There is no single answer to this question. For me, sustainable gardening is about gardening in a way that reduces the quick fix, throw-away approach to life that we have today. The need to carry out good good horticultural techniques, wasting less and using your time and resources wisely are all important.

First and formost, the most important thing to think about is the amount of time you are able to devote to maintaining your garden. We are frequently busy, with time being short-that is why a garden should be sustainable in a time sense. You need ask yourself if you are happy to spend all weekend pottering around the garden, or is it a chore that has to be completed and endured in as quick a time as possible? On the same note, are you willing to pay for someone to take care of your garden so you can enjoy it without having to do the work, or is that wishful thinking? Answering these questions allows you to think about the time taken to maintain a garden-if you want an easily maintained garden, don’t opt for a huge lawn that needs mowing weekly, along with a large number of hedges that need hedging frequently as these can be time intensive tasks that dont neccesarily bring joy (if they are your thing, then enjoy)-they could also be expensive if you employ someone to do it.

To get the best out of your garden, you need to consider the garden itself. This includes the following:

• Aspect of the garden, i.e. north/south/east/west facing. This will impact the types of plants that will thrive in your garden as some plants love shade, while others hate it.
• Soil type. Plants have evolved to grow in a certain type of soil, e.g. clay or sandy, and the conditions that such soils provide. Many other plants can grow in a range of soils.
• Weather/climate. Plants all have a niche in which they grow best-make sure you have plants in your garden that can are happy in the maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall and any other conditions you experience.

All the above impact the plants that will thrive in your garden and, therefore, look great. This, along with you taste in plants, will dertermin what will grow well in your garden. It can take some thought, and unfortunate mistakes, to get right.

Sustainability even includes tool use. Its no good going to your local hardware store every week to buy a new set of secateurs as they were the cheap and nasty pair, which then got left out in the rain and went rusty and blunt. Buy the best tools that you can, store them somewhere dry and maintain them correctly. This means that, even if you buy that cheap and nasty pair, they last longer, cost less money (including fuel to get new ones), and produce less waste. Storing them neatly means you can find them when needed, instead of buying a new pair and finding the old ones as soon as you get home.

Taking cuttings of favourite plants, composting garden waste and fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen can also have positive impacts on your garden. Reducing pesticide and petrol powered garden tools where possible are also excellent ways to lessen your impact on the environment.

All things discussed in this article, and more, will be covered at a later stage in their own seperate discussions. Happy gardening.

References

• Why sustainable gardening, http://www.sgaonline.org.au, Sustainable Gardening Australia, accessed 12th May 2022