Is This a Garden? What is Sustainable Gardening?
- Adele Falco
- May 19, 2024
- 3 min read
If we think of this as a garden, we are missing all the elements that create interest for us humans and we have to ask ourselves, what does this garden give to us and the environment? How can you benefit from sustainable gardening practices at your home?
When we think of a garden, what comes to mind? Throughout history, this word has meant so many different things. A place of sustenance, . A place of beauty, A place of refuge. A place of grandeur.
But, here we see a place of neat landscaping. Is this a garden? Perhaps this is beautiful to you. But, to us, this garden lacks all the elements that make gardens exciting - dare I say - thrilling places. Although this "garden" has probably been created through time, energy and money, this garden TAKES more than it gives and to us, that is not a garden at all. In fact, this simple landscape, one that you see over and over again, is more work than it appears and provides no benefit to the living environment.
Who lives here? In truth, this is a bad neighborhood for living things.
While neat and trim, this spot is unlikely to attract any other living thing. In fact, it's possible that the mulch you see here has been treated to detract other living things so although it provides a neatly consistent groundcover, it is one that takes away from all the life that would normally be in that place. And while the neatness of the photo may seem attractive to some, it is not likely that this setting can remain the same for very long. It's a weakened eco-system, likely to attract the kinds of things that make "gardening" hard work, i.e., weeds and invasives, but NOT the kinds of pollinators and other organisms that actually provide a cycle of give and take in the environment. WHY?
Because only the toughest guys would want to live in that environment. By tough, I mean the kinds of plants that don't need much love or nourishment -- they're bullies of a sort. Plants that spring up no matter the challenges they may face. They are the types of plants that don't give a damn about others and in the process, make maintenance of this site a constant chore. My guess is that this photo was taken on the day the work was done. I wondered how it looked one month later. Three months later. The next spring. The next fall. Sustainable gardening looks ahead at what a garden will provide and what it will require for years ahead.
Does it GIVE or TAKE?
If we think of this as beauty, we must be prepared to accept the fact that our garden is actually costing us much more than it gives. It's robbing the very place from which it grows. Time and energy will be needed to keep the shurbs in check, the weeds at bay and the invasives at bay. Not that these tasks aren't required in ALL gardens -- they are. But here, the garden just TAKES. It does not give. There's no resources provided for other living things like birds, bees and other pollinators. The soil is not enriched - it's actual depleted. It's likely the owner of this property will be told that the shrubs will need fertilizing. That's more cost to the environment as these chemical fertilizers drain away from this site to our waterways and other places.
So, to us, this is NOT a garden by any definition. This is a place where the natural environment wears a toxic mask. One that will cost the homeowner and all of us more than it should.
It would be our great pleasure to help guide your garden to be a contributor to LIFE, yours and the environment in which it lives. Please contact us to set up a free consultation.
There are numerous resources that will teach you how to appreciate the gardens you might envision for your property. Here are a few:
