THINK
GLOBAL - GARDEN LOCAL
By
Todd Davidson
Photo courtesy Curt Bentzinger: www.imagearium.com
October 2006
When current global, environmental,
or political affairs make us
feel helpless, we must remember
that we can make significant
strides toward a sustainable
world locally and daily. Personally,
I prefer spending time in the
garden – my own microcosm – to
find peace, enjoyment, and hope
during tumultuous times.
We can do our part to save the world by applying sustainable principles in
the garden. The garden is part of an interdependent, discontinuous ecosystem
that
doesn’t stop at our fences or property lines. Close observation of the
common pocket gopher’s expansive and destructive tunnel system, which
can connect through an entire neighborhood, clearly exemplifies this point.
A
sustainable approach to gardening requires a regard for the
ecosystem as a collective whole – from
below the ground and up. Soil interactions, influenced
by a myriad of influxes such as soil textures,
presence or lack of organic matter, soil moisture,
plant-root structures, fertilizers, pesticides,
microorganisms, vertebrates, and more, are largely
responsible for nutrition and overall plant health.
Most domestic
garden soils may have undergone tremendous compaction
from home-construction activities, concrete,
paint and stucco washouts, and more. One of the
best ways to buffer construction toxins in soil,
improve soil structure, and welcome beneficial
microorganisms, is to incorporate organic material,
such as compost (free of pathogens). Additionally,
slow-release organic fertilizers and mychorrizal
fungi may help a conditioned soil yield flourishing
plant growth.
Above
ground, we can find many more active participants
in
our garden’s ecology. For example, plant
pests such as aphids, mites, and mealy bugs may
be sucking away on a favorite plant one sunny
day. Before quickly loading a spray gun full
of your pesticide arsenal for rapid revenge,
look a little closer; parasitic wasps, lacewings,
or ladybugs may already be consuming the lion’s
share of these pests. By spraying, we may kill
beneficial insects and disrupt the delicate balance
of the insect ecosystem.
A
wide array of plant materials in the garden also
helps attract
a diversity of insects, birds, and other advantageous
members of our garden’s community. A rich
variety of biological life perpetuates symbiosis
and overall garden health. Indigenous plants
have evolved with pollinators and seed disseminators
over thousands of years, while many birds, insects,
and other animals have evolved with co-adapted
gene complexes for particular plants, furthering
interdependence among plants and animals. With
the right plants, you can attract nature’s
own garden fairies rather than buying man-made
products and chemicals to do their work. Tubular
flowers and those containing elongated stamens – like
bottlebrush, California fuchsia, and penstemon – tend
to beckon the hummingbird. Ripening fruits, such
as gooseberry, elderberry, and wild rose, along
with worms and other insects, invite various
other birds to feast. Large clusters of small
flowers allow butterflies to probe for nectar
with minimal leg movement, as seen with butterfly
bushes, heliotrope, and milkweed. Beneficial
wasps tend to gather around dense flower heads
such as marigold, buckwheat, and yarrow.
Resource conservation
and preservation is another cornerstone to sustainable
gardening. Here in the arid west, water is unarguably
the most precious resource. Planting large expanses
of water-thirsty turf grass is an irresponsible
and needless waste. Californians work with landscaping
paradigms intended for wet regions of the East
Coast or England that are capable of supporting
turf grass. Thankfully, progressive horticulturists
and garden designers are taking the lead in integrating
appropriate native grasses that use minimal water
once established and require minimal mowing.
One great example, the local dune sedge, Carex
praegracillis, can be grown as a mini-meadow
with wispy wiry texture or be mowed regularly
for a formal look. A silvery Mediterranean meadow
of Silver Sedge, Carex glauca, can also
be established and cared for with minimal resource
consumption. The work of removing turf to implant
native grass will pay off in the long run, for
your garden and for the environment as a whole.
The
idea of sustainability is to meet the needs of
the present
without restricting future generations from doing
the same. Gardens are a great way to celebrate
sustainability and preserve the Central Coast’s
unmatched outdoor lifestyle for posterity. Be
kind and be well.
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