The power of plants
Professor Nigel Dunnett is a member of our Growing Greener Campaign panel and a leading expert on sustainable approaches to planting design
There’s an oft-repeated discussion in garden-design circles: “Does a garden have to have plants in it?” Well, no, gardens can be entirely hard and lifeless. But that’s not the sort of garden I want to live with! It’s not just because of the visual pleasure and sense of contentment that plants bring, or the many benefits that gardening is associated with. It’s much more fundamental than that: plants and green are key to all the environmental benefits that gardens can deliver.
For me, making a garden that is sustainable and environmentally positive, as well as being beautiful and enjoyable, is now what gardening should be all about. Greener gardening can really make a difference – while you might think that your plot is too small to help, the important thing to remember is that every single garden or green space forms part of a much wider network, and, from a bird’s-eye view, fences and boundaries are not that important – it’s the totality that makes the difference.
“You don’t need to sacrifice a good-looking garden for the sake of
