How Gardens Can Cost the Earth
Many of the plants that we buy have travelled great distances from countries such as Italy, Holland or Belgium. Irish-grown plants have the advantage of being already accustomed to the Irish climate, provide employment locally and come with fewer ‘plant-miles’ behind them. The fad for ‘instant gardens’, where plants are planted as mature specimens, only worsens this, as these larger plants are bulky, need machinery to plant, and are almost exclusively grown abroad.
Hard landscaping materials such as sandstone and granite paving often come from the other side of the world. These materials weather poorly in the Irish climate and are already being taken up in many gardens because of their inferior performance. They also come with a huge embodied energy and are frequently sourced from quarries with shocking health and safety, welfare and environmental standards.
Energy use in the construction of a garden often pales in comparison with the energy used in its upkeep. Mowers, blowers, strimmers and trimmers are heavy petrol users, as well as being noisy. While we may be strapped for time, their use can always be reduced through simple means such as reducing the amount of lawn which needs regular mowing, or trimming hedges no more than once a year.
Hard surfaces such as paving, cobble-lock and tarmac play their part in some of the extreme flooding of recent years. These surfaces send water quickly on its way to the watercourses, whereas porous surfaces such as planting beds, lawn or gravel absorb water and release it slowly into the natural water system.
Chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers have, over the years, caused all sorts of damaging effects: poisoning wildlife, entering our watercourses, exposing those who apply them to unnecessary risk, and depleting general soil health.
Hard landscaping materials such as sandstone and granite paving often come from the other side of the world. These materials weather poorly in the Irish climate and are already being taken up in many gardens because of their inferior performance. They also come with a huge embodied energy and are frequently sourced from quarries with shocking health and safety, welfare and environmental standards.
Energy use in the construction of a garden often pales in comparison with the energy used in its upkeep. Mowers, blowers, strimmers and trimmers are heavy petrol users, as well as being noisy. While we may be strapped for time, their use can always be reduced through simple means such as reducing the amount of lawn which needs regular mowing, or trimming hedges no more than once a year.
Hard surfaces such as paving, cobble-lock and tarmac play their part in some of the extreme flooding of recent years. These surfaces send water quickly on its way to the watercourses, whereas porous surfaces such as planting beds, lawn or gravel absorb water and release it slowly into the natural water system.
Chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers have, over the years, caused all sorts of damaging effects: poisoning wildlife, entering our watercourses, exposing those who apply them to unnecessary risk, and depleting general soil health.