Nothing but Flowers

In my previous entry, I reached back to the 90’s to reference Seinfeld.  I must be nostalgic, because the Talking Heads’ “(Nothing but) Flowers” was running through my head this morning.  I assume David Bryne’s tongue was firmly in cheek when he mourned the loss of 20th century consumer culture:

“Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
You've got it, you've got it
This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
You got it, you got it
I miss the honky tonks,
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens … ”

​I like to imagine planting a native garden as an affirmative act toward shaping some post-apocalyptic (or post-carbon) landscape. Where Bryne saw corn fields replacing discount stores (not realizing how fossil-fuel intensive agriculture really is), I gleefully imagine California sagebrush and coastal goldenbush spreading from surviving native gardens to sprout up between patches of dead lawn in neighboring yards.   

I’m not really looking forward to the collapse of civilization as we know it… but I think native landscapes can be a seed source in a different kind of way.

As I explore San Diego neighborhoods on my bike, I’ve noticed that good landscaping seems to be contagious.  I’ll ride down one street filled with unkempt lawns and boring shrubbery, then turn the corner onto a block graced by lots of creative, interesting gardens. If this is a benign way to keep up with the Jones, and I’m all for it.

I’ve noticed this with native gardens as well.  Once neighbors observe the variety, color, and life that a native plant landscape offers, they get curious and want to learn more.  Native plant gardeners, still a relatively rare breed, are usually eager to share their methods and so the native plants expand their range.

For this to work, of course, the trick is to have attractive native gardens.  Good landscape design is a prerequisite for a beautiful garden, but even the best design is going to look ragged after a while if you don’t weed regularly, prune seasonally, and water during a drought. It’s a lot less work than maintaining a traditional landscape, but some effort is needed to avoid that post-apocalyptic look.  
​
By creating and maintaining a great native garden, you’re not only adding to your enjoyment of nature in your own front yard, you might be sowing figurative seeds throughout your neighborhood.  And doing just a little bit to avoid a future where:

“We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries.”

---