Category Archives: overconsumption

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

Celebrities… Get Them Out of Here

Posted on September 15, 2008 by John Walker

It’s time for programme-makers to ditch celebrities, and instead start creating TV shows around folk who garden in the real world. By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, September 2008. Eavesdropping can be a depressing business – as I found … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, environment, fossil fuels, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, media, open gardens, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, tv gardening & celebrities | 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

Centres For the Earth

Posted on October 15, 2007 by John Walker

As supermarkets eye up the ‘green pound’, what we need is not a monoculture of ‘Tescoised’ garden centres but local, diverse and distinctive earth centres. By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, October 2007. By the time you read this, … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, energy use, environment, ethics, garden centres & gardening industry, gardening footprint, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, overconsumption, published articles, recycling, resilience, retail monoculture, 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

I Don’t Need a Bag…

Posted on July 15, 2007 by John Walker

Amid a media frenzy over excess packaging, garden centres seem oblivious to putting the stops on plastic – and they’re giving us their own waste to dispose of too. By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, July 2007.  It was … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change & global warming, energy use, environment, garden centres & gardening industry, nature & the natural world, overconsumption, packaging, plastic, pollution, published articles | Leave a comment

Free to Good Garden

Posted on June 15, 2007 by John Walker

It’s time to put the brakes on horticultural consumerism by obtaining all we need in the garden for free. By John Walker. Published in Organic Gardening, June 2007.  A glance at my computer screen reveals the latest clutch of gardening … Continue reading →

Posted in climate- & earth-friendly gardening, eco gardening, ecological footprints, energy use, environment, fossil fuels, freegardening, green gardening, organic gardening, overconsumption, pollution, published articles, recycling, resilience | 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

Green Resolutions

Posted on February 15, 2007 by John Walker

I review my campaigning year and suggest some resolutions for the year ahead: for us, for our energy-guzzling gardening industry, and for a certain celebrity gardener who is still in a muddle over global warming. By John Walker. Published in … Continue reading →

Posted in carbon emissions, carbon footprint, climate change & global warming, climate- & earth-friendly gardening, ecological footprints, energy use, environment, food miles, fossil fuels, gardening footprint, green gardening, mail order, media, nature & the natural world, organic gardening, overconsumption, peat & peat-free compost, politics, published articles, tv gardening & celebrities | Leave a comment