Vegetables live happily in flowers in the W. Atlee Burpee Fordhook Farm Whitehouse replica garden.
Dreaming of the possibilities of a new plant, we dig into the soil, loosen the roots of the new addition, and place the plant in the ground. We hope. We watch. We water in. Gardeners love this process.
We are more similar than different. Plant people, gardeners and farmers alike, are the kindest most genuine people I’ve known.
We know the body language of our plants. We know when they are thirsty or hungry. Gardeners love the reward of beauty or fruit. Sometimes, we are disappointed, but we do it all again.
Still, gardeners form factions. We judge each other. I did a little video about wishing for peace in our community: watch?v=tT_1pAJlr90
Organic gardeners shudder when another gardener speaks of spraying. Folks who love expansive lawns raise ire in those who feel lawn is wasteful. Gardeners who love annuals encounter raised eyebrows from native plant enthusiasts. Vegetable gardeners wonder why ornamental gardeners waste time on plants that aren’t food. I even have friends who dread “yard work.” I know… What??
I’m guilty of it. I sat next to a lovely, sweet woman on a flight recently. She told me she worked for a prominent chemical fertilizer company. Physically, I reacted. I blinked and sat up straighter. She noticed and read my disapproval.
Fordhook Farm, home of W. Atlee Burpee in Pennsylvania.
I regret my reaction. We are all just people trying to do better as we learn what is better. Chemicals are just chemical and everything is chemical. Plants are just plants.
I explained my regret to a friend who said, “We’re planting plants and giving them food. They are just plants after all. It’s not like we are sending radiation off into the hemisphere. We’re GAR-DEN-ING.”
Of course plants are important and pollution negative. I wouldn’t be a garden blogger if I didn’t deeply believe that. And yes, using certain chemicals in the garden is like sending radiation out there.
That said, I’ve been struggling over the depth of my convictions. And I’m tired of it. After much soul searching, I see now, my convictions are strong. They just don’t fall neatly within one gardening camp or the other.
Native plants in bloom. At the Gardener of the Owl Valley
My deepest conviction is that gardening is cool and my biggest passion is spreading the word. My new friend from the airplane shared similar thoughts. Every gardener would agree about the value of gardening.
Gardening is life giving to everything. That’s the cause, people. Gardening is amazingly beneficial. If there is an enemy, it is the “yard work” segment.
We gardeners are more alike than different. Whatever our passion, and however quickly we’d like to see our agenda advanced, there is enough similarity to hold us together. Peace and Love, baby. The key to unity is slowing it down a bit.
PRG central container planter including corn for fun.
While we may want a superhighway to take us quickly to a place where everyone agrees with us, the back road route is more elegant and ultimately more successful. Back roads are slower. This gives you time to appreciate subtleties. Back roads give you time to take in the bigger picture and time to include everyone.
As an organic gardener with a passion for native plants and a love of growing my own food, I obviously have certain leanings. But how punk rock would I be if I was a total joiner? A huge part of my love of gardening is in the art and surprise of it.
I admit. I’m one of those people who get distracted by a new shiny thing. Novel things thrill me. I like unusual plants used in unusual ways. I resist having my plant palette limited. Those who know me well, know I struggle between the significant wildlife benefit of native plants as balanced with the showy nature of many other plants offered.
I discussed this with creative and intelligent guy gardeners recently. I knew they were interested in cultivating native plants on their wooded 6-acre property. I also knew that they loved rare and unusual plants.
I asked them if they were ever conflicted between the two types of plants. Did they feel they had to use entirely native plants or is there a balance you can hit? Their thoughts led me to a clarity. Plant selection is like editing. They said when designing the most ornamental parts of their gardens, environmentalism is only of the lenses they use to edit. Visual appeal is the biggest concern when designing a garden. Love of beauty. Isn’t that what Michael Pollan says we share with bees? And a shiny new plant does draw our interest.
Haven’t we been messing with plants forever? Didn’t the Aztecs bury their dead with seed? That horse is out of the barn at some level. Prepare for the second Love and Rockets Lyric in a post; “ You can not go against nature, because if you do, going against nature is part of nature too.”
Picturesque Fordhook Farm, home of W. Atlee Burpee.
Back roads may not deliver you exactly where you want to go, I know. But taking the highway, you speed by stuff and miss a lot. I think you leave out people along the way.
Is there a balance we can hit? We like balance and harmony in garden designs. So should it be in the gardening community. If we embrace all gardeners, they are more likely to keep an open mind to our perspectives.
On ornamentals and pesticides; I told one friend that I was considering covering my few remaining rose bushes with row covers during the height of the Japanese beetle infestation. She paused, gave me a wry smile and simply said, “ Aren’t roses supposed to be ornamental?” I laughed. Yep, it would be unsightly for a couple of weeks, but honestly, that’s a back road I like. It allows me a few hybrid teas without needing to douse them with chemicals.
My current plan for balance is to continue to garden organically. I’ve had pretty good success with this. Fish fertilizer will draw in the neighborhood cats and I may lose a plant or twenty or repeatedly have to dig out trumpet vine; but I’m cool with all that. As far as plant choice, I know there are more and more good native plant offerings that are easy to find. But I still lust for a new cultivar of something extra showy.
To keep alive my full love of gardening I’ve decided on a balance I can hit. If a plant is dying and I love it, and there is only one way to save it, I may use chemicals. I will work on replacing many of my non-native plants through attrition. But I may leave plants like my weeping blue atlas cedar that I love so much. I doubt I’ll stop using a few annuals in my containers, but I will add more native plants to them. My goal will be to provide enough native plant material in my garden near any non-native plants to nourish wildlife.
I believe gardeners share something unique. We should celebrate that. The more we incorporate each other, the more access we have to open minds and hearts, as we all learn more about the best practices for the planet and for humankind.
Let’s hold hands and sing, “Kum bay yah
21 Comments
Very nice post on a difficult issue. Many passionate feelings around this — and lots of good arguments — but each person has to think it through for himself or herself. That’s so much better than just parroting one argument or another.
“All I am saying is, Give peace a chance.”
Of course, you know I already agree with you. Everyone rises to his or her own level.
I once dressed down a very skilled downhill skier who coaxed two rank beginners onto a black diamond slope. The skier thought it was a riot, and the beginners quickly lost interest in skiing.
If you want to share your love for gardening, talk to people where they live, explore the possibilities, talk to their sensibilities, and try really hard not to give them attitude. There are so many approaches, postures, soap boxes, and fads… even some really stupid techniques succeed (see, I just did the type of no-no against which I’m railing). Speak with authority when you know something, but don’t overwhelm your listeners with the attitude that your way is the right way (unless you’re discouraging the use of upside-down planters… I mean, seriously.)
I’m too punk rock to leave all attitude at the door. Thanks for the support! Yes, Let’s encourage gardening as a whole.
Laura, this is a wonderful post and reflects alot of what I often think & cringe about. Love your video too- I started gardening at 16 when I lived in a hippie commune back in ‘69.
One of my favorite garden designers said of strident native-only gardeners . Lets do everything to save the wild lands that are left and plant what ever makes us happy in our gardens. He really did that and bought and preserved and amazing virgin spread in northern california which is now often studied by scientists.
Annie
The more expert about a field one gets, the more discernment you develop. That’s a generally good thing, but the danger is that can also lead to being rigidly judgmental, even sneeringly judgmental. I know. I do it myself on occasion.
When discerning between choices about content and practices in *any* field, not just gardening, dogma often sets in, and dogma is rigid and frequently a dead end. That’s never a good thing. I agree, it’s important to question our own knee-jerk reactions. Something good can always come of it.
Thanks for a really thoughtful and brave post, Laura. I’m also getting tired of the judging that seems to accompany gardening these days. A friend said something recently that really resonated and, I think, relates to your sentiments. She reminded me that anyone who gardens, whether they do so in a “sustainable” or chemical fashion, manipulates the natural order of things. To be a truly native gardener would be to leave nature alone. I think it’s important to keep that in mind as we begin to judge others; nothing is as simple as it seems, and those who profess otherwise may be doing so to assuage some of their own guilt. Bravo for posting what needed to be said!
I was never good with “cliches” in high school, so I’m not going to start now with my garden either! I do a bit of everything- edibles, heirlooms, drought tolerant, natives, succulents, and sometimes- just whatever looks pretty to me. The one thing I do stick to is to maintain my garden as organically as possible. Yes, I know people who are plant snobs, and I hope I never turn into one of them. To me, every plant has its own purpose; whether to attract beneficial insects or scare away the bad ones, improve my soil, provide food for my family, erosion control, or simply just look or smell pretty. Don’t ever be ashamed of doing things YOUR way, I know I’m not!
Well said, both Laura and Lynn. I think people are way too judgmental and self-righteous about a lot of things in life, not just gardening. Seems like we’re all yelling at one another about something these days.
There’s nothing wrong with being passionate about a type of gardening or a class of plants that you believe in, but that doesn’t mean you’re “right” and others who decide differently are “wrong.” No need to condemn others.
The impact our gardening has on the Earth and others is way more complicated anyway than jumping to conclusions such as “Planting barberry is bad” or “Using Roundup is evil and deadly.”
It reminds me of the time a nearly hysterical women called to criticize me for suggesting in a garden article that snap-trapping was one way to deal with voles. She railed about how cruel that was and how wrong I was to put that idea into people’s heads (as if killing a vole would never occur to an audience of gardeners). It made no difference when I pointed out that her cat no doubt has killed more voles than a typical gardener. (That’s “natural” and OK.) She also didn’t see any conflict with her admitted practices of killing mosquitoes or having chicken for dinner.
Bottom line is there’s plenty of room on this Earth for differing opinions and for some Japanese painted ferns next to the native foamflowers. If gardeners can’t even be nice to one another, we’re all heading for trouble!
I agree with you up to a point and that point is toxic chemicals. Yes, gardeners that use chemicals can be nice people, I don’t disagree. But so can smokers. I feel the same way about garden chemical use as I do second hand smoke. It leaves a residue that can’t harm even those that don’t use it. Chemicals are not just chemicals, some of them can kill and have lasting negative affects on the environment. The good thing is, most people do care about the environment. The bad thing is, the companies that create products that have a negative affect on environment or create almost an addictive need for their products spend a tremendous amount of money to get their message out. It can and is frustrating for those in the organic movement to counteract these sugar coated messages. And if speaking up about chemical use in the garden makes me divisive, than so be it.
Thanks so much everyone! I appreciate you taking the time to comment so very thoughtfully.
What I meant writing “chemicals are just chemicals” is that there is a of course a chemical base to all things. I’ve heard folks who use chemicals in the garden use that phrase to explain their use of chemicals. I, personally, don’t use chemicals on my gardens for many reasons. That said, a tree service told me that my dogwood has anthracnose and recommended a chemical treatment. I haven’t decided what I’ll do. Another friend said he helped his dogwood with some pruning and extra organic feeding. Most probably, I will give that a try for a year. I haven’t ruled out treating it entirely.
Kat, you seem far from divisive! I have conversations with gardeners about my various beliefs. I just try to be open and non-judgmental. I’m hoping that approach helps them be open to me and my view points as well. I have encouraged a few friends to use natives. One particular friend moved her perspective from calling me xenophobic for preferring native plants to being a nearly complete convert. Inclusiveness works. I still haven’t convinced another to get rid of his purple loosestrife, though!
Living in Chicago, limited space and urban conditions alter my perspective a little. I’ve become comfortable with using natives where possible, mixng in vegetables where conditions are right and gardening organically as much as possible. I use annuals, cultivars and non natives where that makes sense. I do have a small lawn and have been known to use chemicals on occasion.
I too have flinched when someone starts talking like gardening is just application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. I know these products have their place, but it should not be the first option. I think about the money and effort spent to plant large beds of annuals. Then I remember that when I first started gardening, I used more annuals and chemicals than I do today.
Garden bloggers must be entering an age of peace and love, because I had a parallel thought recently. One of the things I always liked about gardening was its encouragement of both the gentler nurturing part of me, and the part with attitude (” Die, Weed!”) .
Gardening isn’t about being PC, to me, but about an apprenticeship to nature.
I agree Laura. While I am happy with my decision to not spray chemicals on my plants, and to mix ornamentals and edibles, I’m cool with other people doing things differently. But I have to draw the line at responsible chemical use. If you’re going to spray your yard, at least do it according to responsible guidelines developed by your state’s extension office. So many people over spray and it has negative impacts on the environment that all of us have to deal with.
I enjoyed this very much, and I often feel the same way. Why can’t we all just get along? Human nature I suppose. I like your blog, and I found it through Facebook.~~Dee
Hello neighbor, great post and I’m glad to have discovered your site… found it through Twitter!
I tagged you in my blog…blame it on Helen! http://www.susancohangardens.com/blog/?p=1956
Wonderful post. I’ve been thinking along similar lines lately, but have not sat down and taken the time to express it as eloquently as you. Kudos! Now, I can just point to your blog and say “Yeah, that!”
Great post and lovely pictures. Your post and the comments have made me think about some of my own gardening prejudices. While I feel passionate about the abuse of chemicals and the overuse of water, I also think there are lots of gray areas where right and wrong overlap.
Great post. Like you, I focus on natives and vegetable gardening. I am 100% organic in the vegetable garden and try to be in the rest of the yard. As for the native plants, I use the 80/20 rule – 80% natives and no invasives. Also, the further from the house, the more natives.
I don’t think I come off as judgemental (I hope not), but I have had a couple of occasions where other gardeners start on a diatribe against native plants when I mention my interest in them. Although I would love everyone to plant more natives, I don’t preach to anyone about it (Unless they come to a class I give, and hey, then they are asking for it!).
I think this reaction might be because others have criticized their use of non-natives. Once they hear that I focus on native plants, they feel they need to go on the defensive. It is unfortunate, because it serves to shut down conversation between two people with a shared interest.
Even if we are planting different plants, I love talking to other gardeners because there is so much I can learn from them.
You know, as I am typing this, I wonder if this is just an example of the larger issue we have in this country where we can no longer have polite, calm, reasoned discussions about anything – politics, health care, etc. We seem to have this attitude that anyone who does not share our view on something is evil, crazy, or both.
Laura, the messages that resonate within a community, are often the hardest to read and always the hardest to write. Bravo for baring your soul here, in a post that will give us all something to think about. You are spot on describing Hort people, kind to a fault, opinionated and stubborn. All qualities brought out through their passion. I don’t have the answers, at one point I thought I did, but like you, I struggle with doing what I perceive to be right and accepting that which others do. In the end we all must walk our own path and follow it wherever it may lead, no matter how many obstacles are presented. You are on the right path, good luck with your journey.
Just happened to come across your delightful post. I agree with you. We really do have more things in common than we know. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and lovely photos on the topic. And have a great holiday season. It was terrific meeting you this year. Teresa