| Earth is a plant-oriented planet and the green plant is
fundamental to all other life. Plants provide the basis of our energy
balance, our atmosphere, and our food supply. Agriculture, the management
of plants that sustain us, forms the basis of our social, cultural,
religious, and legal systems. The increasing urbanization of humanity in
the twentieth century has obscured the intimate connection between humans
and plant life. This relationship has been neglected at great peril for
our well-being as a species. The new role of horticulture will be to
re-establish the bond between plants and people. |