UNH Cooperative Master Gardener
Posted: 04/24/2023 8:54:45 am
Edited: 04/24/2023 08:52:44
By adapting our previous ideas of what a lawn and garden should look like for ourselves and our neighbors, and moving on to what we can do in our yards for all the bugs, small mammals, birds, butterflies, and moths, we are ready to slow down. . below. below. and enjoy our outdoor space as a guardian of the area. If you follow some gardening trends, you may have replaced part of your garden with some native plants to attract and retain pollinators. These are all positive trends in the adaptive gardening movement.
Leave the selfish landscape behind and immerse yourself in the natural world where you can improve for all living things. This new trend will also greatly benefit our bodies as we age. Whether you already have a health problem that needs to be treated or an injury that you want to prevent, adaptive gardening techniques will help you. "If it's good for our body, it's good for the Earth."
Becoming an adaptable gardener offers you a healthier approach to gardening and allows you to take care of your body while enjoying all the benefits that being outdoors has to offer.
You can try the No Mow May method to help dandelions feed their first beneficial insects when the pretty flowers are in short supply.
Perhaps you are lazy to enjoy a potted garden, not only by placing it next to a water source, but also by mixing flowers and vegetables in the same container.
Have you gotten over your love of raised beds and are now flirting with a raised bed at your feet so you can sit comfortably or even stand instead of kneeling or bending over to care for the plants in the raised bed?
These trends are based on science and supported by data. Green gardening means less muscle fatigue and fewer injuries. For example, limit your need for weeds by planting a dense groundcover or native plants that have adapted well to your area.
Given these trends, how does the adaptive gardening movement capitalize on the idea of “keeping up”?
Our awareness of increasing plastic deposition in landfills, oceans, and even farmers' fields due to the ubiquitous use of agricultural plastics and microplastics (measured and tracked in our soil) may be cause for concern. We can breathe fresh air (even though we know it may contain microplastics) and realize that horticulturists are working creatively to reduce the spread of plastic in our gardens. For example, as we find creative ways to collect and recycle containers, we see the evolution of plastic sorting machines as pallets full of containers faithfully returned to our favorite garden centers are cleaned, sorted, and recycled. So where are the new trends that we should be aware of? How important is it to keep up with the times to simplify and eliminate the use of plastic in the greenhouses that we study, dream and buy so much?
As an adaptable gardener who follows these philosophies and trends, the best advice to keep up to date is to familiarize yourself with QR codes. These are the little black and white checkered knit patterns on many of the garments we see on a daily basis. You can get acquainted with them in the items you buy or see in museum exhibits. QR codes are "quick response" links to online information about a particular product. Smartphones are an easy way to keep up to date by scanning a QR code when looking at a plant or product in a garden center.
It's free to use (some phones don't even need a QR code reader app): just point your phone's camera at the QR code and you'll be taken to the web or even YouTube, where there's a link to the article. Through the use of QR codes, plant retailers are getting rid of plastic tags and large plastic information sheets about each plant. You'll get the same information from the website attached to the QR code as from the big plastic sign. Think Discarded Plastic: Stay up to date and support the movement and efforts of companies that don't reject plastic labels, when a printed QR code can provide more information about the manufacturer or product you have in mind.
Look what's growing. See what is happening in your garden. This is the perfect time of year to feel every nuance in your garden before all the plants have completely disappeared. You will begin to notice that something is happening there that you had not noticed before. If you saw a bird's nest last season, think about its location and look for features that the bird identified with great interest. Can you improve it by adding a birdbath or sheltered water source? Can you grow plants similar to what you see in bird's nests? Imagine if these things could attract another family of birds because of that plant's texture, color, or growth habits.
Bird recognition phone apps can be both educational and useful. Merlin is a respectable and easy-to-use free app that lets you clip your phone to a bird's call or call and listen to it. The names of various birds heard and recorded using open apps will be displayed along with bird thumbnails and song sonograms stored on your phone to help you visually identify if you choose to use this aspect of the app. .
Be a lazy gardener, slow down and listen while you learn.
Do you have fun and whimsical elements in your garden for your "seat" to have fun with these light elements? Items that are sentimental or meaningful to you will add more mental health benefits to your space.
The trends we follow will pay big dividends as we adapt our lawns and gardens to our aging bodies' ability to care for the property we manage. As trends change, the reasons behind this will continue to be scientifically sound and reinforce what the adaptive grower needs. Join the adaptation movement, be lazy and reap the rewards.
