Growing up in Long Beach, California in the 50s, there was only one garden concept: keep everything green (no matter that the water was piped down all the way from Northern California), manicure the lawns with weekly or twice weekly gardeners who cut, edged, weeded, pruned, swept, watered, planted, fertilized, sprayed for every possible type of insect which just might come to visit, fought ants with vengeance and cut trees down... often arbitrarily.
There IS a different way...but it took me a few years to realize it: there IS such a thing as a natural garden which allows indigineous plants to stay in place, to be no more than gently assisted so they can thrive in THEIR natural habitat, there IS a way to consider weeds as "natural" and not as a dirty word! There IS a way to respect the natural habitat since each and every habitat is generous with its gifts. There is no reason to plant palms in Umbria or olive trees in Arizona!
"waves" of weeds swaying in the light spring breezes
Mowing lawns much less often makes for CARPETS of wild flowers
Planting shrubs which grow wild in the area (forsythia, viburno, mahonia, photinia, lilacs, and of course, oilve trees) means no watering, no fertilizing, minimum pruning, lack of insect plights or other leaf illnesses.
photinia ablaze - beautiful all year round even though it requires no care
mahonia in all its spring glory - another shrub which is beautiful all year round with no care
looking out on the garden from my study
I still remember vividly the shock on my father's face when he asked me where the sprinkling system was...and I told him there was none - that we did not (and could not!!!!) water the lawns. He was similarly astonished when he realized our house was NOT air-conditioned. The entire Mediterranean area has "solved" these problems from the beginning of civilization: lawns are ALLOWED to get drier and houses are built to cope with the heat (very thick terracotta walls, shutters which are carefully closed and opened to avoid sunlight beating on the glass window panes).
Vegetable gardens are prized and rain water is collected and used (when well water is not available) to ensure their production. They are carefully placed to glean at least 6 hours of sunlight but to avoid getting more than that to help with the watering needs. Watering is done late to maximize the "refreshing" effect over night.
Even certain roses do well in this dry climate, never needing water and quite resistant to afids.
a regal bud on my Crimson Glory climbing rose outside my study
After WWII, how far we had moved away from this common sense, from this respect for nature and for the earth's resources in the California of my youth. "Green", "sustainable", "eco-friendly" have become the buzz words for the generation or two which grew up so very far removed from the logic and acceptance of a more natural way.
I have always been grateful that I had an easier job in raising my children in Italy. There were the obvious reasons of the intricate context of history and culture, of the no-nonsense "three Rs" schools, the close-knit communities and family ties, but there was also this often under-estimated natural aspect of letting nature be itself, of accepting a browner lawn in July as "normal", of taking advantage of the climate for growing vegetables and fruit.
My first experience with growing anything edible in Long Beach was for a 5th grade science project: each student in class was instructed to grow a vegetable. I was assigned the carrot. Aside from this, we NEVER used our considerable space in a large backyard to grow a tomato or a to plant a fruit tree. Amazing!!!!!!!!!
A country like Italy which had so recently come out of poverty and war destruction, even in better times after the end of the War, knew the value (even if for economic rather than ecological reasons) of not wasting electricity, of not heating water at all hours of every day, of closing shutters before midday and reopening them at dusk)...and of cultivating food wherever and whenever possible.
After a period of adjustment, I fully embraced those values...and still do. There can be such beauty and naturalness in weeds, in less-mowed lawns, in indigenous shrubs, olive trees, cypress trees, fields of vineyards and sunflowers...and in vegetable gardens. To this day, my morning round of the vegetable garden is a delight to be treasured...and dictates what I will be cooking for the day.
Comments (1)
Another very thoughtful post, Mary. You express so well how unnatural so many of our practices in North America have become -- our attempts to force nature to do our biding, which really is so destructive!
I think that one of the reasons so many of us are drawn to Italy, is the respect we often see there for a more natural, reasonable way of doing things. From careful (thoughtful) cooking with seasonal fruits and vegetables, to the more relaxed pace of mealtimes and, indeed, much of daily life, Italy has so much appeal.
Posted by sandrac | April 6, 2009 1:48 AM
Posted on April 6, 2009 01:48