Ghost Gardener: Wasted Space to Treasured Place

August 28, 2013

A recent Facebook post by Jenks Farmer, Plantsman commented on a Weekly Hubris article titled Online Porn & the Particular Gardener by his colleague William A. Balk, Jr.  Who can resist reading such an evocatively titled piece of association?  Farmer and Balk—and you, too, I bet—share the opinion that gardening is, in Farmer’s words, an enriching, enduring activity rather than what Balk bemoans it can be exploited into by marketing savvy:  simply a shopping experience.  To get the full version and to enjoy Balk’s clever, witty writing style, read for yourself.

To be sure, it’s perfectly okay simply to adore plants for their appearance.   Who among us is immune to the calming, uplifting effects of natural beauty?  Humans are visual creatures, and like the clothes you wear, the car you drive, or the paint color you choose for your front door, your chosen habitat is an extension of your unique personality.  You want your yard to look good, right?

Yet is beauty alone enough?

My guess is that you have an awareness of the whole sustainability or green movement by now. Descriptives such as eco-friendly adorn product packaging, and items that claim to be produced from recycled materials are more commonplace. Curbside recycling is more prevalent than ever, removing all obstacles for urban and suburban dwellers save that of sheer laziness. 

But if we relegate our gardening efforts to the narrow confines of beautification, we miss out on the opportunity to expand our sustainability practices from recycling our waste to connecting with our ecosystem and affecting our home habitat in positive, healing , wondrous ways. 

Sustainability is much more than recycling man-made items for repeat usage, although this is an excellent way to begin.  The concept is more of an over-arching philosophy of how one approaches life on this planet as a steward of our shared natural environment.  We all are Mother Nature’s children, and thus we all are connected to each other and all life forms of the past, present, and future.  The advent of industrialism and the cheap energy sources that continue to fuel our progress since the late 19th Century have taken our feet off the ground.  We find our First World selves stuck in a linear pattern of consumption:   Produce then Use then Throw Away.   I think this behavior mode has invaded our concept of gardening as well, evidenced by the majority of homes sporting exclusively ornamental  landscapes that usually strive to conquer and tame any hint of wilderness in our yards.

I too am guilty of reveling in the man-made landscape.  Heck, I’ve been making a living as an ornamental gardener for 5 years now.   Yet my journey has led me deeper into the practice of gardening, and  I am compelled to acknowledge my responsibility as a caretaker of this planet.  Does this mean I’m quitting my job and moving to a farming commune?  Never planting annuals again? Giving my clients grief for insisting on so much turf grass?  Hardly.  I’m not an extremist—and you don’t have to be one either to begin a more mindful life as a journeyman environmentalist.   Your efforts can be small, can be gradual, can be in keeping with who you know yourself to be.  That little voice inside your head that nags you to live in a more Green way isn’t telling you to abandon your comfort zone completely, and this would lead to failure anyway.  Instead, open your eyes to some eco-efforts going on all around you, and perhaps you will be inspired to act, not just dream.

One such effort is taking place on a large scale at a local private school, and one aspect of the environmental awareness on campus is what appears to be an ordinary pond.   I visited the campus of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School this week because I’d heard buzz about all the cool projects accomplished and in progress by their SEED program.  Heathwood’s Student Environmental Education committee, made up of teachers, parents, administrators, and students, has been practicing sustainability for at least 10 years now.    My friend Valerie Moore, Director of Heathwood Plus, showed me around, and you’ll hear about more of their projects in future articles.  The one I want to feature now concerns the notion of reverting wasted space to treasured place—not just for people, but for wildlife too.

Heathwood campus got a shot in the arm when horticulturist Todd Beasley joined on as a 5th grade science teacher.   I didn’t meet him this visit, but Valerie made sure to show me an attractively landscaped pond at the campus’ entrance, teeming with dragonflies and toads.  Seems that the area had always been a boggy, mosquito-breeding eyesore in the expanse of lawn surrounding the bell tower, visible from every car driving in, and certainly not in keeping with the well-tended appearance of campus as a whole.  

Beasley, fresh from his position with the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden hort staff, saw a golden opportunity:  turn wasted (and ugly) space into a natural habitat and beautiful water feature.  Plus, his students were active participants, from digging the pond, to placing the rocks, to planting the water-loving grasses, shrubs, and trees.  Wow.  Hands-on learning and an environmentally sustainable end-result advantageous not only to students to learn from, but for the creatures that inhabit the little ecosystem.

I hope to bring you weekly inspiration, and an occasional how-to, to help your journey towards greater sustainability in your personal habitat.   One small step to take right now is to like the Permaculture Magazine page on facebook.  Practical information sent to your news feed!

Ghost Gardener is co-owner of Viva Verde Customized Gardening, and you may be able to spot her in clients’ yards from Shandon to  Forest Hills to Blythewood.  You can reach her for questions or comments via email:   [email protected]