Aquascaping is the art of creating naturalistic, visually-pleasing underwater scenes in aquaria. Bn aquarium enclosure can be set up for strictly utilitarian ends, such as fish breeding, but an aquascape seeks to achieve visual harmony between the aquarium fish and/or or other livestock, live plants, sediment substrates, stones and sunken log, root or branch features. Many hands and minds have worked to create miniature worlds inside of aquariums with seemingly boundless forms of expression, but the late Japanese photographer, explorer and craftsman Takashi Amano should be credited for establishing the theory and methods of contemporary aquascaping. While drawing on refined Japanese horticultural traditions such as karesansui, bonsai and tsubo-niwa, Amano synthesized the Nature Aquarium concept with integration of plant care, fish selection and visual design questions to build captivating aquascapes as recreations of aquatic environments in Nature. He also applied modern design aesthetic to build aquarium tanks and other hardware with clean lines and the best materials. Amano pioneered the use of pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) to dramatically improve aquarium plant vigor and he founded Aqua Design Amano, manufacturer of premium glass aquariums, CO2 equipment, lighting, furniture and water filtration.

Water is assumed as the primary medium for any aquascape. Skilled aquascapers take great care to maintain water clarity, chemistry and temperature within optimal parameters. However, as fundamental as it is to both wild and captive aquatic ecosystems, water is seldom treated as a subject or focus in a decorative aquascape. This aquarium project attempts to elevate the water itself as a dynamic, specific aquascape element. Combining natural biotic, and abiotic elements with electrical/electronic parts, Horses’ Teeth represents a desert pool environment and the physical forces influencing the motion of water.

The aquarium enclosure is an approximate 75-liter (20 gallons) square (60cm X 60cm X 20cm) [24″ X 24″ X 8″]) DIY glass tank. A single large weathered sandstone slab with a fine sand substrate and botanical elements reinforce the desert environment concept. A fish species in Family Goodeidae, the Redtail Splitfin (Xenotoca eiseni) introduced in a small group is not exactly true to biotope, but looks right with the other elements. We may eventually replace these animals with a better desert fish fauna representation, such as a Cyprinodon sp. Pupfish. A pendant LED lamp (Kessil A160WE Tuna Sun) provides illumination as a bright point-source light, while a surface skimmer (OASE CrystalSkim 350) removes water surface film and provides some water circulation.

A microcontroller + electromagnet assembly generates concentric water ripples and provides a measure of interactivity via a digital menu, rotary encoder and LCD screen display. An observer can scroll through four menu options to select signal delays for a small electromagnet, which in turn actuates a horizontal dipper arm through attraction of a ferrous steel ring. Water ripples then propagate outward from a round plastic bead at the dipper arm’s terminus. Ripple tanks of the kinds used for laboratory experiments or science education may employ mechanisms like this one or other solutions.

These shallow ripples are themselves barely visible as they travel across the aquarium water surface, but a lensing effect created by their interactions with light, known as water caustics, reflects distinct patterns on the wall surface and ceiling above the tank. Timing of ripple generation as modulated by the microcontroller demonstrates principles such as wavelength and frequency, while diffraction, reflection, interference and reflection emerge as additional wave properties when their energy contacts the aquarium glass. In this aquarium, fundamental physical principles thus manifest alongside ecological, biological and geological processes as a novel way to represent their myriad interactions in Nature.

With individual cells usually much too small to see without magnification, Prokaryotes, the Bacteria and Archaea, are the tiniest of all living things. Lacking membrane-bound nuclei and organelles, individual Prokayote cells are also structurally simple in comparison with those of the Eukaryotes, the group that includes us and the other multicellular organisms along with the diverse and usually single-celled Protists. But initial impressions can be deceiving. When characterized according to metabolic strategies, the chemical pathways that an organism can leverage to create, store and expend energy, the Prokaryotes are vastly more diverse than the Eukaryotes. The cells of Animals, Plants, Fungi and Protists generally use oxygen-dependent reactions, but the Prokayotes can leverage elemental or compound forms of Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Sulfur, Iron or Manganese, among other options, to drive their cellular respiration.

While they are usually much to small to see, the Prokaryotes may grow colonially as Cyanobacteria-dominated aquatic microbial mats, macroscopic structures that are essential primary producers and critical recyclers of essential nutrients. Microbial mats were probably among the Earth’s earliest ecosystems. Stromatolites are stony structures formed beneath and within microbial mats through precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in layers as a consequence of photosynthesis. An individual stromatolite may have a mass of several tons, while collectively stromatolites can form immense reef structures, although this manifestation of Prokaryote rock-building was much more common in the deep past than in the oceans of today.

Microbial mats usually grow in fully aquatic situations, but the land surface can also develop an extensive, visible and ecologically-important Prokaryote community. Biocrusts grow as thin layers on stone or soil surfaces in areas where harsh conditions exclude most plants. They are often composed primarily of Cyanobacteria, while also hosting Algae, Fungi, tiny invertebrate Animals, Lichens and simple Plants (e.g. Mosses, Liverworts), About 12% of the Earth’s land surface is covered with biocrusts, with most of this coverage in deserts where the feature is also known as cryptogamic crust.

As a biophilic design feature, this project is a variation on living wall or vertical garden concepts, but we configured it to showcase Cyanobacteria and Algae as a living biocrust. The build process started with stitching of a felted industrial scrub pad to a plastic frame. Dry red art clay was poured into the pad, then wetted to create a microbial colonization surface. The following organisms were purchased from a biological science supply house as liquid cultures, then introduced to areas of the moist pad:

• Chlorococcum sp., a Green Alga.
• Coleochaete scutata, a Green Alga with interesting proposed evolutionary status.
• Fischerella sp., a filamentous Cyanobacterium.
• Gloeocapsa sp., a Cyanobacterium known to damage shingle roofs.
• Mougeotia sp., a Green Alga.
• Protococcus sp., a single-celled, primarily terrestrial Green Alga with one species implicated in formation of watermelon snow.

Biocrusts grow in the Earth’s driest deserts, but the Algae and Cyanobacteria that comprise them are essentially aquatic organisms: they survive these conditions by growing after rain events or fog, then enter dormancy as soil moisture evaporates. Not every Green Alga or Cyanobacterium can grow like this out of the water. While making the project selections we used Internet and scientific publication research to find taxa with at least some documentation of terrestrial growth.

We applied small amounts of dilute liquid fertilizer were applied to the clay surface, then enclosed the pad + frame in a clear plastic tub. An LED strip provided lighting while moisture was maintained with occasional waterings.

The clay developed a wonderfully rich patina of colors and textures as the microbial biocrust developed. Having dispersed to the environment as spores, a few patches of Moss and two Ferns also appeared on the panel as volunteers. Since it grows faster than the Cyanobacteria and Algae, the moss has been trimmed back several times, but we have left small areas of coverage for more variety. A watertight, wall-mount enclosure (40cm X 73cm X 12cm) displays the panel, while a pendant LED lamp provides illumination for viewing and photosynthesis. Irrigation water applied to the top of the panel wicks though the felt filter pad to maintain moisture for the growing biocrust.

This project has yielded a dramatic, visually captivating result. We look forward to continued development of the display with time as well as additional ideas for further work. Future Mudbrick Vertical Garden renditions may be started with mixed wild biocrust cultures, rather than laboratory strains, and we will also experiment with additional enclosure and growing surface design options.

In recent years, our region (Upper Midwest, United States) has benefitted from increasing awareness of native plants and their many benefits. However, while this region historically featured a rich tapestry of forest, woodland, wetland and aquatic plant communities, planting/restoration efforts have usually involved native herbaceous prairie grasses and forbs. Prairie species are indeed compelling choices for a native planting. Prairie restoration projects can help to reverse the near complete destruction of prairies as a consequence of agricultural and urban development. Prairie plants respond relatively fast, often maturing within just a couple of years to beautify the landscape with rich displays of flowers and foliage textures while also providing wildlife habitat and food sources.

Native woody plants, however, merit more recognition. Successive waves of introduced tree pathogens and pests have selectively killed off millions of forest canopy trees, an issue that may be addressed in part through planting of a wider diversity of native tree species. Land use changes have also tended to impede the natural reproduction of Oaks (Quercus spp.), the native trees arguably having the greatest ecological value. Native shrubs have likewise suffered from environmental change. Millions of acres of forest and woodland are severely degraded owing to the advance of non-native, invasive shrubs such as Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus). Open areas and property boundaries in urban and suburban areas often come to be dominated by these invasive shrubs along with just a few weedy native trees, such as Boxelder (Acer negundo) and Black Walnut (Juglans nigra).

The following lists particularly compelling features of native shrubs as home garden and habitat restoration plant choices:

• Bird food sources – many native shrubs provide berries as food sources for birds and other wildlife. In some cases these small fruits on the plant well into the lean winter months (e.g. Highbush Cranberry [Viburnum trilobum]).
• Insect nectar and foliage hosts – some native shrubs (e.g. Viburnum spp. Cornus spp, Sambucus spp.) bloom with showy, often bright white, flower clusters in late spring or early summer that attract and support a wide variety of insect pollinators. Native shrubs also host a disproportionately high diversity of butterfly and moth (Lepidoptera) caterpillars as foliage food plants.
• Utilitarian/practical values – garden designers and landscapers have long planted lines of shrubs as privacy screens. With their ranges of forms, textures and colors they also have obvious value as garden foliage features. While shade trees can grow to large sizes making pruning or removal difficult and costly, a home gardener can usually manage even mature shrubs with just a few hand tools.

They grow on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, but the traditional farmland hedgerows of Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, exemplify a marriage of the ecological, aesthetic and utilitarian attributes of shrubs and small trees. Employed mainly as livestock enclosures since the Bronze Age, or even earlier, some ancient hedgerows survive in use to this day and define the deeply historic scenery of areas such as Cornwall, England; Normandy, France and Tuscany, Italy. Many thousands of miles of very old British Isles hedges have fallen to the advance of urban development and agricultural intensification, but with the UK’s deep appreciation for history, culture and wildlife conservation, a great deal has been invested in protecting and restoring hedgerows. It is in fact unlawful to remove traditional hedgerows in the United Kingdom without special permission and landowners may apply for funds dedicated to their replanting and maintenance.

While maintaining the traditional, bucolic scenery of rural areas, the hedgerows of the UK also conserve a traditional art. Hedgelaying is the practice of restoring overgrown hedges as effective livestock barriers and wildlife habitat. In a laid hedge, the worker cuts part of the way through the bases of select larger stems, referred to as pleachers, so that they may bent over without breaking at an approximate 45-degree angle. As the job progresses, workers cut shrub and tree stem stakes, usually from the same hedge, to be sharpened and driven into the soil along the laid stems, thus securing them in place. Thinner, flexible stems may be cut from Willow (Salix spp.) or other species to be woven between the stakes as binders, further stiffening the whole structure. The work is completed in late fall or winter, during plant dormancy, and the partial cut through the laid stems preserves enough of the plants’ vascular tissue so that they can re-sprout in the springtime. Whereas the aging hedge may have previously had many gaps around the shrub stems and thinning foliage along the shaded lower branches. The sprouts emerging from the laid stems’ dormant buds expand as thick, vigorous new growth in the much brighter, full-sun conditions. Within a couple of seasons the dead stakes and binders begin to decompose and fall to the ground, but by that point many new shoots will have grown to create a dense living barrier. Incorporating some thorny shrub species, especially Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) the hedge will come to be as impenetrable to Cattle, Horses and Sheep as barbed wire or electric fencing.

Hedgelaying thusly fulfills practical roles, while also conveying a harmony between the natural growth of living plants and human craftsmanship; being in this way akin to plant-training horticultural arts such as bonsai or espalier. This project began as I was reminded of the hedgerows of the United Kingdom during research into more general questions about native plants gardening. I was consequently inspired to attempt to create a laid hedge here in our home wildlife garden. Since I did not already have a planted, mature, multi-species hedge, I instead applied an alternative approach with a few compromises.

A quick garden survey identified two mature shrubs, a Common Witch-Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) and a Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum), growing in a line roughly parallel with the property boundary. These two plants had several stems each with the largest being more than 2 inches (50mm) in diameter at their bases, but there was about 10 feet (3m) of empty space between them. Since I was disinclined to wait 5-10 years for newly planted shrubs to grow, I instead filled the span with transplanted shrubs. United Kingdom farm hedges are planted on tight spacing, usually with just 9-18 inches (20-40cm) between seedlings. I initially situated the transplants about 18 inches (40cm) apart, but this spacing looked very thin with the spindly stems I was able to find growing elsewhere in the native garden. So I planted several more into the space. For better odds with transplant survival, I completed the work in late November as the plants entered their winter dormancy and almost all of their leaves had fallen. The following lists the species included along with observations on their garden use, ecology and hedge development:

• Amorpha fruticosa, False Indigo Bush – I planted this fine-foliage shrub from seed in another garden location about 5 years ago. As the garden’s only member of the Pea Family (Fabaceae) it is a potential caterpillar host plant for Silver-Spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus), Clouded Sulfur (Colias philodice) and Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) butterflies. The stems of this plant were only about .4 inches (10mm) in diameter at the base and rather brittle. One snapped all the way through during my work, while the second was successfully laid.
• Calycanthus X ‘Aphrodite’ – As a cultivated, hybrid, non-native species, this would otherwise be a less than ideal selection for a wildlife hedgerow, but this shrub was growing close to the hedgerow project and required transplant anyway, so it was moved in line with the other plants. The tropical foliage, unique flowers and interesting evolutionary status of Calycanthus offer some botanical interest for the garden. Stems of this plant were too thin for traditional pleacher cuts, but were instead simply bent over at the same angle as the other shrubs.
• Cornus amomom, Silky Dogwood – This attractive, robust, clonal shrub supports a diversity of insect pollinators as well as larval insects. More than 100 species of butterfly and moth caterpillars host on the foliage including the Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon ladon).
• Crataegus sp., a Hawthorn – I do not have a definitive ID for this plant, although based on leaf shape it might be a Downy Hawthorn (Crataegus mollis). Two sapling-size clones were dug with rather limited root balls from beneath a mature small Hawthorn, but with luck they will survive the dormant-season transplant.
• Hamamelis virginiana, Common Witch-Hazel – This interesting species and one of our most characteristic native shrubs seems to have very good form and growth habit for hedge laying. The late fall to early winter blooms support late season pollinators, while dozens of Lepidoptera, including the Funerary Dagger Moth (Acronicta funeralis), host on the summer foliage.
• Rhus typhina, Staghorn Sumac – With brilliant red fall foliage and persistent bright berry clusters, this clonal shrub provides 4-season garden visual interest and wildlife food value. A wide variety of insects host on the foliage and the berries are important winter emergency food for many birds. Sumacs invest more in their root systems, while their stems are rather weak and pithy. The brittle stem of this single transplant almost snapped through, but there might be enough live tissue to support new shoots in the springtime.
• Salix exigua, Coyote Willow – Willows are excellent hedgerow selections. They respond very well to pruning and pruned branches serve as perfect hedge binders. Coyote Willow is a common, fast-growing plant obviously well-adapted to our conditions.
• Viburnum lentago, Nannyberry – Comparable to Cornus Dogwoods in bloom production and foliage host value, various native Viburnum species are easy to grow in the home garden.
• Zanthoxylum americanum, Prickly Ash – These small shrubs were transplanted from a wild stand. With the tops pruned, they stood only about 18 inches (45cm) tall and were thus too short for hedge laying, but I transplanted them into the line anyway. With aggressive, spreading tendencies, stout thorns and a spindly growth habit, Prickly Ash is not usually considered to be a desirable garden shrub. But as a member of the Citrus Family (Rutaceae) it is a botanically interesting plant and caterpillar host for North America’s largest butterfly, the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes).

The existing and transplanted shrubs were in a straight line only about 14 feet (4.25m), but the hedgelaying job required several hours of work to complete. After transplanting and clearing adjacent growth, I cut each pleacher at a height of 60 inches (150cm) from the ground. Traditional hedge laying guidance recommends laying pleachers at a 45-degree angle, but since I had a sparse arrangement of stems, I decided to bend them closer to the ground at about 30 degrees from horizontal for more overlap. Hedge layers usually use a sharp bill hook blade to chop clean, angled cuts through pleachers. I was unpracticed, however, and worried about cutting through too much wood, so I instead used a folding hand saw to start the pleacher cuts. For thinner stems I was able to then open the cut and enlarge the split with a bill hook, but on the largest Witch Hazel and Dogwood pleachers I made a pair of saw cuts to open space for the bill hook. Bending of the pleacher left the remaining vertical stem material as a heel, which I then cut off nearly flush with the soil surface using the folding saw.

As the pleacher laying progressed, I drove stakes into the ground to provisionally secure the stems and prevent additional breakage. Stakes were then pulled out and repositioned in a straight line with even 24-inch (50cm) spacing. A few wraps of jute twine joined the pleachers and the stakes. I could use more practice to achieve tight, consistent results, but the Willow branch binding was the most satisfying step of the process. The two strands of flexible binders bent around each other with a complete twist between each of the stakes. Willow branches averaged only about 5 feet (1.5m) long, so I inserted several new ones to maintain more or less consistent strand thickness down the length of the laid hedge.

The final step was to even the heights of all stakes with 45-degree folding saw cuts. If most of these pleacher stems survive the winter to resprout in the springtime, they will grow to form a dense, multispecies hedge. In our North American context, hedglelaying probably has limited utilitarian value, but borrowing from this agricultural tradition suggests a uniquely artistic option for gardening with native shrubs and small trees.

Few traces of the prehistoric world capture the imagination like fossilized Dinosaur bones. While the history of life on Earth extends to more than 4 billion years ago, it was during the relatively recent Mesozoic Era (251.9 to 66.0 million years ago) that the Dinosaurs evolved with their fantastic variety of reptilian forms and sometimes colossal proportions. In life, the largest Dinosaurs must have been imposing sights to see, and they currently attract the most research attention. But study of smaller species may inform additional palaeocology insights.

The smallest known non-avian dinosaurs are a few related species in Genus Microraptor, four-winged dromaeosaurids described from fossils unearthed in Northern China. These very little creatures were only about 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) in size and probably arboreal. While fossil beds in China and Mongolia, among other localities, have yielded numerous other small dinosaurs, until recently North American species skewed larger in size with few smaller than about 50 pounds (23 killograms). This status changed with the 2009 description of Hesperonychus elizabethae. Fossils of this animal, collected in 1982, are fragmentary, with only a partial hip bone and a few toe bones, but they were determined to have come from fully-grown individuals, rather than hatchlings or juveniles, and indicated an adult size of only about 4.2 pounds (1.9 kilograms). With a localities in the Oldman Formation and Dinosaur Park Foundation, H. elizabethe fossils are dated to about 75 million years ago in the Campanian Stage of the Late Cretaceous Epoch.

This project was built as a speculative Hesperonychus elizabethae habitat in a roomy (24″ X 24″ X 32″ [61cm X 61cm X 81cm]) glass enclosure combining live terrarium plants with diorama elements. Plant selections are intended to represent the species diversity of a Cretaceous forest with Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) saplings, Ferns (Pteridophyta) and early-diverging flowering plants (Angiosperms). While it can attain enormous proportions, Coast Redwood adapts well as a terrarium plant. It requires only moderate lighting and, unlike many other conifers, responds well to pruning.

Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) trunk pieces on sturdy plastic bases recreate the stems of towering ancient Redwoods, while a natural conifer leaf litter completes the forest scene. Oval-shaped Hesperonychus elizabethae eggs, arranged in a characteristic Theropod ring shape on a low mound, were first built as 3D models, then turned as smooth shapes on a wood lathe. A 2-part flexible silicone mold was poured around these to subsequently cast numerous additional copies in hard epoxy. Sanded smooth and with a finish of light mint green paint, the speculative replica eggs seem to create a convincing effect. There are no known fossilized H. elizabethae eggs, but based on fossil nest remains of related Dinosaur taxa and comparison with the eggs of modern birds, I designed the egg shape to have about 1 cubic inch of volume. This is about 1/2 of the volume of an egg from a bird, such as a small Chicken, having the same size as H. elizabethae.

The edaphotron visualizes an under-appreciated process, the formation of soils, with a wall-mount enclosure, natural materials, live organisms and electronic components. Bonsai soil gravel simulates weathered rock parent material, slowly blending with organic matter created as invertebrate animals, fungi and bacteria decompose forest leaf litter. A microcontroller and other parts in a t-slot array monitor temperature, humidity and volatile gas composition inside of the edaphotron, while also driving air pump air circulation.

Day 1, 10 October 2023.

We hung up a single piece in the Textile Arts Center of Madison non-juried members show, Interwoven, September 13-October 18, 2024. There was beautiful work on display, including intricate embroidery, lovely hand-stitching and explorations of natural fibers.

Our piece, Vented Mini Edo Dako, Ultralight Construction, is an edolito-style kite in ripstop nylon, dacron tape and carbon fiber exploring traditional Japanese kite designs. With the multi-line Edo bridle invoking nautical and architectural themes it stays aloft with a lively, dancing flight.