Photographer: Menashe Davidson
Summary Author: Menashe Davidson
Home gardening is my friendly retreat from the city where I live -- Rishon LeZion, Israel. The plants in my little gardens supply oxygen more for my soul than for my lungs, but they also fill my basic senses of sight, smell, taste and touch. We grow about 100 species of plants both on the balcony of our apartment (top photo) and on the roof of the apartment building. 
The inset at left shows some of these. Plants on the balcony are mainly decorative and include annuals and perennials, ornamentals, and flowering plants. Roof plants provide fresh produce (vegetables, fruits and herbs), and as an added value their leafy cover helps moderate the temperature of the apartment building. We use Integrated Production/Pest Management approaches on our gardens. This isn't a single method approach but rather a series of management evaluations, decisions and controls, combining common-sense practices with modern agricultural techniques. For example, though we use pesticides, we minimize the use of fertilizer and collect rainwater whenever possible. Produce from your garden is not only fresher but always seems to taste better than fruits and vegetables purchased from the market. Photo taken on May 16, 2012.
Photo Details: Top - Camera: NIKON D80; Focal Length: 32.0mm (35mm equivalent: 48mm); Aperture: f/6.3; Exposure Time: 0.0063 s (1/160); ISO equiv: 100.
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