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celebrating nature’s alchemy and fragrance
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the quest to understand and change the causes for the loss of wild plants
and
the symptoms of destruction. It actually conserves threatened species of
plants (including fungi), of which 232 are on the British government’s
“danger list.” Some of the country’s most respected botanists are involved.
Plantlife now owns more than nineteen nature reserves that cover nearly
five hundred acres.
In Spain and other European countries where nature reserves exist,
herbs are gathered under strict supervision and care. This harvest has a
twofold benefit: it provides an income for the reserve, and it provides
much-needed organic and wild-crafted herbs for herbalists and the
general public. This model could eventually be adopted elsewhere.
Horticultural practices in general are trying to help our “Green push”
by using sustainable wood products for plant potting and packaging.
Instead of pots made from peat (from disappearing peat bogs), moss
(
declining with the disappearance of boggy regions), or plastics (which
cause pollution), wood wool, root cloths, coconut fiber, and more are
coming into use. Key reasons for choosing certain materials are that they
are sustainable, abundant, or recyclable.
Pesticides or Not
A problem arising from so-called monoculture (growing a single crop in
the same soil year after year) concerns the use of chemical sprays. For
years, because of the general gardening practices I employ, I have had no
problem with slugs, whiteflies, or other pests. If I have the odd aphid, I
spray successfully using strong herbal teas or a minute dilution of
lavender and other essential oils in water. In so doing, I use something the
insects find off-putting to deter them. Another method, called companion
planting, uses plant chemistry to keep pests at bay. For example,
wormwood will produce a toxic chemistry that is effective at keeping
invasive plants such as nettles away from desired plants; this practice of
using the natural relationships between certain plants has often been
applied to forest gardening.
The idea of using essential oils and toxic plant chemistry is now being
researched and is becoming more accepted, while the even more desirable
technique of always keeping a balance is being rediscovered by farmers
and gardeners. A few farmers now plant strips of wildflowers around fields
of sweet corn or, in some cases, between batches of sweet corn and other
vegetables. In time, perhaps, more trees will creep into the picture, but
for now, the presence of a few more wildflowers and grasses has certainly
been found to help maintain the balance between crops and their plant
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