Category Archives: garden centres & gardening industry

Money Can’t Buy Life

Posted on May 15, 2010 by John Walker

As we hanker for a taste of the ‘good life’, we need to realise that more satisfying, enjoyable and sustainable lives don’t arrive in the post. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, May 2010. I don’t know about you, … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, easy gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, good life, mail order, organic gardening, overconsumption, politics, published articles, resilience | Leave a comment

Election Special

Posted on April 15, 2010 by John Walker

With trust in status quo politics withering, I offer my manifesto for a brave, visionary and greener force fit for the dawning of a more earth-friendly era. By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, April 2010. Amid fevered media speculation … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological sustainability, energy use, environment, food & kitchen gardening, food miles, garden centres & gardening industry, peat & peat-free compost, politics, published articles, resilience, retail monoculture | Leave a comment

Strange Bedfellows

Posted on March 15, 2010 by John Walker

Garden Organic’s plans to be co-opted by big business threaten 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

Posted on January 15, 2010 by John Walker

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

Gardeners Shop, the Planet Drops

Posted on November 27, 2009 by John Walker

Why on earth is Garden Organic telling us that green gardening means we must buy more? By John Walker. Published on the Guardian’s website, 27th November 2009. When news emerged this week that our leading organic gardening charity is in … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, environment, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, green gardening, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles | Leave a comment

Drinking the Blues

Posted on September 15, 2009 by John Walker

As concern grows over the pollution of drinking water by metaldehyde slug pellets, what role are pellet-happy gardeners playing, and why aren’t our gardening media mentioning it? By John Walker. Published in Kitchen Garden, September 2009. What’s a quick way … Continue reading →

Posted in allotments, eco gardening, environment, ethics, food & kitchen gardening, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, green gardening, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, pesticides in the garden, pollution, published articles, renewable gardening, soil, water & 'water footprints', weedkiller residues | Leave a comment

The Real Gardeners’ World

Posted on June 15, 2009 by John Walker

As the new series of Gardeners’ World takes dumbing down to new heights, the most alarming casualty of the rush for ratings is the world around us.  By John Walker. Published in Organic Garden & Home, June 2009. Tempting though … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon footprint, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, energy use, environment, food miles, garden centres & gardening industry, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, rainwater harvesting, tv gardening & celebrities, water & 'water footprints' | 1 Comment

We Shop, Planet Drops

Posted on January 15, 2009 by John Walker

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

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

Friends With the Earth?

Posted on November 15, 2008 by John Walker

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