Sustainable or suspicious?
Plants and greenery are generally associated with sustainability. However, is that really the case, and should we be more suspicious about the perceptions we have?
Sustainable
Yeah, plants and plant care are not bad things, and they have their benefits. Collecting rainwater is a way to lower water consumption and reuse existing water. Rainwater is good enough to be used for taking care of plants (as we know, forests are not watered with filtered tap water). Another thing that can make plant care more sustainable is propagation. Some places that sell plants source them from plant nurseries, harming the environment by artificially keeping the heat in the greenhouses and using synthetic fertilisers. So, learning propagation methods is a great solution to make your home more sustainable. You have to learn how to be patient and how to do it, but you will save money and feel more accomplished that you can grow a plant from almost zero.
Suspicious
Unfortunately, there are some suspicious parts that can make us question how sustainable it is to take care of plants. For example, gardens sound like a great idea to help increase biodiversity, but if the plants in the garden are not native, they can harm the local wildlife. Non-native plants take up the space that the locals should, and insects and birds do not recognise them as food and rarely interact with them, which endangers the entire ecosystem (Milbank, 2023). If this was not enough, most fertilisers and soil mixes that are used and popular are harmful to the soil and the environment overall. Also, remember that plants survive in nature without special treatment, so the plants in your home may not be as capricious as you think. Plants can be pretty resilient and do not need fancy fertilisers and soil. Finally, and also pretty obvious, is giving flowers. Yes, bouquets are pretty and can bring a smile to someone’s face, but if they are not dried and used to make a herbarium, flowers end up as waste. And like a teacher I had, used to say: I prefer to receive books for women’s day and not flowers because I can keep them forever.
Or Maybe Both?
Sadly, we can hardly live a fully sustainable life. Yes, some actions could be taken, like buying sustainably made planters instead of indulging in overconsumption and buying what is modern. However, with some other things, we have to accept that there is no other choice than to do something that’s harmful or it is neutral. Taking care of plants sustainably is possible, but eco-anxiety should not control us because that will take the joy out of plant care. Ultimately, it all comes to pleasure and care for us and others, and if something is giving you stress or is severely harming the environment, it should not be done.
Sources:
Milbank, D. (2023, April 7). I’m no genius with genuses, but your garden is killing the Earth. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/07/suburban-lawn-climate-change-biodiversity/
Lozanova, S. (2023, April 13). Are houseplants sustainable? Earth911. https://earth911.com/home-garden/are-houseplants-sustainable/