Our contribution to the greater environment
RHS member Su Hurrell responds to the news article 'White Paper with green credentials' inThe Garden, August 2011 p509
Working as an ecological artist, I was curious enough to download the White Paper and read it in full. I was encouraged to find the report so clear about the need to reconnect the ‘fragmented collection of England's wildlife areas’, and I am intrigued to see how this plays out in our day-to-day lives.
The introduction of The White Paper, ‘The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature’ boldly acknowledges the problems associated with addressing single environmental issues, ‘because it does not reflect the way that nature works as a system’ (p7 of the paper). It goes on to suggest that gardens could play a role in reversing environmental damage.
I am pleased to see that the White Paper defines ‘natural environment’ in its broadest sense, embracing not only the wide-open spaces but also the different types of contact we have with nature in rural and urabn areas, including domestic gardens.
The importance of gardens
As 87% of homes in England have a garden, it is one area many of us are in a position of influence. We are able to decide the manner in which these spaces are maintained. While each garden might not be significant, the combined area domestic gardens cover is equivalent to approximately half the land area occupied by National Parks.
The potential contribution to the whole system is enormous, as a means of connecting the ‘fragmented collection of England’s wildlife areas’ identified in the 2010 independent review of England’s wildlife sites and ecological network chaired by Professor John Lawton. In this way domestic gardens can play a part in the creation of a coherent and resilient ecological network which is able to respond to the challenges of climate change and other pressures. Gardens act as both linear and stepping-stone corridors as well as buffer zones in the environment.
Is it time to re-evaluate the standards by which we judge our gardening efforts and the resulting impact on the ecological system? What drives us to garden as we do?
Good and bad practice
What shapes our horticultural practice to give us a sense of ‘good and ‘bad’ practice?
The RHS plays a huge role as arbiter of standards of excellence in horticulture. That horticultural practice has been honed by the RHS through research into disease, weed and pest control as well as best maintenance practices for more than 200 years. We absorb our knowledge of ‘right and wrong’ almost by osmosis from the media, however most of us would turn to our RHS books as a first port of call if we wanted to know how to do something ‘properly’.
What do we mean by gardening ‘properly’? It could mean the pursuit of the perfect weed-free lawn; ridding ourselves of slugs and snails; producing the brightest flawless blooms, knowing when to prune or spray; or banishing the forked carrot. These ambitions stem from reasonable ideas: ease of maintenance, produce that does not spoil, better quality and bigger harvests.
Take two allotments, planted with the same vegetables: a badly weeded, insect-riddled plot will be more diverse, ecologically speaking, whereas a neat plot will stand a better chance of recognition at the produce show. So keener gardening efforts encourage environmental depletion on a small scale. No real harm done… unless you add up that all the gardens make an area equivalent to half the National Parks.
The bigger picture
If domestic gardens are truly to contribute to the ecological network, then we as gardeners have a duty to ensure the horticultural practices we employ benefit natural connections. Forget thinking ‘outside the box’: we need to start thinking ‘beyond the fence’. This will require a new kind of knowledge that thinks in terms of whole systems, rather than linear solutions to our horticultural problems.
Gardeners are in a good position to influence this shift in thinking and actions, dealing as they do with the environment around them on a regular and personal level. The RHS is in a key position too, as arbiter of standards within horticulture. Whether the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is ready for planting lists that include ragwort and nettles remains to be seen, but if gardeners are to contribute to an interconnected environment, our attitudes to how we co-exist with the world around us must be re-examined.
Su Hurrell, RHS member and environmental artist, Staffordshire