is possible through careful selection and breeding of flowers, shrubs, trees and grasses that are adapted to our environment. Flowers bring colour and beauty to our gardens, homes, malls and boulevards. Selection and breeding have provided a vast variety of flowers for us to enjoy.
Adapted plants enhance both urban and rural environments.
Not only pleasant to look at, many help soften the harshness of climate or offer protection from its elements. Trees and shrubs that have been selected to provide shelter are important in the harsh climate of the prairies. Shelter belts, a common sight in rural Saskatchewan, protect fields from soil loss by wind erosion. As well as adding to our landscapes, trees around buildings also have a moderating effect on micro-climate, locally cooling and increasing humidity in the summer and providing shelter from the wind in winter. Page last modified Friday, January 29, 1999.