It’s impossible not to pay attention to the weather when it has been completely unpredictable. How is it possible that a couple of weeks ago it was below 6F and today is hitting 50F mid January? When we see things like that happening it is important to reflect on the climate and how inconsistent our seasons are now, and what will come from it.
In Nature changes occur constantly, either in cycles or permanently. However, such changes are usually gradual, because it takes millions of years for animals and plants to adapt and survive to the new conditions. Like everything else our presence on this planet has consequences and we’ve chosen to come up to this point in Earth’s timeline without thinking on how these consequences would affect us, which is selfish in and out of itself. Our way of life struggling to make ends meet made us this way; we forgot that whatever we add to the soil and the water, will feed the tree, that makes the flower, that feeds the bees, that makes our apple. We forgot we are all connected to this beautiful chain. The impact of our walking on this earth can be positive or negative, it’s up to us to choose which one it will be. Each decision counts and each dollar is a choice.
The good thing is there is hope! We are bright; we have know-how and the technology to do better and save ourselves from extinction. The necessity of an urgent change is what’s been propelling companies like More Than Gardens to rise and reverse the scary picture we’ve been looking at for the past decade. It’s possible with green infrastructures , with environment restoration, with carbon sinking strategies and other initiatives that companies like ours have been preaching for years.
We are excited to share the new projects we’ve been working on and hopefully inspire you to change your landscaping habits and make a big difference in your local environment.
For example, there are several ways that you can use your landscape to capture carbon and lower the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. We know that planting trees and shrubs is the most straightforward way, but the most permanent and efficient way to lower your carbon emissions is planning your landscape for energy efficiency.
Energy efficient landscapes use trees, shrubs, ground covers and vines to provide cooling shade in the summer as well as wind protection during the winter. It can also slash your energy bills; according to the EPA an energy-conserving landscape can reduce your energy bills in 40%. That’s huge!
There are several strategies that can be used to achieve that, strategic placing of trees; strategic placing of windbreaks; green roofs; use of biochar and proper rainwater management are a few examples.
These are simple immediate actions that property owners can take today to help reverse climate change. It’s empowering to know that we are not as hopeless as we thought we were. It’s true that private corporations should be held responsible for their emissions, 1000%; but we all contribute to the problem to some degree, according to the EPA, households are responsible for 16% of CO2 emissions and if we can do our part to mitigate that, I believe that we should.
More Than That, the change in climate will affect all of us, and yes there are a lot of things that we have to deal with that seem more immediate, more important; but if you take a deep breath and look around you will remember that you can’t be disconnected for long. We all need clean air, clean water and clean food and if we all work together to clean the mess that was left to us, if we all fix this for the future generations, we might have a chance. Humans are beautiful when we want to be. We can do better and I believe we will. We are here, and we’ve found you!
Agatha Martello & The More Than Gardens Team
While resolutions are apparently out and people now find them anxiety triggering; I on the other hand have always had fun mindfully considering and writing them down every New Year’s and I feel really good revisiting them throughout the year. They have always served me as a guide to help me keep focus on what 's important to me. The trick is to keep them realistic and simple.
If you have as one of your New Year’s goals to take some more positive action towards the environment and your own health, let me help you out and give you 5 easy ways you can be more sustainable and consequently healthier for 2023!
1 - Compost! - By composting you help offset the carbon emissions associated with organic matter decomposition , as well as soil and water pollution keep garbage away from landfills, where it would take forever to decompose and could cause soil and water pollution. Make sure you do it properly to make sure the process is Net zero carbon.
2 - Plant trees and shrubs! - Trees and shrubs are permanent features on your landscape so they offset carbon from the atmosphere for many many years. On top of that they clean the air, cool down temperatures, and serve as a habitat for birds and other nature creatures that help us keeping our system alive.
3 - Plant natives! - This way you rebuild the local ecosystem and assure survival of local species. They also usually require less fertilizers, pesticides and additional water supply for being originated from the micro environment, it’s adapted to live there.
4 - Rethink your lawn - Traditional lawn requires a lot of irrigation and other amendments (fertilizers, ph modifiers, pesticides) to keep it looking like a golf course as people expect it to be. Lawns doesn’t absorb as much rain water when compared to more natural landscapes, so its popular use is associated with floods and water pollution. You can reduce your lawn gradually but If you can’t reduce it all together, you can consider using lawn substitutes such as clover or another viable ground cover (give preference to natives if possible) and treat it organically to preserve the microflora and fauna present in the soil underneath.
5 - Grow your own food (organically) - Home grown food is healthier because you can control its conditions and amendments used. The University of Michigan presented a study saying that people who grow their own food eat more fruits and vegetables than the average grocery store consumer. CDC also considers gardening equivalent to exercising being beneficial to your health in itself. Moreover, by growing your own food, you eliminate all the carbon footprint associated with store bought alternatives.
These are fairly easy actions that anyone can begin with and you don’t have to take any drastic measures from December 31st to January 1st. You can determine easy steps,one plan, one plant, one project at a time.
We are here to show you that small changes can make a big impact and little by little change will come easily, and with beautiful designs on top of that!
Please let us know if you have any other suggestions on sustainable practices that we could add to our New Year’s resolution!
We wish you a happy new season, a healthy body and planet!
Best,
Agatha Martello
Ref.
Updated: Nov 30, 2022
Organic landscaping is first and foremost a strategy. We use practices that cause no harm to the environment or to the people and other agents that make use of it. As a business, it means that we are certified by a national agency that assures we follow guidelines in order to call ourselves an “organic” company. But it’s the principle of “do no harm” that supports the daily operations, from the products we chose to use in our gardens, to the way we treat (and pay) our employees. You will find this National Organic Farming and Land Care Association stamp on the promotional items of certified organic companies.
It’s all about creating a stunning, dynamic landscape and supporting a low-environmental-impact installation followed by a low-maintenance technique. Because of the service exclusivity, Organic Landscaping may not be the least expensive or quickest method, but as time passes it will be less costly, more environmentally friendly, and of course sustainable. These procedures usually don’t rely on chemical weedkillers or external fertilizers.
Regenerative landscaping attempts to bring the area of interest closest back as possible to what it used to be before humans started modifying the land. It involves using native plants, adapting to different terrains instead of leveling everything out, building back soil up, protecting some plants, and removing others if invasive or harmful, etc. We do that in big and sometimes not-so-obvious ways. Even with an exclusive ornamental design, we keep regenerative principles in mind. We do that to decrease inputs needed in the landscaping and with that improve sustainability, offset pollution and carbon emissions, and give the local fauna food and shelter.
There are plenty of benefits that regenerative landscapes can bring: erosion control, reduced capital construction price, reduced visual impact of development, and better soil health due to the use of native plants.
Image - New York’s High Line: a great urban regeneration study case.
These principles are important because most of our lands have already been tainted with deforestation, the substitution of species, and the extraction of minerals (which are nutrients), and we have been suffering the consequences of that if we keep on this same path things can’t get better. Urban areas are important for our civilization but organic and regenerative landscaping is attempting to bring both worlds together to live in harmony.
More Than Gardens would like to invite you to create a world where it is possible to live in harmony with Nature. Where our houses are elements of the solution and not problems, where our lifestyles offset more carbon than emit it, where the soil is healthy and clean of toxins, where birds find food and shelter in our backyards, where we can have flowers for pollinators, where we grow fresh and clean food. It sounds idealistic but it is possible and absolutely necessary.
We will along our journey together help you identify elements in our daily lives where you can actually help nature. We would like to empower you with the knowledge and skills to make a real difference in the world right now! You can and together we will be the change that we need.
More Than Gardens Team
