One of the most beautiful aspects of spring are the burst of blooms that we begin to see everywhere. From the cherry blossoms that are delighting the Northern Hemisphere to rows of lush garden plants being put on display for our home gardens- nature is showing off for our pleasure. Yet, what many of us don’t realize is that for all the beauty that is being shown, many of us return the favor with unconscious gestures that can cause more harm than good. Did you know that a whopping 90 million pounds of pesticides are applied on lawns and gardens in the U.S yearly? Thirteen commonly used pesticides are linked to causing cancer in humans and eleven are considered deadly to bees.
Part of our need for these chemicals lies in our tendency to plant only our favorites. But, it turns out that native plants are better able to withstand pests and weather conditions requiring less water while attracting pollinators and wildlife. For those of us unfamiliar with native plants from our region or how to naturally keep pests at bay, we might need a few sustainable gardening tips to inspire us this spring and help us to create biodiversity- a ‘new’ sustainable buzzword that is all about creating variety for a healthy ecosystem.
To learn more about biodiversity and gardening tips, we reached out to Brandy Hall, who founded Shades of Green Permaculture in 2008. For more than a decade Brandy and her team have helped build and educate gardeners and companies about creating sustainable outdoor spaces. Located in the heart of Atlanta, Brandy uses her experience from growing up (her father is a builder and her mother and stepdad owned a plant nursery) and professional training to protect biodiversity, craft herbal medicine gardens and rebuild healthy soil and water systems. In our chemical-driven society, Brandy believes in a holistic approach to preserving and celebrating nature. So, naturally she was quick to share tips about composting and crafting gardens that flourish even without our help.
Why are conventional gardens today unsustainable?
Most conventional gardens are designed to be high input systems. They use and misuse a lot of water, they depend on chemicals to thrive, and they are extremely high maintenance. Not only do they drain resources, from time to water and soil, they are toxic to the environment and to our health.
What’s the negative impact from our standard gardening practices?
Conventional building + landscaping practices treat water as a nuisance and soil like dirt. Plants are chosen solely for the aesthetic value or ease of sourcing, and as a result, lack genetic variation and are prone to disease.
What’s the positive impact from creating a sustainable garden?
The positive impact of sustainable gardening means every outdoor space we create addresses climate extremes by building resilience; contributing to reforestation; preserving and restoring biodiversity; growing food, medicine, and native habitat; building soil, and restoring the water cycle.
How do you rebuild soil during your projects? Can any of these tactics be adopted by everyday gardeners?
Yes, absolutely! The easiest way to build soil is through composting yard waste and kitchen scraps as well as keeping your leaves to use as a mulch in planting beds. Many gardens and outdoor spaces are managed according to the principles of a linear economy – resources are extracted, made into something else, and then disposed of.
Sustainable gardening tips: Save your leaves! In leaf management, conventionally we use fossil fuels to blow leaves then bag them using plantation pine pulp bags (or plastic, even worse) and haul it on a fossil-fuel driven truck to a landfill, so we can then go to the store to buy composted leaves shipped from the other side of the country come spring. Our work is to instead create a circular economy in our gardens. There is no “waste” in nature, everything can be kept/reused to build healthy soil and regenerate natural systems.
What is biodiversity? How can we protect it?
Biodiversity refers to a vast variety of all living things, including plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, and humans. When we protect biodiversity through our gardening choices, we are creating habitat for beneficial insects, song birds, and threatened pollinators. We are feeding the soil through a plethora of beneficial microorganisms and fungi. We are encouraging resilience through diversification.
How can we minimize and recycle our water use in gardens?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), between 50%-75% of residential water consumption in the U.S. is for watering lawns. Plus, two-thirds more water is used to irrigate lawns than all cropland combined in the US, according to EPA. Everything we do in our gardens can actually minimize and recycle our water use. The goal is to slow the water, sink the water, and spread the water.
Sustainable gardening tips: In choosing plants that are well adapted to your garden’s conditions sets them up to thrive without costly irrigation, or planting smaller plants allows them to establish without heavy input. Another tip is to spread and sink the water, from building raingardens that passively water planting areas to digging swales that slow the water or direct it to where it can be useful.
What has been one of your favorite projects so far?
I loved working on The Garage, Monday Night Brewing’s taproom here in Atlanta on the Beltline. It’s an urban orchard, and a big part of the work was rebuilding the industrial site’s degraded soils. It’s so awesome to see a site that was so desolate become a place that is thriving and overflowing with life–human and otherwise.
How do you maintain your own garden at home?
My husband and I are huge proponents of the “S.T.U.N Method” — Sheer. Total. Utter. Neglect! But, the good thing is that with natural gardening, much of the work has been done on the front end, so there’s very little “maintenance” to actually do. Our garden is healthy regardless of whether or not we put in a bunch of sweat equity because the stage has been set for life to flourish, and we’ve got good structure like paths and fencing that make it feel organized and approachable.
