Top Gardens Sustainable
17/02/11 22:55 Filed in: Economic Change
A day out can have a massive impact on the planet. Taking the effects of travelling to the venue aside, once we get there, the environmental credentials of the gardens themselves are really important.
Gardeners love to visit other gardens - whether they be a neighbour’s allotment or a friends place; a garden associated with a historic house or a garden open for the day to raise funds for charity.
A day out though can have a massive impact on the planet. Taking the effects of travelling to the venue aside, once we get there, the environmental credentials of the gardens themselves are really important.
Do the gardeners’ liberally use pesticides? Is one purpose of the garden to keep heritage varieties alive? Is there an abundance of flower's grown around the place for pollinating insects? Do the owners supply locally-sourced refreshments?
As sustainable gardener's, we should support those properties which have adopted environmental principles as part of their management.
According to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, which reports on the top visited attractions in Britain, projects which are run by conservation organisations came out on top in 2010.
Over 5.3 million people visited the top 15 most visited gardens in Britain. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Governments global plant conservation Agency; and the Eden project, which was created and runs on sustainable lines, received over 1 million visitors each last year.
Four gardens run by the Royal Horticultural Society, which has just re-affirmed its commitment to reducing its use of peat - amongst a number of other environmentally positive steps- received over 1.3 million visitors as well.
Eight gardens belonging to another membership organisation, The National Trust, which has led the way in peat-free gardening for many years, had 1.7million visitors, whilst Audley End House and Gardens, opened by English heritage, received 120,000 visitors.
If we are serious in wanting to promote sustainable gardening, we should support organisations which have made a commitment to reducing their environmental impacts whenever we can. Fortunately, for gardeners, the top attractions are already becoming more sustainable.
We should continue to support and enjoy them and use the opportunity of our visit to pick up as many green gardening tips from them as possible.
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