My journey toward sustainable gardening
Here’s
where I’m coming from: I’m a suburban weekend gardener in Newton, Massachusetts, USA
gardening on a third of an acre lot (pictured above in May). My main interest is in
ornamental gardening, although I have a small vegetable plot. Over the years
I’ve struggled with such questions as how to compost yard waste without making
it a full-time job, what’s the most convenient and sustainable mulch, how to
kick my peat moss habit and shrink my garden’s carbon footprint, what to do
about my suburban lawn, how much watering is needed and environmentally
acceptable, whether to resort to pesticides when insects like winter moth
attack, how to react to invasive plants, and how to incorporate native plants
into a garden that’s already stuffed with a majority of nonnatives. I plan to share some of my stories with you, hoping they'll help clarify your own priorities.
A very insightful post
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of finding the middle ground between Eco-purism and practical realities. I would guess there are equal measures of psychology and gardening skill involved. Set the bar too high or too low relative to your knowledge, resources, time, ability... and results will be discouraging, possibly to the point of giving up and letting chaos take over. I speak, sadly, from personal experience... Looking forward to future posts!
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