According to Mark Richardson, director of horticulture at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, interest in green gardening has increased in the pandemic.
Richardson sees the trend in sold out garden tickets this month and thriving membership in the Ecological Landscape Alliance, which promotes green gardening.
“So many people are interested in how they can garden more sustainably,” said Richardson, who sits on the board of directors of the Ecological Landscape Alliance. He added that people will be specifically invested in learning how to support pollinators and wildlife, and how to “garden in ways that are non-polluting”.
Richardson joined WBUR’s All Things Considered presenter Lisa Mullins to explore the meaningful things you can do for the environment right in your own yard. In the following you will find tips and interview highlights from your conversation, which have been easily edited for reasons of clarity.
Tips for environmentally friendly gardening
1. Get rid of your lawn
Richardson: The most important thing you can do in your home landscape is reducing the size of your lawn. Lawns are the worst in terms of environmental damage.
The average American lawn managed by a professional company will release about five to seven pounds of pesticide per acre [on the] Race. These are pesticides like herbicides, fungicides, insecticides. And usually … they put out those little yellow flags indicating that pesticides have been used and that is supposed to keep you from entering that area for a while. Nobody pays attention to them. … Most people allow their dogs to roam their yards and roll around in the grass, their children to roll around in the grass. … lawns are really important recreational areas, but we cannot overlook the nature of the growing environmental disaster. … It’s just not a safe and friendly environment.
2. Plant almost everything instead.
Richardson: So if you are downsizing your lawn, consider cutting in perennial flower beds. You should plant shrubs and plant trees. You know, if you are interested in and are interested in the environment and support the wildlife, you know one of the best things you can do is plant an oak tree. … anything you can do to replace your lawn for what it is is going to be awesome.
3. If trees are not an option, optimize the play space for children
Richardson: There are other ground covers that work really well. [I like] wild strawberry. It is an indigenous land cover [that] develops really tasty fruits in early June [and] forms a beautiful, dense mat of leaves. … it is certainly not something to play football on, but it is really good ground cover.
[I think] If we’re honest with ourselves about how much of that recreation space we really need, we can have a combination of non-lawn ground cover – that doesn’t require watering and pesticides and fertilizer or mowing – and space a little of that recreation. You know, it’s not about getting rid of your lawn entirely. … I definitely need some lawn for my kids to play on. But I don’t need as much as the typical American household. It’s just too much.
A bumblebee. (Jesse Costa)
4. Look at the pollinators
Richardson: Pollinators are primarily bees … bumblebees, mason bees, all kinds of bees … and they pollinate very important plants so that they can grow and develop fruit.
There are [also] other types of pollinators. Of course, butterflies are also good pollinators. And people love butterflies. Flies can be pollinators, even birds can be pollinators. Even if you have a very small garden, you can support and attract pollinators.
The key [to it is] Host plants … let’s just use the monarch butterflies, monarch caterpillars as an example. Adolescent monarch butterflies feed only on milkweed. So if you are interested in supporting monarchs, [one of the best ways is] grow some milkweed. There are several native species of milkweed here in New England, and you can grow milkweed in a container. Even if you don’t have a garden – if you have a small postage stamp, or if you have a back patio, or if you live in an apartment building with a deck – you can grow plants in containers and support butterflies. Support pollinators. … the key is [to] Find out which pollinators you want to support, find out which plants really need them to survive, and then grow those plants. As simple as that.
5. Buy native plants
Richardson: One of the easiest eco-friendly decisions you can make is buying a native plant. No matter where you live, there are plants that naturally evolved to grow in your environment. … Whether you’re from Southeast Texas or North Maine, there are plants out there that are perfect for growing in your forest neck.
[And] Once it’s set up in your yard, you shouldn’t have to water it anymore. You shouldn’t have to put copious amounts of fertilizer on it. It should be quite resilient and able to withstand your surroundings, your climate and really thrive.
A photo of Milkweed or Asclepias tubero. (Courtesy Mark Richardson)
