Review of Horticulture Over the Centuries

The historic roots of horticulture began with a variety of native plants grown in unison to create a "garden farm." Flowers, fruits, ground cover plants and trees are only a few of the distinct combinations. Not only is food an important crop, ornamental plants draw wildlife such as butterflies and bees that propagate plants, and provide a visual aesthetic to the home.

Horticulture has an ancient history dating back to the Neolithic Age (Approximately 8000 B.C.E.). People of the Greater Mesopotamia region (now Iraq) primarily hunted and gathered their food. The rich soil, mild climate and availability of fresh water offered a nutrient rich flood plain. Naturally occurring barley, wheat, quinoa, maize and oats flourished which the Mesopotamians gathered to make cereals. 

During a slow transition, people of the Neolithic age began to settle into specific regions and the small scale cultivation of specific plants made gathering grains more efficient. The Mesopotamians no longer had to expel large amounts of energy and time to gather their natural foods. They used small plots of land closer to the vicinity of their dwellings to grow a variety of crops.

There are two main differences between horticulture and agriculture. First, horticulture is comprised of many different types of crops grown on smaller plots of land rather than a single type of crop grown on a large parcel. Second, horticulture includes vegetation planted alongside fruit trees, ground plants, shrubs and medicinal herbs. The wider variety of plants allows for greater soil enrichment which maintains healthier soil and water, and healthier plants.

Major food crops of the present day originate from a few distinct places on the globe called "Centers of Origin." Most current day crops are not native to the geographic areas where they are grown in the greatest production. Due to the lack of genetic variability in these transplanted species, the "Centers of Origin" are increasingly important as sources of wild plants that possess hereditary variation. Genetic traits such as pest and disease resistance are increasingly important for the survival of modern day food crops. Horticulturists select particular traits from wild and domesticated plants to produce improved varieties of hybrid crops. Through selective breeding, plants gain the genetic diversity necessary to withstand the pressures of environmental factors present in single crop large scale agriculture.