Special to the Observer, Ruth Markle, Fort Erie Horticultural Society, July 7, 2022, VOL. 3 ISSUE 23 

For the last two weeks, I have been observing the machines cut down beautiful fully grown spruce and pine to make way for a development and roadway entrance.  I have always been fascinated by these big machines that can do the fine work of clearing and yet so gently keep the boundaries in place.  I have a little one-foot area beyond my back fence that has some small spruce trees and daylily mix growing next to the fence…and there they still are…because they are within the boundary.  We need boundaries sometimes to help us define spaces and areas.  My mentor Gwen used to say…’Good fences make good neighbours”.  Well, my fence (although not a new wooden work of art) is still a fence and has been a great boundary as the work continues…

I have observed as I  work through the community in various spaces that there is a trend to mulch and very little plantings.  I know this is a statement of ‘outdoor fashion’ currently and in some cases an easy way to have ‘something’ rather than nothing in the space.  And I will not challenge this trend except to say…is all mulch the best option for the environment?   Please understand that I use mulch myself on many of my perennial beds to help with the appearance and taking care of many weeds. Indeed there are few better options when it comes to weed limitations and to encouraging the growth of plants, particularly in dry times.  Mulch does help to feed and nurture the areas and can be worked into the ground in the next season.  All good!  But what is happening to the community of nature with the increased use of more mulch and less planting?

The early Canadians used very little space for lawns.  Partially this was because many areas developed were rural and there was little time to keep a ‘ manicured space’.  I remember visiting my grandfather’s farm on the prairies and the area around the house was largely weeds and wildflowers…he would cut it once a summer with a scythe.  My dad told me when my grandmother was alive the area had been a vegetable garden and a lovely wildflower garden…she wanted life and colour near her windows and of course, she encouraged bird and butterfly life with her endeavours. My other grandmother in New Jersey had very little space to grow anything…their home was very urbanized. However…she found a small narrow space outside her kitchen window where she grew hollyhocks, daylilies, daisies and wildflowers.  She kept this area looking beautiful by throwing the dishwater out the window onto the plants. If there had been no plants there she would have faced a grey brick wall of the neighbour’s garage.  So both my grandma’s worked with what they had…small spaces but full of life and health for all the bees, butterflies and birds.  And possibly a few chipmunks!

I think we underestimate how little work is required to keep things natural and beautiful.  Oh yes, weeds do come in and sometimes it feels like the weeds are winning! I can understand how a few layers of mulch can look more attractive than an area that has perennials and annuals clustered and supporting each other in a profusion of colour and size…the wild growing area can look like a lot of work.  But when plants are healthy and in the place that makes them happy, there is nothing that is better for the planet. 

Right now the ‘fashion’ is to have open spaces within the home and very little growing outside the home.  But fashions come and they go.  Our homes as we grew up were big and old, a bungalow style and back to big and old…each space looking like the fashion of the times.  Am I the only one who recalls Avocado Green or Harvest Gold appliances?  Right now it is hard to remember that those colours were the height of fashion for their time…but they were.  Colour in decorating and neutrals in decorating have each had a turn at being supreme.  However, when we think about growing for eating and for enjoyment…we tend to choose colour.

And I would suggest we have another think about how we ‘fashion’ our outdoor spaces.  Maybe we can do with a little more green and colour and manage it well.  Maybe we need to re-evaluate our thinking about bringing back some of the ‘older’ plantings and find even a small and tasteful space to show off the peonies, the iris, the delphiniums, the daisies, the hollyhocks, the poppies and so on.  Maybe we can follow the older ways and plant our herbs in with our vegetables and our flowers so we have a garden that is not only healthy in growth but healthy for the eyes.  Time to be creative.  

As our community grows and continues to be developed we need to have a plan for adding life and health to all who inhabit the spaces.  A small walkway next to a home or pathway can be a great place to experiment with growing not only colour to enjoy but a space for the bees and flying friends. What appeals to you as you walk the areas near your space?  What do you like to see growing? And are you up for the challenge of making a change to your thinking about what you can and can’t grow?

As my grandmothers proved to themselves and to all of us…you need only a small space to begin to create a beautiful and healthy area that your family can enjoy.  Maybe there is a small area in your mind right now that could be used to grow just a few bee and butterfly attracting plants…there is never a better day to start on a great project than today!

So join me in making our outdoor spaces friendly and colourful…not only to ourselves as we travel the community but more importantly to all those critters that will enjoy and benefit from our care…

Keep growing green my friends,

Ruth Vold Markle