ecological MIRACLES

Imagine walking out your door into a lush and delectable edible landscape that feeds your senses, your family, your neighbors and world. It saves money, water and global warming emissions while creating a backyard ecosystem that reconnects us to nature. Planetary problems such as our climate crisis, topsoil loss, water shortages and the collapse of fish, bee and songbird populations are enormous and at the same time solvable in our households and gardens when we mimic the wisdom of nature's systems. The simple act of eating a home-grown salad sprinkled with bright flowers and juicy tomatoes still warm from the summer sun is an act of superhero proportions. Especially when you realize the immense amount of oil, chemicals and water it took to grow, fertilize, package and transport your lunch from thousands of miles away.

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today."
                    - Chinese proverb

Just start with something simple that inspires you; a food you love, a scent that soothes, an array of colors that inspire. One of the most amazing ecological gardens I've experienced at the Permaculture Institute of Northern California came about because they love strawberries. First came the strawberries, then ducks to protect the berries from pests, then a pond for the ducks, then a beautiful earthen office because they had a pile of dirt from digging the pond. The next thing you know, a half-acre lawn is a food forest with a pear tree fence, a greywater-fed pond, strawbale cottages and an endless supply of food, medicine and wonder.

While not everyone has a half acre, this sort of garden has been created on a Tokyo balcony. This can be done anywhere by creating healthy soil, incorporating multi-use plants, reclaiming waste water, composting food and yard scraps and incorporating birds, bees, butterflies and other beneficial critters. Currently our lives consume unprecedented amounts of water, energy and resources, and we are rapidly consuming our children's future. There are simple ways to change this. Instead of a resource-hungry lawn, why not a patch of strawberries, and a vegetable garden edged by garlic chives and culinary herbs? How about "fedges?" A fedge is a food hedge that can be made with berries, artichokes, dwarf fruit trees or rosemary. Rather than just reading about collapsing bee and bird populations, why not create gardens full of plants that feed beneficial insects and birds, while providing pest control for your garden of eatin'? How about some beautiful coneflowers, so instead of cold medication, you harvest Echinacea from your yard? Need privacy? Instead of a fence try evergreen trees such as citrus, pineapple guavas or olives? Care for some edible air conditioning and cheaper bills? Plant deciduous fruit trees and vines on the eastern and western sides of your house to shade the summer sun but let in the winter sun. Vertical gardening is a great way to beautify with food and habitat. Chayote, grapes, hops, scarlet runner beans, kiwi and passionfruit are just a few vining plants, which provide much benefit. Container gardening is another way to reclaim unused space. You can grow almost anything in containers!

Using space and resources wisely is a vital aspect to a sustainable landscape. Rather than just one crop, grow a variety of purposeful plants from canopy to root zone using trees, shrubs, ground covers, herbs, roots and vines. This year, in a two-foot wide median between street and sidewalk, we grew 15 varieties of edibles including beets, lettuce, kale, collards, sugar peas, cilantro, chamomile and fava beans. Why not have fun while feeding neighbors and strangers, and reclaiming the countless marginal spaces in our gardens and lives? Rather than throwing food scraps away, carting off yard waste and then buying fertilizers, these vital resources can be composted or used as a mulch to enrich soil life so it retains water and produces strong, healthy plants.

If you're not ready to replace your lawn, downsize it to fit your needs. Let it go dormant in the summer, use a push mower, use compost tea instead of petroleum-based fertilizers or replace it with a water-conserving bunch grass lawn like red fescue (festuca rubra).

As you choose plants, consider including ones that make mulch, attract beneficial insects, accumulate nutrients and fix nitrogen. Adding a diversity of flavors, colors, scents and sizes will take care of most of the work for you! The possibilities are limitless, the benefits are countless, and our creative engagement is key. Even minutes a day are enough to create an ecological oasis, while inspiring friends and neighbors. Dream big, start simple, stay inspired and remember that every choice you make matters.

Trathen Heckman is founding, executive director of Daily Acts Organization, executive director of Green Sangha, and publisher of Ripples Journal. Seeking to inspire the engagement of hearts, minds and senses, Trathen writes and teaches about harnessing the power of daily actions to restore the health of our lives, communities and world. www.daily-acts.org, www.greensangha.org.

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