I recall listening to Jonathon Porritt, then director of Friends of the Earth,
back in the 1980s, banging on about climate change and the need to address
the decimation of natural resources and reckless burning of fossil fuels as
a matter of urgency if we were to save the planet.
Porritt, now programme director of Forum for the Future and chairman of the
Sustainable Development Commission, was a man ahead of his time. The task he
and his fellow environmentalists faced was enormous. His struggle to wake up
a largely indifferent audience was akin to watching someone wading through
molasses wearing wellies, as the mood of the nation was still overwhelmingly
one of conspicuous consumption.
After decades of subliminal absorption, the penny has finally dropped, and it
is fascinating how swiftly and dramatically public interest and opinion has
changed. The touchpaper has been lit and “carbon emissions”, “organic”,
“eco-footprint”, “recycling”, “sustainability” and “conservation” are now
words and phrases on everyone’s lips.
The same dramatic shift in awareness has galvanised the gardening community.
My father and the vast majority of his contemporaries shovelled countless
wheelbarrows full of peat on to the flower beds, sprayed anything that moved
and set up whirring water sprinklers in every suburban garden. We now know
better, and for the most part these practices seem almost medieval. The use
of chemicals is anathema, with many of the substances previously on offer
now no longer available. If asked, most of us would claim to garden at least
semi-organically.
Garden designers have been quick to respond, taking their clients’ new-found
eco-consciences on board. The Society of Garden Designers held its first
environmental symposium last November, which was a sellout. Among us
everyday gardeners, too, there is a real sense of genuinely wanting to
change and to make a difference. This is important, as domestic gardens make
up so much green space, both rural and urban, that we really can make a
difference by making small alterations to what we do.
Taking our lead from nature is surely the way forward. Being an
environmentally caring gardener is usually based on common sense and working
with local growing conditions. Much is labour-saving — you won’t be fighting
with plants that are struggling to survive — and cost-saving, as you will be
replacing throwaway habits with a sustainable culture of reusing and
recycling. If we make 2007 the year we change the way we garden, our
children and grandchildren will thank us for it.
The Ten Commandments
Thou shalt conserve water: who would have thought that in
this country of incessant drizzle, water would become such a precious
commodity, especially in the southeast of England? The gardener needs to
plan ahead, conserve as much water as possible and deploy it thoughtfully.
Use water butts to collect run-off rainwater throughout the year and recycle
household “grey” water from baths, and so on, ideally using biodegradable
detergents and soap.
Wherever you live, watering generously only when absolutely necessary is far
better than little and often, as it encourages deep rooting rather than
shallow surface roots, enabling plants to search more effectively for water
in dry weather. Whether dealing with containers or plants in the ground,
water only in the evening or early morning to minimise evaporation, and
direct the water at the soil rather than the leaves. Finally, a generous
layer of mulch, be it organic material or gravel, will maximise the
retention of moisture within the soil.
Thou shalt put the right plant in the right place: this might
seem obvious, but in the past we have been able to push the boundaries,
coaxing thirsty plants to grow in thin soil with liberal watering. If you
choose your plants carefully, once they are established, it should be
possible to achieve a non-irrigation policy in most gardens. Juvenile plants
will need to be watered while they settle in, but once they reach maturity,
it may be best to accept that what doesn’t survive without extra help is
unsuitable anyway.
Thou shalt not use peat: peat bogs are an essential part of
the ecosystem and once they have been harvested, they are gone for ever. If
the Royal Horticultural Society and the National Trust can both resist peat
as a soil improver and mulch in their gardens, so can the average gardener.
There are now so many excellent alternatives to peat that it has become
impossible to justify its use in domestic gardens. Sometimes, however,
garden centres make buying peat-free composts more difficult than it needs
to be. Lobby your local retailers. Tell them you want to be offered the
widest selection of quality peat-free products. If we vote with our wallets,
they will soon get the message.
Thou shalt recycle garden waste: composting is the key to
successful garden management. There’s nothing more satisfying than producing
sweet-smelling crumbly home-made compost simply by chucking a lot of
unwanted vegetation on to the heap. Once you start turning kitchen waste,
grass cuttings, annual weeds and ripped-up newspaper into black gold, fallen
leaves into flaky leaf-mould and shredded sticks and prunings into valuable
mulch, you’ll never burn or chuck out garden rubbish again.
Thou shalt reuse non-biodegradable products: we all have
teetering towers of plastic pots in the shed. Before you throw anything out,
ask yourself: is there still life in it? Many plastic containers can be
reused, although a thorough clean is a good idea to prevent disease. It is
time to go back to using cut-off lemonade bottles as mini propagators and
yoghurt pots for potting on seedlings.
Thou shalt minimise the use of chemicals: this can be almost
taken as read nowadays, although there is a notable exception. When I
studied practical horticulture, I was taught that, even if you intended to
garden organically in the long term, it was justifiable to zap a badly
neglected, weed-infested plot with glyphosate at the outset and thereafter
keep on top of things with a regime of vigilant prevention rather than cure.
Unless you are prepared to wait months for pernicious perennial weeds to
give up the ghost beneath thick sheets of black polythene or old carpet,
this is still the most practical approach, though purists may disagree.
Thou shalt leave a messy bit: a pile of logs, long grass and
fallen leaves are an ideal habitat for beneficial wildlife, providing
somewhere to shelter, hibernate and reproduce. Encourage hedgehogs,
ladybirds and beetles into your garden, and you will have an army of aphid,
slug and snail-eaters permanently on call — far better than reaching for the
bug gun.
Thou shalt use hard landscaping with sensitivity: it is worth
questioning where materials such as stone, timber and gravel have been
sourced and looking at their impact on the environment — concrete is
particularly ecologically unsound. Before buying new materials, consider
whether you could use something reclaimed or recycled.
Thou shalt use lighting responsibly: light pollution is
irritating for neighbours, confuses birds and is a waste of electricity. By
all means, light up the garden for parties or over Christmas, but restrict
the use of everyday outdoor lighting to practical security or safety lights.
Solar-powered versions are worth investigating, and there are plenty of
candle-holders, oil-burners and torches on the market that will create more
sparkle and atmosphere than any amount of electricity.
Thou shalt teach thy children where food comes from: children
love to grow things. It is fun getting mucky, and if they can eat the fruits
of their labours, so much the better. If we are really going to change
habits in the future, we have to tempt our kids away from their computers
and televisions and inspire in them a genuine love of nature and respect for
their planet.
