Category Archives: greenwash

Drought of Good Sense

Are gardeners really the ‘victims’ when hosepipe bans are announced – or are we just the unwitting pawns of a gardening industry running dry on ecological consciousness? By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, September 2010. Victimised, threatened and dealt … Continue reading

Posted in climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, container gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost & composting, greenwash, organic gardening, published articles, rainwater harvesting, soil, water & 'water footprints' | Leave a comment

The Peat Delusion

As gardening spin urges us to keep buying peat compost, science is telling us that the safest place for peat is in the ground. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, June 2010. “If you are concerned about green issues, … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, environment, ethics, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost & composting, greenwash, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, peat & peat-free compost, published articles | Leave a comment

Strange Bedfellows

Garden Organic’s plans to be co-opted by big business threated to undermine the ecologically desirable tenets of thrift, frugality and prudence that organic gardening actually epitomizes. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, March 2010. Without knowing quite where it’s … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, garden centres & gardening industry, greenwash, media, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, retail monoculture | Leave a comment

No Purchase Necessary

Everyone’s green nowadays is a wishful myth taking root in the gardening industry, but there’s only one kind of gardening that’s truly in tune with our planet’s limited resources. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, January 2010. Am I … Continue reading

Posted in climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, greenwash, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, retail monoculture, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

We Shop, Planet Drops

Prudent use of natural resources is at the core of gardening organically, so why is the nation’s head gardener urging us to shop? By John Walker. Published in Organic Garden & Home, January 2009. It’s time to grab your wallets … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, ecological footprints, energy use, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, glyphosate, greenwash, media, organic gardening, overconsumption, pollution, published articles, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

Dead Zone

The environmental case for banishing bedding plants from our gardens has never been stronger. It’s high time we ditched these resource-guzzling, horticultural misfits. By John Walker. Published in Organic Garden & Home, December 2008. If you’re a lover of the … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, container gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, greenwash, mail order, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, packaging, published articles, water & 'water footprints' | Leave a comment

Friends with the Earth?

To cut carbon emissions and help stabilise our climate, gardeners must see gardening as a force for environmental good. We should start by turning lawns into food gardens. By John Walker. Published in The Garden, November 2008. When it comes to … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, energy use, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, greenwash, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, published articles, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

Smoke and Mirrors

Earth-friendly organic gardening has had a drubbing recently in other gardening magazines. What drives the ‘organic bashers’ – a lack of understanding, or the need to keep the chemical companies sweet? By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, June 2008. … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, glyphosate, greenwash, media, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, politics, published articles, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

A Royal Shade of Green?

In an exclusive interview for Organic Gardening, I talk recycling, renewable energy and carbon footprints with Bob Sweet, the key decision-maker behind the Royal Horticultural Society flower shows, including the 2008 Chelsea Flower Show. By John Walker. Published in Organic … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological footprints, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, greenwash, media, overconsumption, plastic, published articles, recycling, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment

Dear President…

In an open letter to the president of the Royal Horticultural Society, I ask if 2007 will be the year that Britain’s leading gardening organisation finally wakes up to the realities of global warming. By John Walker. Published in Organic … Continue reading

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological footprints, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food miles, fossil fuels, garden compost & composting, gardening footprint, green gardening, greenwash, media, organic gardening, overconsumption, packaging, pollution, published articles | Leave a comment