a mini manifesto, maybe?
an attempt to articulate current musings.
somewhat a vision/somewhat self-indulgent prophesying. the humble list felt most appropriate to mitigate my inability to be being concise.
inspired by the brevity, honesty and clarity of some actually good writing: The Do Lectures Laws of Interesting / Very Good Copy / The Boron Letter and other lists of note.
this is none of those. 20 points in, it ain't perfect, but it might be fun:
access to roam awesome landscapes should be a birth rite. acknowledging their preciousness should be a universal truth.
WE are nature. talking about 'nature' as something separate from us is unhelpful for nature and, technically, incorrect.
the best way to kill weeds? understanding the landscape, reframing undesirable plants, educating ourselves, not seeking picture-postcard perfection, adopting a more holistic view of the living world. bosh - no more weeds.
and, on the subject of weed killers just, don't. round yourself up.
local first. make choices in the context of global challenges... fix your own oxygen mask first so you can then help others breathe too.
every garden’s a piece of the jigsaw. they all contribute to our shared puzzle. to see the Earth in high resolution all pixels must be in our field of views and work together. the more successful each piece is, the more beautiful the overall picture shall be.
ask not what can our landscapes do for us, but what can we do for our land (LOL).
improving landscapes needn't be costly or slow. but it requires appropriate investment and long-term thinking.
where there’s meaning between occupants and land, reinforce it. where there is none, help discover it.
continually talk about great experiences in nature. remember that important experiences aren’t always positive, but they will have a positive outcome. we’re growing lessons and lasting memories.
why have amenity landscapes that only survive on life-support machines? if Covid taught us that surviving on a ventilator isn’t pretty, perhaps we could look at the rest of the natural world the same way? there’s always a better way.
growth is the reward, not the result.
we care about process and patience, not only product. we don't make gardens... we help our clients to build and grow with them. if we can create space for clients to grow, then we’re really onto something.
gardens are fair game for all creatures; great and small.
so no, we can't design gardens that won’t have bees.
all gardens are interconnected and nature doesn’t care about boundary walls.
gardens don't save the world; people that garden do.
gardens are enjoyed by the privileged few so we better make them the best they can be - they should serve the world beyond their boundaries.
grow food, reuse water, explore like a child, drink good wine by a roaring fire, tell dirty jokes with close friends, search for shooting stars, learn to cartwheel, get muddy hands, catch a spider and let it go. live outdoors more.
build the Attenborough cloning facility ASAP.
every summer my mum put delicious strawberries on the table that she'd spent all year in the garden looking after - I still think of that three decades years later. it’s why we’re here and why you’re reading this.