Sustainability and the Landscape and Horticultural Industry

'Green is the new black' - statements to this end are readily used in a move to promote sustainable development as a trend. This is all well and good, but misses the point that sustainability unlike many associated labels is an absolute must. There is further evidence that suggests the promotion of sustainable practice as a fashion actually backfires slightly and leads to a misconception to the core majority, who are also being told that they have no choice in towing the line in this regard.The 'Phase-out of incandescent light bulbs' fiasco in 2009, was a clear illustration of this. It was fashionable to change to the new energy saving light bulbs for many years prior to 2008. Then a necessary (and frankly meagre step in the right direction), was to outlaw the incandescent light bulb. The media picked up on the anger of millions who were appalled by this decision and campaigns were adopted by many to try to halt what was perceived as a threat to liberty.The ELC and many other recent developments have started to filter, by way of guidelines, directives and law, sustainable practice into PPGs. Thereafter introduced into development industries in the UK by government. Thus the biggest problem facing the sustainable landscaper, garden designer or horticulturalist is how to deliver obligatory sustainable measures against an ingrained majority public opinion who are against 'being told what to do'. At the moment the recession has proved a godsend to this problem by delaying implementation, but it is coming.Large scale land management and forestry do not suffer this problem they are simply able to carry on with these measure without criticism. But it is interesting to note that some large NGO's and Quangos need to use very careful language in explaining these adopted practices to the general public.As an industry with a majority of smaller outfits and with real existing green credentials, the vast majority of landscaping and horticultural practitioners are going to face problems when having to expand into new client bases. And certainly there is a real problem with deferred clients. Personally this is very understandable; I hate having to pay for a service that has been imposed on me.Coupled with the ongoing fact that 'Sustainable' is a term associated with 'Organic', 'Permaculture' and 'Eco Friendly'and whilst many of us recognise the attributes of these other terms, there is a very large percentage of the population who shiver at the mention of these terms, conjuring up images of unwashed hippies and new age travellers. This imagery is as hard to dispel as trying to persuade a creationist that we are descended from small rat like creatures.One cannot fault the media with attempts to introduce the traditional values of sustainable practice and the innovative modern developments for sustainability. Monty Don, Chris Beardshaw, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Bob Flowerdew amongst many others have advocated the sustainable attributes of the landscaping and horticultural industry to the masses. But it has not changed popular opinion. A public opinion that has not been established that long and is actually contrary to the main history of landscaping and horticultural taste in the UK.The best of classic British literature and Art used the image of a wild landscape, only slightly tamed in the huge gardens, as the image of the ideal. The romantic movement certainly led the way, ultimately introducing the masses to the landscape as a whole. Taming a luxuriant array of encroaching natural and introduced vegetation was labour intensive.The larger the garden and the more maintenance required was a clear indication of not only your wealth but your footing on the social ladder. The working classes would simply use a garden as a necessary plot to supplement food requirements and as such the middle classes were easily separated by adopting the imagery of the larger parks and gardens of the UK.The change in opinion came after WWII. A lack of money, workforce and materials let to a rapid growth in labour saving products, designed to reduce necessary maintenance as much as possible. The companies producing these herbicides, fertilisers and pesticides as well as hard landscaping products, became very powerful, very quickly, and used the relatively modern medium of advertising to ensure the longevity of their products and this new lifestyle image, which is more closely linked to the USA traditions than to the UK.Newer generations may well change this trend and the recent popularity of all things self sufficient and sustainable rises unabated. But we still have to live and work in a society dominated by those fixed with the opinions they grew up with post war. And unfortunately the majority of private gardens and money belongs to these people.There is thus only way to change this mindset. The dominating businesses involved at the upper levels of the landscaping and horticultural industry need to adopt new sustainable innovations as well as looking to incorporate traditional methods back into the industry now that natural products are more readily available. And indeed many of these businesses have. Marshalls are a classic example, using the sustainable image to also include a social agenda, many other large outfits are using mychorrizal and enzyme technology amongst other new developments and even long since abandoned traditional techniques in their products, often by the back door, invisible to the clients. And now we are seeing even the oil giants and the motor industry investing into sustainable development as a must to protect their long term business.As P.J. O'Rourke puts it - ''Money buys research, money buys technology, money buys rain forests, wetlands, coral reefs, and even - as you may have noticed if you followed the campaign fund raising scandals - Al Gore''www.paysagedurable.com

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