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So it’s a farewell to the “10s” – or whatever you want to call the last decade – and a hello to the “20s”. But before we finally say goodbye to this dying decade, let’s take a moment to celebrate the many ways in which it has changed the face of the modern garden for the better.
For example, let’s raise a glass to understand the valuable role that even the smallest garden can play in combating climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and soil erosion. Likewise, there is great praise for the fact that so many of us have stopped using it as evidence of the continuing environmental damage caused by many commonly available garden chemicals. The wonderful truth is that sustainable gardening – or what some call ethical gardening – has become mainstream at the beginning of this decade as few could have imagined.
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Thriving community gardens and allotments that promote the sustainable cultivation of food have taken root nationwide. Pollinator-friendly wildflower meadows have grabbed densely mowed lawns that require fuel-consuming lawnmowers. Important permaculture techniques such as mulching, composting, and rainwater harvesting that used to be considered a niche are now the norm as we started to appreciate – who would have thought? – The valuable role garden weeds play in providing valuable habitats for pollinating insects.
A tortoiseshell butterfly on the nectar-rich flowers of the marjoram. Photo: Richard Johnston
In short, we have come a long way.
So what do the 2020s have to offer? The answer is almost certainly the same as gardeners continue to grapple with the perfect storm caused by climate change, pollution, urbanization, dwindling biodiversity and habitat degradation.
Our dependency on environmentally harmful, unsustainable peat-based composts and disposable plastic planters will definitely be put to the test. This also applies to the use of harmful garden chemicals, from garden insecticides that pollinators pollute to poisonous weed killers that pollute the waterways and undermine the health of many different organisms.
For the same reason, it is almost inevitable that the easy, over-the-counter availability of many common garden insecticides, fungicides, and pesticides will be a thing of the past (a growing number of European countries have already banned the use of the controversial glyphosate). Weed control commonly known as RoundUp, while many other garden chemicals in use a decade ago, such as methiocarb-based snail pellets, are banned for environmental reasons.
Promoting the health and resilience of the soil is also becoming increasingly important as more and more Irish gardeners switch from quick synthetic fertilizers to the use of green manures and sustainable organic mulches such as homemade garden compost, seaweed, chopped straw, worm compost, leaf mold and grass clippings and well-rotted manure.
In the meantime, other innovative, environmentally friendly, organic additives that support soil health and fertility are becoming mainstream. One example is Soil Renew, which was developed by French organic farmer Marcel Mézy in the 1990s and uses the action of useful soil microorganisms to promote the rapid production of valuable humus (the latter serves as a vital store for plant nutrients).
It reproduces the conditions in natural forests to dramatically regenerate the health and fertility of the soil
Another is biochar, a type of charcoal that helps bind carbon and dramatically increase the availability of water and nutrients. A third of it is the innovative Irish company Hexaflys Frass from organic fertilizer, a natural by-product of black flies from sustainable agriculture, which forms a fantastic, chitin-rich organic soil additive (a natural biopesticide that promotes the healthy growth of plants and their ability to control pests ) and pathogens).
A fourth is the French-Canadian technique BRF or RCW, about which I wrote in a column earlier this year about the remarkable organic gardener Tanguy de de Toulgoët from Laois. Originally developed by Edgar Guay in the 1970s to help Quebec rangers, it replicates conditions in natural forests to dramatically regenerate soil health and fertility.
A bee feeds on the sky-blue flowers of annual cornflowers that grow in the picturesque meadow of Ashtown Walled Garden. Photo: Richard Johnston
Not only the way we work in the garden will develop radically in the coming decade, but also the types of gardens that we want to create. Instead of being primarily intended for human use, they will increasingly be animal-friendly, habitat-rich spaces that help to promote biodiversity while promoting our health and our attachment to nature. The same gardens are also designed to account for the increasing risk of extreme climatic events from flash floods and violent storms to persistent drought using sustainable drainage systems (SUDS) and adaptable, disease-resistant species.
The question of where we work in the garden will also develop as we look for innovative ways to address the challenges of urbanization and food security. Living walls, roof gardens, container gardens, school gardens, allotments and urban community gardens such as those at Pearse College in Dublin, in a walled garden in Santry, on Mud Island, in St Brigid (Stillorgan) and in Brays Festina Lente; Community-managed gardens such as the walled garden of RHSI in Russborough in County Wicklow and the walled garden of Colclough in Wexford; Examples of this include restaurant gardens such as those at Burtown’s Green Barn in Athy and Avoca in Dunboyne, as well as productive work gardens such as that of the IT company Voxpro from Cork.
Another omen of the future is the huge covered garden area, which includes more than three tennis courts and is part of London’s new Landmark Pinnacle construction project, which will occupy the entire 27th floor of the 75-story tower.
Let’s take a moment to celebrate the many ways that they have changed the face of the modern garden for the better
Last but not least, the internet will continue to inspire, inform and inspire us. At the beginning of this decade, it was all about blogging and Twitter. Instagram, Youtube and garden podcasts determine the digital quarter. Indeed, the network’s far-reaching power is so great that the garden community has truly become global. That is certainly only good for our precious planet.
(See erderneu.de ; biocharireland.com ; biochar-us.org; hexafly.co ; knowledgebase.permaculture.org.uk ;cgireland.org )
This week in the garden
This is a great time of year to browse the new seed catalogs and create a wish list of plants to grow next year. Keep in mind that the stock of newly introduced or very fashionable varieties is often sold out quickly. It is therefore always a good idea to place orders early in the growing season to avoid disappointment. The varieties on my own wish list for 2020 include the semi-hard annual Cosmos apricot lemonade (Thompson & Morgan), Helichrysum bracteatum in all colors (ideal for use as dried flowers). seedaholic.com), the purple-fleshed carrot black mist (chilternseeds.co.uk) and tomato ’Tangidel (brownenvelopeseeds.com).
Winter-blooming, fragrant, evergreen climbing plants that arouse the garden’s interest at this time of year are not easy to find, but the hardy Clematis cirrhosa is a good choice for growing on a sheltered, sunny wall or pergola in mild gardens. Various varieties are now available, including “Jingle Bells” (large white flowers) and the flowering clematis “Advent Bells” (cream and pink bell-shaped flowers).
Dates for your diary
From January 1st to 31st, National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, “Hidden January Blossoms”, a daily guided walk that explores some of the garden’s “best South African and South American blossoms, fragrant Chinese blossoms, and more”, Monday – Saturday: 11:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., € 5 per person, Sunday: 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., free of charge, see botanicgardens.ie; Wednesday, January 8 (8:00 p.m.), Kill O’The Grange Community Center, Kill Lane, Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, “Secrets of the Smaller Garden,” a presentation by TJ Maher from Patthana Gardens, Kiltegan, County Wicklow, on on behalf of the South County Dublin Horticultural Society. Visitors € 5.
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