Category Archives: greenwash

Surprise Sale of Ryton Organic Gardens: A Revealing Email Sent to Garden Organic Volunteers on 1 February 2018

The organic gardening charity Garden Organic/GO (formerly the Henry Doubleday Research Association/HDRA) recently put the entire Garden Organic site, including its long-established public demonstration gardens, at Ryton-on-Dunsmore in Warwickshire, up for sale. This move has come as a shock to many … Continue reading

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It’s Time For Gardeners to Break Their Silence on Climate Breakdown. What we Do in Our Gardens and Allotments Does Affect the World Around us

‘Keep quiet and grow on’ simply isn’t tenable any longer. What we do in our gardens does make a difference to the chaos of climate change – for better or for worse. By John Walker. Originally published on the Hartley Botanic website as … Continue reading

Posted in allotments, carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, earth-friendly books, energy use, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, greenwash, media, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, renewable gardening, tv gardening & celebrities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Gardening Really ‘Green’?

Exploring the reality behind gardening’s widely touted but increasingly unconvincing claim that ‘gardening is green!’ By John Walker. First published in The Garden, magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society, December 2015 Writing about gardening is a solitary game. But using the pen to place gardening … Continue reading

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Forget Black Friday – Green is the New Black for Gardeners Who Want to Escape the Hype of Mass Consumerism and Make Every Day in Their Garden a Green, Earth-friendly One

Mortified by the annual spectacle of pushing and shoving that celebrates overconsumption on ‘Black Friday’, I headed home in search of a more sedate and decidedly green gardening Friday… By John Walker. Originally published on the Hartley Botanic website as ‘Green days’, 14th … Continue reading

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Sustainable Sowing

Instead of giving any more time to the myths about sowing in peat-free composts, put them to the test. You’ll find they do the job as well as peat – without the ecological price-tag. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost, green gardening, greenwash, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles, renewable gardening | Leave a comment

Snowball Effect

Some of the drivers behind the peat-free roll-out are surprising and not all are admirable – but that doesn’t detract from the benefits to the gardener and the natural world. By John Walker. Published on the Hartley Botanic website, 7th October 2013 There’s a … Continue reading

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Weedkiller’s Winning Ways: My Article on Clopyralid Compost Pollution Bags Garden Media Guild Environmental Award 2012

Last week I was chuffed and humbled to win – for the third time – the British Garden Media Guild’s Environmental Award for my article ‘Gardening’s own goal’, which was published by Hartley Botanic in August 2012. This is a real … Continue reading

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Choosing Delusion

We’re told that whether or not to use garden chemicals is a personal choice. That may be so, but it needs to be an informed choice – and we’re not being told the whole story.  By John Walker. Published on … Continue reading

Posted in carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, energy use, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, green gardening, greenwash, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, packaging, pesticides in the garden, politics, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening | 2 Comments

Reporting on Garden Weedkiller Pollution is as Damaging as the Pollution Itself

Recent reporting on the threat of pollution by the weedkiller clopyralid leaves gardeners without the full facts about both peat-based and peat-free composts. By John Walker. Published on the Guardian‘s website, 27th September 2012 Twisted, buckled and puckered leaves, bulging … Continue reading

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Greening Up Your Gardening

Rethinking the way you tend your garden will reap great environmental benefits and help to strengthen your relationship with the natural world. By John Walker. Published in Kew magazine, Summer 2012. When it comes to more eco-friendly living, insulating your … Continue reading

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