Landscaping in the Recession

June 30, 4:30 PMBackyard Living ExaminerJane Gates

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Landscaping in the recession (Photo by Jane Gates)

It seems everybody is concerned about how the economy will impact their lives at this point in time. No one can avoid noticing the cost of gasoline and the rise in prices of just about everything. Even if you weren’t directly impacted by the housing market, gas prices or a lost job, something financial out there is probably taking its toll on your sense of security. Yes, this is an article on the garden and, no, I’m not about to get into a political commentary. But your garden can make a difference in your life when it may seem to be one of the least important priorities.  This is about landscaping in the Recession.

It is important to realize that your quality of life is happening today. It’s easy to get worried about tomorrow to the extent you lose out on the present. A garden has a lot to offer in times of stress. When you go out into nature you have a chance to recalibrate your perceptions. For example, if you watch a bug trundling along, you can not only find its motions calming, but you can see there are other lives on this planet that continue on about their business no matter what else is going on around them. If you watch young children or pets frolicking, you can get a lesson in getting the most possible from the present moment. Our brains are hard-wired to think about the future so it’s unreasonable to expect yourself to live totally in the present, but it doesn’t hurt to take a little time to enjoy where you are right now. One thing is sure in life and that is change. That’s the good news when things are bad and the bad news when things are good. So it’s important to focus on some of the good things that are happening now and trust that many of the bad ones will change sooner or later. Nature is a wonderful teacher. Plants don’t stop growing just because a heat wave is on the way. Watch a humming bird swooping in sheer pleasure just because right now it can. Though many of us have financial worries, few of us really worry what we will be eating for our next meal, where we will find our next drink of water, or how we will clothe ourselves against the elements. I’ve watched a flower stomped flat one day and raise its face to the sun the next. We, too, have this same resilience. In fact, we can do a lot better than a plant rooted to whatever environment it is stuck with. So here are a couple of ways to use our gardens to bolster us against some of our financial fears and to let landscaping help us weather the Recession.

First of all, spend time in your garden. Turn off all the worries and just immerse yourself in the joy of being alive in this moment. Using your garden as a retreat is amazingly healing for the body and soul. If you don’t have a garden, here’s a great opportunity to start one. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. You can use found items like rocks, broken up cement and old wood to build planters. You can chose plants that require little or nothing in soil amendments. A few tools can get you started. You can work off anxiety by digging and building. Create your own irrigation with inexpensive soaker hoses. Get your mind off of future financial worries. Buy your plants small or start them from seed to save money. And watch them grow. Enjoy the now. There is nothing more inspiring than watching nature’s living forms grow and flourish even in adversity. You can grow flowers to cut and take into the house to cheer up your surroundings. You can plant native plants to attract wildlife or butterfly-friendly flowers to keep you amazed watching colorful wings flit through the air. You can grow plants to give you peace and privacy or build a little water garden to add the serene sound of splashing water. You can create a garden with fun, fast-growing plants to keep the children busy. And you can even grow your own food.

This brings me to a second use of your garden.   The ‘Victory Garden’ was popularized during World War II when the home gardener was able to produce close to 40% of the country’s consumables to help in the war economy. Recently this concept has been resurrected and it is now sweeping the country. It isn’t necessary to open a vegetable stand, but even if you grow a pot of tomatoes and basil you will be lowering your food bill, removing some of your demand on the oil-hungry shipping industry, and eating food with more flavor, freshness and fewer commercial insecticides than you would if you purchased the same material at the store. It may take a little effort and a minimal expense to get things started, but you will earn back any small cost very quickly. Try planting tomatoes and zucchinis for heavy cropping vegetables that produce for a long season. Unless you are really devoted and have a lot of growing space, I wouldn’t say growing corn to convert into ethanol is advisable for most people, but corn will supply you with some tasty treats for dinner. Grape vines are very prolific, easy and can be used to cover fences, ugly spaces, or divide areas of the landscape. Plant a fruit tree and you will be rewarded with beautiful blossoms in the springtime and delicious fruits in the summer. Quick and easy growers are radishes and many herbs like sage and basil. There’s still time to pop in pumpkin seeds to grow those long rambling vines that offer plump orange pumpkins for eating or decoration in the autumn. Children will especially enjoy watching these super-fast growers scramble along the ground.

If you have a patch of lawn that doesn’t look beautiful and is driving up your water bills, consider planting something more useful in the area. The soil will probably have been amended for the lawn and you may even have sprinklers in place. If you use as much water for growing vegetables as you did on your lawn, at least you will be getting something back for your money. And if you plant the area with flowers, you can save by cutting down on water consumption as well as creating your own beautiful retreat for enjoying life now. You will be saving on anxiety and wasted water while keeping yourself healthy physically with a little productive exercise. Why not make your life more enjoyable by looking to nature and your garden in these uncertain times? Landscaping and gardening in the Recession can give back in so many ways !