Green Living Magazine · page 22
Men in the Garden
The economic downturn has brought about an awareness of doing things differently, despite stress, job loss and sinking home values. The decline in 2008 caused people to rethink their values in socializing and purchasing power as well as leisure activities. Gone are the days of bigger, faster, better and less awareness. Now we are looking at greener ways to do things – more local ways of doing things.
It also means we are looking at alternative ways of doing business, relaxing and trying to enjoy life more as well as sharing our gifts with others. One area that is seeing a resurgence of popularity is gardening. Gardening has reached a new status in this green, eco-savvy world. Long known as a relaxing endeavor, gardening isn’t just about beautiful flowers – in fact, even men are now taking an interest.
Longtime Phoenix gardener Tom Devlin says gardening is more enjoyable now that he’s switched his garden from a high maintenance, high-water-using one to one that is full of drought-tolerant plants and requires much less maintenance. “We have drought-tolerant plants and the garden is less work,” Devlin said. Before, during the “showy” times of the ‘80s and his über lush garden rivaled many resorts and was even featured in Phoenix Home & Garden magazine. Although it was beautiful, peaceful and verdant, he didn’t enjoy it as much as he does now.
While friends and relatives enjoyed his garden immensely, Devlin was so busy working on it that he didn’t have time to relax in it. “Now my gardening takes less than a couple of hours a week, whereas before it was an all-weekend job,” Devlin said. “We still have that tropical feel, but with drought-tolerant plants, it is much less demanding.” 20 greenliving June 2011 Gardening in Arizona is especially difficult because of the soil, sun and soaring temperatures.
Bob of Select in Peoria, has been nurturing his organic farm since and says the number one question he gets asked is, “How do I keep plants alive?” says that having the proper soil is key, as is planting at the correct time – which differs from the regular season throughout most of the country. Devlin agrees. “This is an extremely hard state to garden in,” he said.
He advised that successful gardening starts with knowing what to plant, when to plant it and where to plant it. If you are thinking of getting your green thumb going, “Find yourself an independent nursery with a certified nursery staff that can guide you,” Devlin said. “A great place to start is with the Arizona Nursery Association. The Arizona Master Gardeners Association even has a downloadable gardening manual.
Devlin thinks the economic downturn changed the mindset and budgets of weekend and professional gardeners too. “We are all a lot more aware of being green, recycling and looking at ways to save money,” Devlin said. “Sadly, that also means some great nurseries have gone out of business.” Unfortunate and true, but for some, the change in the economy has also meant finding ways to help others less fortunate.
Growing urban gardens is one way to do so.
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