‘A Greener Life’ by Jack Wallington explores how to garden for mental health and the planet.
The way we garden has been on my mind. I was recently asked to contribute thoughts on more sustainable gardening to a podcast, which got me thinking about how I grow.
Meanwhile, the peat debate is still raging with claim and counter claim across social media. (Note, there is nothing to debate. We should not be using peat for gardening.)
I was sent a copy of the book in exchange for a fair review
Reading designer Jack Wallington’s new book, A Greener Life, it seems I’m not alone in exploring how to make gardening more sustainable.
In it he outlines his ‘nine steps’ from not using insecticides to being wise when it comes to water. There’s advice on how to plant and design a garden to create thriving ecosystems, and other sections include how to bring wildlife in, growing herbs, and propagating to get plants for free.
We’re shown how to set up a pond, how to think seasonally when choosing plants and why fallen leaves should be cherished rather than seen as a problem.
For those without conventional gardens, there are suggestions of what to grow in a windowbox and a section on indoor plants while a seasonal calendar of basic jobs wraps up the practical gardening advice.
Plenty of pictures, bite-sized nuggets of information and good design make it an easily digestable read.
Yet, this is just one strand of a deeply personal book and the ‘greener life’ he is advocating is as much about using nature for better mental health as it is about gardening.
Growing plants, or simply just being truly aware of the natural world around us will, he says, help deal with everyday stress.
“Inviting nature back into my life gave me a peace I hadn’t experienced for thirty years,” we’re told.
Suggestions include exploring urban nature in parks and waste grounds, collecting ‘natural treasures’ such as seed heads and leaves to closely examine them at home, and climbing trees – a suggestion I won’t be following given my hatred of heights.
It results in a book that is a mix of the purely practical – such as the gardening tools you will need – and personal reflection: “When I’ve been at my lowest, I’ve gone for long walks in the countryside . . . It helps me untangle my thoughts.”
The aim, we’re told, is to help us connect with nature no matter regardless of the size of our growing space.
“We’re all part of the natural world and to save it is to save ourselves.”
A Greener Life by Jack Wallington is published by Laurence King Publishing, RRP £19.99.
Feature image: ‘Vicia cracca (tufted vetch) and Yorkshire fog grass, Holcus lanatus, growing together naturally in a meadow. © Jack Wallington
You can read more of my gardening and garden-related book reviews here.
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On a similar theme, I’m reading “The Well Gardened Mind” by Sue Stuart-Smith. It’s a very in-depth well researched account of the positive effect of gardening for all sorts of different people. An excellent read.
I’ve heard about that – puts it on the must read list.