If you’re lucky enough to live in an area with temperate weather, you might not have ever heard of ornamental crops before.
Meaning Of Ornamental crops
They are plants that are grown solely for aesthetic purposes rather than food or other utilitarian uses, and they are more commonly known as flowers or other plants used to make gardens and landscaping more attractive.
Below are 10 surprising uses of ornamental crops that you might not have thought of before.
1) For Decoration
Ornamental plants are a lovely addition to any garden, which offer beautiful scenery during the winter months. Flowers are used to decorate the house or environment to look more beautiful. Also can use in birthdays, wedding ceremony, Anniversary, in offices and so on.
2) Used for medicinal purposes
Many plant species have medicinal properties. Whether the plants are used to treat conditions or illnesses such as headaches, colds, and other problems.
The various methods of preparation for medication range from boiling whole plants in water to grinding up the leaves, roots, and stems into a powder and drying them out in order to make pills.
All parts of the plant are often used in medicine, as different parts may have different benefits.
In some cases, they will even use an entire tree rather than just its bark or fruit.
3) Landscaping purposes
Ornamental crops add value to your home, save on cooling and heating costs, and can provide food. Consider adding them to your landscaping plan.
You’ll also be happy to know that they come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes so you’ll be able to find the perfect fit for your property.
4) Serves as Wildlife habitat
One overlooked use of ornamental plants is to provide habitat for wildlife.
There are many types of birds, rodents, and other small mammals that live and feed among the hedges and shrubs planted throughout your environment.
Try using plantings to create dense ground cover or berms that can provide protective cover from predators and reduce exposure to harsh winter weather.
5) Composting material
One way that ornamental crops can be utilized is in composting.
Ornamentals, such as roses and hibiscus, are great at absorbing nutrients and should be mixed with food scraps to add extra benefit to your soil when it comes time to plant new flowers or vegetables.
6) Edible flowers
It can be tough to come up with new and inventive ways to use plants from your garden in recipes.
When your flower beds are humming along nicely, using flowers for edible purposes may seem like a hard sell. But there are actually plenty of delicious ways to use edible flowers, from salads to cocktails.
You might not realize this, but there are a lot of plants with edible flowers.
Edible flowers can be used in a variety of different recipes and they’re great to add extra flavor to your food.
The most common edible flower is the lavender plant, which has been used as a flavoring agent since the Middle Ages.
There are also flowers like violas and dianthus that you can use as garnishes on top of dishes or salads.
7) Fiber source
Ornamental crops produce long, thin fibers which can be used to weave textiles like linen and cotton.
Linen is a textile material often used in clothing because it has a luxurious texture and is naturally resistant to mold.
Due to the longevity of these fibers, they can also be recycled into other textiles by chopping them up and mixing them with wool.
The same process happens with cotton.
8) Bedding material
One less-known use of ornamental plants is as bedding material.
Ornamental crops around the foundation or exterior of buildings will not only add color, but serve as a weed prevention measure that can deter crawling insects like ants.
These types of plants are often sold in large bags from retail stores and garden centers.
They are available year-round and can be delivered on site.
Common ones to choose include golden aster, meadow rue, lamb’s ear, germander, creeping thyme and creeping jenny.
9) Weaving material
Although many people think of ornithology when they hear ornamental crops, these crops are also useful in a number of other capacities.
For example, woven materials such as basketry, mats, and clothing were created using the reeds that grow on marshes and wetlands.
In an era where plastic is ubiquitous in our society, woven materials provide us with natural alternatives to synthetic materials.
Woven structures also help combat food insecurity by providing shade to low-income communities while simultaneously offering income opportunities to the artisans who make them.
10) They are grown for food and source of income
These plants are grown primarily to enhance your yard or garden.
Sure, they can be eaten, but the main draw is their beautiful shapes and colors.
When you grow your own, you can save money by providing some of your own food with the added bonus of enhancing your space with color and texture.
Ornamental crops are also source of income when sold out either as a flower or edible food.
Example is Corn: Corn is actually one of the first foods that humans domesticated and consumed in large quantities because it was so easy to harvest an get significant caloric value from it.
If you live in a region where corn will produce well, you may want to give this old favorite a try when growing ornamental crops on your land.