Last week I took some time off from gardening to compare notes with one of my gardening friends. Though we both basically do the same thing (grow plants), our methods are drastically different. She has 18 acres of hills and forests and open spaces in a rural area – all fenced to protect it from the deer. What a treasure! In comparison, I have about 1/3 acre, within the Atlanta city limits.
She exclaimed over and over how happy she was that after years of gardening in this space, plants had naturalized and spread so she now has great swaths of color and beauty. I suddenly realized that what was a gardening accomplishment for her (on 18 acres) was a gardening headache for me (1/3 acre). Size matters.
Plants, like people, like to live close to family. Whether plant populations increase by spreading from underground runners, such as the variegated Solomon’s seal or my beloved creeping blue phlox, or by setting and dropping seeds, such as the lenten rose, if given a good growing environment, they will spread. This means that in a small space, maintaining diversity is a constant battle. And diversity, as we all know, is critical to a healthy ecosystem.
If I didn’t keep a check on it, my entire backyard would be a mass of lenten rose fighting with snowdrops and Scilla. These are not technically invasive plants, but in a small space, they take up more than their share of room.
It’s not just the aesthetics of gardening that are at risk with overly aggressive plants, but the necessity of providing for wildlife and pollinators. My garden is an oasis for pollinators in the city. I know that many, many different kinds of pollinators visit throughout the year. Without the diversity to which they are accustomed, someone is going to go away hungry.
Of course the garden is just a small echo of what is happening throughout the wild and green spaces in our world. Size matters. We need big gardens and big parks and huge natural spaces so that our native plants can grow and spread as nature intended them to. We need corridors not just for our bears and wolves but for the native bees and insects. We need to protect every wild and wonderful place.
Even if you don’t have a BIG space, plant something! A plant in a pot is much better than no plant. And two plants in a pot are twice as good. As always, plant something useful to our native insects. If caterpillars eat the leaves of your parsley, say hallelujah! Gardening is no longer just for us. Gardening today is critical for helping to save the environment.