Preserving Taiwan’s threatened wild plants through alleyway gardens and ex-situ conservation

 

In the 1980s, landscape designer Robert Kourik proposed the concept of “edible landscaping,” integrating agriculture into landscape design to create spaces with both aesthetic and culinary value. During the Dutch colonial period, plants such as mango and wax apple were introduced to Taiwan, later becoming common trees in front and backyard gardens. Here, garden beds are filled with medicinal and edible plants, while jasmine and osmanthus hedges bloom with seasonal flowers and fragrance. This practice of “edible landscaping,” rooted in everyday Taiwanese life, illustrates a mutually beneficial environment where people and plants thrive together—revealing a profound connection between human life, alleyway culture, and nature embedded deep within our genes.

 

In collaboration with the Hsinchu Branch, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency and the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Good Times Alley creates a habitat where wild plants coexist with ornamental species. Threatened plants from the Taoyuan–Hsinchu–Miaoli region are transplanted into courtyards, walkways, and flower beds, displayed through professional landscape design that highlights the beauty and diversity of mixed plantings, interwoven with colorful flowers and herbs.

 

Good Times Alley calls attention to the shrinking habitats of wild plants as human activity expands, presenting the collaborative results of government agencies and private organizations in seed conservation and ex-situ preservation, while underscoring the importance of biodiversity.