Vegetation composition and landscape preference with reference to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

Abstract

“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world” A quotation by John Muir emphasizes that even within the simplest aspect of nature, there is immense beauty and nature is not just a place to visit, it is a realm of wonder and exploration. In creating this realm, the interplay between vegetation composition and landscape preference is important. Landscape architecture needs to involve a place making process carefully when composing and manipulating vegetation to address preferential needs of humans including aesthetic, psychological and spiritual. The objective of this study is to enquire the impact of vegetation composition on landscape preference. The study is based on vegetation composition indicators through six visual concepts, which describe landscape character-relationships to theories of landscape preference (coherence, disturbance, visual scale, imageability, complexity and naturalness). This study was conducted with reference to vegetation composition at Royal Botanic Garden, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka using with a sample of thirty participants. Final data collection was done based on an online questionnaire survey with quantitative and qualitative data. Five spaces were selected as case studies for final questionnaire after the pilot study. Finding revealed recommendations to guide future landscape designs and maintenance practices in botanical gardens and similar public spaces.