Sustainability is one of those words that's become so overused that it's hard to pin down a precise meaning.
Saxon Holt took aim in a talk at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show last month. A garden photographer whose work is featured in many books, including Plants And Landscapes For Summer-dry Climates Of The San Francisco Bay Region and The American Meadow Garden, Holt has been gardening and looking at gardens with an artist's eye for more than 25 years.
Holt's definition of a sustainable garden has six basics. ul
A good photo is not merely pretty and technically competent, but it can also inspire viewers, communicate a point of view, or convey specific information, and must be both valid and authentic.
Many people read garden books and look at photos of gardens for Inspiration. Sometimes the inspiration comes from seeing a range of different gardens around the world. Other photos show ideas people can try in their own gardens. By choosing what to frame or show, Holt can show gardeners an element of sustainable gardening they might not have seen or thought about even if they had visited the garden themselves. And finally, some photos make you wonder or look twice, or challenge your notions of aesthetics.
Good garden photos also show not what a flower or leaf looks like, but what proper pruning looks like. A photographer who knows what to look for can create a more information-rich photo. Sometimes the purpose of a garden is embodied in utilitarian garden features such as compost bins or rain barrels that used to be hidden. With increased interest in gardening sustainably, people are interested in seeing those features, so Holt makes a point of including them in his photos if they are an important part of the garden.
Validity is another important metric for Holt. To be sustainable, a garden has to make sense in its climate or location, so a photo that includes some context is superior to one that doesn't. For instance, a drought-tolerant garden in southern California can be mostly succulents that require little care. But in a rainier climate such as Bainbridge Island, a drought-tolerant garden looks comparatively lush.
Finally, authenticity means a garden is old enough to have withstood the test of time. In a newly planted garden, you don't learn about which plants grow well together or how well adapted the plants are to the soils or climate. It may be aspiring to sustainability, but like any new enterprise, a new garden requires more care and resources. It takes a meadow at least a year or two to fill in, and longer for it to incorporate diversity.
© 2010 Tanya Kucak