If there is a raison d’être for what I do here with my Green Tiger Garden nursery, it would not be for the purpose of selling plants. I really hate doing sales and I can think of many better ways to make money than one ever can producing and selling plants. Nor is it just that I love plants, growing them, and gardens. (All of which I admittedly prefer more than I do being around most people!)
What drives me now is my concern for the climate crisis we are in, one of our own making, and how to make some reasonable effort, however small or naive it may seem, to offset the damage and effects and to protect the environment, it’s many habitats and their denizens.
I truly believe that if everyone would plant a tree or shrub at least once a month, that we could begin to make a positive change. That change would be even greater if we all grew at least some of our own food and even better our own medicines.“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” said Hippocrates.
I try to grow plants, engage with the public, teach classes on various horticultural topics and sell plants all to this end. To show that by working with nature (and not against nature) we can live in balance and harmony.“Feed the earth and the earth will feed you.” is one of the composter’s credos.
Using permaculture and organic techniques we can create perennial food and apothecary gardens that provide food and health security not just for ourselves and loved ones but for the whole of our connectedness to all things.
By maintaining diversity and avoiding monoculture we can keep an equilibrium in the garden that can be pesticide-free and self-sustaining.
By sheet mulching, we can smother weeds without the use of herbicides while improving the moisture retention of the soil and hence conserve on water use.
By using only organic fertilizers and compost along with no-till planting practices we will improve the soil structure and allow for the many soil-borne micro-organisms and mycelial connections to thrive.
And by sharing our excess harvests with family, friends, and even strangers we will strengthen our bonds of community.
This is the ‘sea change’ I wish to be a part of.
“There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.” wrote Wendell Berry.I hope you will join me in creating a “scared Earth” for all; one plant, one garden, both public and private, at a time.