Ihave a somewhat relaxed attitude to gardening; I define my own garden as wildlife-friendly. Unfortunately, my neighbours are not garden lovers of any persuasion. A letter from my local council informing me of their complaint that windfall apples and a compost bin at my premises ‘could be providing potential food or harbourage for pests’ was a sad reminder of how disconnected from the natural world many people have become. What hope is there for the future of gardens, when a tiny apple tree warrants a formal complaint?
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Whatever approach to gardens you may take, if you have a green space, you are the custodian of habitat, and this is important for the wildlife it supports, the people who enjoy it and the wider environment. As Jennifer Owen showed through 30 years of documenting her own garden – gardens are richly biodiverse ecosystems and not to be underestimated.
But with pressure on land increasing, it seems inevitable that gardens will become smaller, or even nonexistent. Those that currently make it into developments are often featureless, with no vegetative structure, and on compacted, construction-ravaged soils. They are certainly unlikely to have hedgehog-friendly fencing, or even worm-friendly earth. Gardeners prepared to tackle these conditions will have a hard job, and the disinterested among us are unlikely to be inspired by a boring grass rectangle surrounded by fencing.
Adding measurable value to gardens might make people think twice before mowing or paving
I don’t expect every new home to come complete with a beautiful and biodiverse garden. But the financial argument against better gardens is often flawed, and perhaps the conversation should be shifted away from cost and towards value. Take fencing as a perfect example. Planting a native hedge is less expensive than building a fence, and arguably more economical long-term, as it may never need replacing. Arguments for fences are often in the name of security, neatness and privacy, but if hedges were the norm for new gardens, we would see all-round gains. They provide habitat, add wellbeing benefits, are permeable to wildlife, reduce flooding, and are significantly less likely to blow over in a storm. That’s what I call value.
So what about the Garden Performance Certificate recently suggested by Clare Matterson of the RHS? Similar in principle to Energy Performance Certificates that accompany house sales, these could put gardens in a much stronger position, adding value for home buyers, vendors, and even encouraging developers to include sustainably designed gardens into their plans. Adding measurable value to gardens might make people think twice before excessively chopping, mowing or paving. Who knows if it would work in practice, but I wonder how my own garden would fare under this criteria. The small pond, long grass, hedge, trees – not forgetting the infamous apple tree – might get me as far as a B rating? Extra points for hedgehog scat?
As the keeper of a garden, I am fortunate. One in eight households has no garden at all, and while this may be in areas with increased access to parks, these are often intensively mown and managed in a way that reduces opportunities for wildlife. It will be a challenge to shift mindsets in favour of gardens and their habitats if so many people have diminished opportunities to engage with them. This is where we begin to see the importance of communal gardens designed to connect humans with nature. If thoughtfully and inclusively designed, accessible green spaces can increase active engagement with the natural world, giving countless mental and physical health benefits. We should be pushing for landscape-led developments that provide communal space as a priority, over the size of private gardens. Maybe in our eagerness to protect the sanctity of the private garden, we’ve been too inward-looking. What would you choose: 100 homes with 200 square metres of private garden, or 100 homes with gardens half that size and a communal green space of two-and-a-half acres?
Of course, private gardens are crucial for wildlife, and they may indeed be under threat, but I would like to see communal gardens gain significance, in the hope that future generations will not lose connection with nature, and collective perceptions might be changed for the better.
In the meantime, offer your juiciest windfall apples to your neighbours. Maybe they’ll be tempted to plant a tree themselves.