Category Archives: ecological sustainability

Dead Zone

Posted on December 15, 2008 by John Walker

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

Renewable Gardening

Posted on October 15, 2008 by John Walker

Just how sustainable and climate-friendly your gardening is depends on what kind of sunlight you use to make it happen. By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, October 2008. What kind of sunlight are you running your garden on? It … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, garden compost & composting, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, plastic, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening, soil | Leave a comment

A Royal Shade of Green?

Posted on May 15, 2008 by John Walker

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

Goodbye Organic Gardening

Posted on April 15, 2008 by John Walker

We urgently need a new, easy-to-understand way of explaining what organic gardening is all about. It’s time for a bit of dumbing down. By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, April 2008 Organic gardening and I are through. It’s over, we’re … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, environment, green gardening, organic gardening, published articles | Leave a comment

A Tale of Two Books

Posted on February 15, 2008 by John Walker

Two new titles, both claiming to show us how to garden in more planet-friendly ways, while helping to curb climate change, prove that you can never judge a book by its cover. By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, February … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, ethics, gardening footprint, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, published articles | Leave a comment

Turning Off the Tap

Posted on February 1, 2008 by John Walker

 ‘Peak oil’, when global oil supplies begin to enter terminal decline, is a matter of when, not if. So when can we expect a transition away from oil-hungry organic gardening? By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, Winter 2008. Just … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, garden compost & composting, organic gardening, peak oil, pesticides in the garden, resilience, transition | 1 Comment

Intensive Care

Posted on August 15, 2007 by John Walker

As weather patterns shift and water supplies dwindle, can we sustain the container gardening craze in its present form? By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, August 2007. Love them or loathe them, there’s something mesmerising about those TV dramas … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, container gardening, easy gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, ethics, gardening footprint, green gardening, organic gardening, overconsumption, peat & peat-free compost, pesticides in the garden, published articles, rainwater harvesting, soil, tv gardening & celebrities, water & 'water footprints' | Leave a comment

Dear President…

Posted on April 15, 2007 by John Walker

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

Time To Power Down?

Posted on January 15, 2007 by John Walker

As concern over Western ‘energy obesity’ moves up the agenda, can we really afford, financially or morally, to continue switching on our propagators and greenhouse heaters? By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, January 2007. Winner of the Garden Media … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, organic gardening, published articles, renewable gardening | Leave a comment

Organic Gardening: The End?

Posted on October 15, 2006 by John Walker

The right to grow your own food, free from contamination by pesticides or anything else, should be inalienable – but government proposals could undermine any such right. By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, October 2006. Organic gardeners who have … Continue reading →

Posted in ecological sustainability, food miles, genetically modified (GM) crops, greenwash, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, published articles | Leave a comment