Sustainable Garden Show

Without intending to state the obvious doesn’t ’sustainable’ mean ‘can keep going’ – May be the term ’sustainable growth’ is a contradiction in terms because growth by its very nature can not ‘keep going’ – Whatever grows sooner or later goes exponential. What may be a better term would be ‘remedial ass saving action’ I think that nature does not need saving , we do !! I also believe our only viable saviour is nature. To this end I believe urban greening using Green Roofs, Eco Roofs, Prasines Steges, Oikosteges (Green Roofs in Greek) is one viable course of ass saving action elisting nature’s support.

It concerns me that “sustainable” is so intertwined with saving the earth, as if we are doomed. We humans do not have a good track record, but it is more from ignorance and our hubris that we are mightier than nature. Indeed working with nature is the obvious and only hope. This should be our approach whether we are saving the planet or not. – Saxon

Love the green wall….succulents add such nice texture to the garden & yours is permanent!

Thanks for the comments Susie. My exhibit may be permanent in one regard but does as little for sustainability as does astro turf. Did I just compare The Green Wall to astroturf ?! – Saxon

Spiritually and culturally we have placed ourselves outside of and apart from nature for so long that the idea of sustainability is alien to the very fiber of our beings. Humans are every bit a part of nature as every other living organism on the planet. There is no, no impact by man. It is not possible in the system as it is set up.

When I read this sentence by R.E. Faro, “Enthusiasm for “sustainability” is prompted primarily by fear, fear for our collective ass.” I think first of man as I am sure most other people will. That is the heart of the problem. We do not think about the collective totality of life of which we are just one part and an expendable part at that in the concept of life.

If there is anything that would promote sustainable behavior, it would be for man as a collective to learn a deep and abiding respect for all the other life forms we share the planet with. Respect does not imply we will have no impact. Our existence negates that.

Christopher – wonderful comments; thanks for chiming in. In the really big picture, we have no idea what sustainability is, we take an entirely too human view of this. I invite you to read more of R.E.Faro of The Late Show Gardens blogger. The BlueBerry post is right up your alley. We humans are prompted by fear but says Faro: “I doubt that Nature, which takes a longer view, is fretting overmuch”

Onward – Saxon

both the term garden and sustainability suggest a sustainer/gardener as well as the ability to continue on a current path. There are some things that can clearly make a garden unsustainable, like overplanting.

Thanks for joining the conversation Ditto. Overplanting is a relative term. Over the life of any patch of earth, any gardener’s tampering with that patch might be considered overplanting. But y’know ? we just don’t know . – Saxon

Sustainable agriculture is a relatively recent term, coined by a Filipino activist in 1983. Since then the term sustainable has been adopted by just about everybody. Interestingly, Robert Rodale agreed with you that it was not specific enough to be useful. Sustainable how? For the general economy? For soil health? For the farmer’s livelihood?
Rodale linked “regenerative” to sustainable, which does give the idea a sharper focus. Here is his thinking: “enhanced regeneration of renewable resources is essential to the achievement of a sustainable form of agriculture,” and “the concept of regeneration would be relevant to many economic sectors and social concerns.” The word regeneration can’t be thrown around as easily as sustainability can, but as a goal to guiding consumption, it works.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments Pam. The “regenerative” concept makes a lot of sense and can be applied to many systems that want to be sustainable. – Saxon