Digging in: Don’t Be Afraid

By Peter Wimberg

It’s not often that acting out of fear, or being driven by fear, is advisable. Before you say, what if you’re in physical danger, or a massive storm is coming? Remember, this is a garden column.  But, I do believe that fear (see what I did there?) is creeping into the world of gardening. And it’s not just that people are fearful, but it’s that influencers are using fear to motivate, guilt and, I would go so far as to say, bully people into gardening a certain way. When did gardening become something we do out of fear?

Is the environment as healthy and robust as it should be? No. Are insects and birds in decline? Yes. But telling someone if they don’t change every aspect of their garden, the butterflies will die is unacceptable. Neither is it acceptable to infer that if someone doesn’t garden as you dictate that they’re part of the problem. Even if the person you are trying to persuade turns his garden over to native plants, he’s still unnecessarily anxious. Why? Because he knows that his yard alone, even a generous landscape in Indian Hill, will not save the butterflies. Fear is a poor way to create new gardeners who want to plant with nature. 

I’m meeting more people who are gardening for pollinators, which is wonderful, who carry a heavy sense of worry and dread with their gardens. They don’t see the incredible blooms, the birds taking advantage of seeds or a reduction in water consumption.  What they see is something that’s not enough, that what they’ve done in their gardens won’t save the butterflies. If you are gardening to save the earth, to sequester the carbon or to save the Monarch, in the end you will feel as if you failed. Why? Because one garden can’t save all the butterflies.

How can these new gardeners for nature find joy in their gardens if all they see is defeat? How will they inspire their neighbors to make a change if they see their own garden as woefully inadequate to make a massive change?  This is why I start a new garden plan asking what will make the homeowner happy and nature happy. I’m happy to save the peonies if at the same time I can introduce some pollinator friendly plants to the yard. Do I want to see more native plants? Of course. But I also know that annual Cuphea does a spectacular job at attracting hummingbirds. I also know that once a homeowner sees nature in their garden, they want to do more. They ask to remove more sod to expand a garden. They ask to have more plants so there’s no room for mulch in the gardens. And they always ask for more native plants. The new gardener has found success in their garden, they see and enjoy the nature it’s supporting, and they become the best garden influencers for planting with nature as they are inspiring with enthusiasm, not fear. 

We need to see more lawn given over to gardens planted with nature. We need to see more invasive plants swapped out for beneficial plants. We do need to see a big, dramatic change in the way we garden. I believe change will not come when dictated by fear. I believe change will come when enthusiastic gardeners, who love what they’ve created in their little slice of the environment, inspire their neighbors to do the same.

Peter Wimberg is the president of Wimberg Landscaping, a full-service landscaping firm that has been in operation for more than 44 years. Peter is a strong proponent of planting with nature. The Wimberg office and its extensive pollinator gardens are located at 1354 US Route 50 in Milford, Ohio. For more on his gardening philosophy, go to wimberglandscaping/changing-the-landscape.