Gardens and Stewardship
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GARDENS AND STEWARDSHIP Thaddeus Zagorski (Bachelor of Theology; Diploma of Education; Certificate 111 in Amenity Horticulture; Graduate Diploma in Environmental Studies with Honours) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2007 School of Geography and Environmental Studies University of Tasmania STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for any other degree or graduate diploma by the University of Tasmania or in any other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no copy or paraphrase of material previously published or written by other persons, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis or in footnotes. Thaddeus Zagorski University of Tasmania Date: This thesis may be made available for loan or limited copying in accordance with the Australian Copyright Act of 1968. Thaddeus Zagorski University of Tasmania Date: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is not merely the achievement of a personal goal, but a culmination of a journey that started many, many years ago. As culmination it is also an impetus to continue to that journey. In achieving this personal goal many people, supervisors, friends, family and University colleagues have been instrumental in contributing to the final product. The initial motivation and inspiration for me to start this study was given by Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick, Dr. Elaine Stratford, and my friend Alison Howman. For that challenge I thank you. I am deeply indebted to my three supervisors Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick, Dr. Elaine Stratford and Dr. Aidan Davison. Each in their individual, concerted and special way guided me to this omega point. Over the four years their combined talents, knowledge, experience within their fields of expertise have been a source of continual insights, critical reflection, direction and redirection, challenge, and asking the right questions; for these aspects of your assistance as well as your commitment, dedication, encouragement, support and belief in my vision of the project, I am grateful. Thanks are also extended to those other members of the university community, the library and resource staff, the administration staff, the IT specialists (David and Darren) and Rob Anders (mapping) for all their assistance. To my colleagues at the University of Tasmania, thank you for your friendship and sharing of the vicissitudes of doctoral research. To my friends in Melbourne and Tasmania, your continuous encouragement, interest, care and support, was a source of strength. To my mother, aunts and uncles and cousins in Melbourne your thoughtfulness and quiet support was always appreciated. I especially wish to thank Joasia, whose love, support, understanding and conviction in my abilities over the last two years gave me so much inspiration to work hard in achieving this goal. Gratitude is also extended to Associate Professor Ian Rutherford, Dr. Mark Elloway and Dr. Ian Thomas of the University of Melbourne for allowing me to pursue off- campus studies within the School of Geography, Environmental studies and Anthropology over the period of September 2005 until September 2006. Your efforts in accommodating me were greatly appreciated. How could I have completed this study were it not for the garden and all gardens of the Earth: these enfold us into their spaces bringing love and meaning to our lives. To my special gardeners, my research partners who devoted so much of their time and energy sharing with me their passion of the garden, thank you. Your wisdom, experience, knowledge has been a lesson in understanding and experiencing that greater mystery of the garden as gift and blessing. Finally I extend a special note of thanks to two inspirational people in my life. First, my long deceased grandmother ‘Babcia’, who ignited in me a love of gardening and the natural world. Second, ‘Old man Nenewee’, who 30 years ago in the lower highlands of Papua New Guinea challenged me to a renewed understanding of our relationship with the living world. It was you who ensured that the fire lit in me as a child continued to burn in a more critical, reflective and compassionate way in my relationship with the Earth. ABSTRACT GARDENS AND STEWARDSHIP The primary focus of this thesis is the local suburban garden. The interactions among gardeners, gardening activity, ethical viewpoints, and environments that take place in this setting are investigated from within the context of the historical traditions and contemporary understandings of stewardship. The foundational premise of the thesis is that people are motivated by an ecological impulse that draws them to be involved with the Earth. It is argued that the ecological impulse is manifested in the space of the local suburban garden. It is also argued that a stewardship ethic is evident in much contemporary gardening practice. It is further argued that this gardening stewardship ethic extends from the genius loci of the garden to inform a broader global ecological impulse. Ultimately gardens are portals through which to examine the changing relationship between the human and the more than human world. Throughout the history of humanity, interactions between humans and the more than human world have resulted in humans altering that world often with damaging consequences. Since hunter-gatherer and early agricultural times, the degree of modification was marginal. More recently however the scale of modification has intensified, manifesting itself as an ‘ecological crisis’. This crisis represents a major rupture in the relationship between humans and the more than human world. Some gardens are also identified as contributing to the crisis. Stewardship, as a time honoured and well practiced code of conduct towards the garden, is presented as an ethical basis for addressing the rupture in that relationship. This study first explores the antecedents and contemporary meanings of stewardship as a means to investigate the significance of gardens in shaping human relationships to with the more than human world. Second, data on species composition and richness in gardens was obtained and used as critical material evidence for exploring gardeners’ attitudes to, and practices within gardens in Hobart Tasmania. Third, qualitative interviews and case studies with gardeners investigated reasons why people garden, and examined how gardening practices reflect a sense of stewardship. Themes evident in the interviews revolved around gardeners’ urge to garden, the implementation of specific gardening practices that have an ethical basis and respect the integrity of the garden, the recognition of the interconnectedness of gardeners, other life forms and processes within the garden, and gardeners’ sense of relationship with their garden connecting with the greater garden of Earth. Literature on stewardship was used to inform the analysis of interview material to identify various manifestations of a sense of stewardship in attitudes and practices of gardeners. It is concluded that the garden is a site where various manifestations of the sense of stewardship are evident and that these manifestations of stewardship inform a greater ecological consciousness. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE 1 1 INTRODUCTION 12 FOUNDATIONS 12 QUESTIONS, STRUCTURE AND DESIGN 15 2 STEWARDSHIP AND THE GARDEN OF EARTH 29 OF ECOLOGICAL CRISES AND IMPULSES 29 FROM ECOLOGICAL IMPULSE TO STEWARDSHIP 37 EXTENDED QUALITIES OF STEWARDSHIP 44 3 GARDENS AND GARDENERS 57 INTRODUCTION 57 METHODS 60 GARDEN TYPES 72 1: COASTAL GARDENS 72 2: COMPLEX FLOWER GARDENS 76 3: PRODUCTION FLOWER COMPLEX GARDENS 80 4: NATIVE GARDENS 84 5: SPECIES POOR EXOTIC SHRUB GARDENS 87 6: WOODLAND GARDENS 90 7: VEGETABLE GARDENS 94 THE GARDENERS 97 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GARDEN TYPES AND STEWARDSHIP 101 PHOTO ESSAY 104 INTERLUDE 110 4 GARDEN ATTACHMENTS 119 5 GARDEN PRACTICES 166 6 MANIFESTATIONS OF STEWARDSHIP 203 CASE STUDIES 207 1: CHRISTINE CARING FOR THE SOIL AND THE GARDEN 209 2: DAVID AND NIKKI – LIGHT FOOTPRINT GARDENING PRACTICES AND HOW TO INFLUENCE YOUR NEIGHBOURS 221 3: JIMMY AND FREDA – INTERCONNECTIONS, CARING FOR AND VALUING ALL LIVING THINGS IN THE GARDEN 241 4: PHILIP AND JACQUI – SPIRITUALITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS 256 5: COOPERATIVE STEWARDSHIP 266 7 TO BE A STEWARD AND TREAD LIGHTLY IN THE GARDEN (OF EARTH) – THOUGHTS IN CONCLUSION 276 REVIEW 276 SUMMARY 278 CONCLUSIONS 280 RESEARCH AGENDA 287 BIBLIOGRAPHY 291 APPENDICES 328 APPENDIX 1.1 329 APPENDIX 1.2 333 APPENDIX 1.3 338 APPENDIX 2 343 PERCENTAGE FREQUENCY OF ALL TAXA 344 APPENDIX 3 358 SPECIES OBSERVED IN GARDENS 359 List of Figures 1.1 Hobart Study Area and Suburbs 20 3.1 Dendrogram showing seven classificatory groups 64 List of Tables 3.1 Description of Life Forms 65 3.2 Origin of Species 66 3.3 Percentage Frequency of Species by Garden Type 67 3.4 Mean Species Richness by Garden Type 70 3.5 Mean Percentage of Species by Life Form by Garden Type 70 3.6 Mean Percentage of Species by Origin by Garden Type 71 5.1 List of Gardeners’ Practices 171 PREFACE Genesis Memory…what an extraordinary gift, or is it just an instinct or a primordial pathway? And why does it seem to be easily harnessed when immersed in a garden, when speaking of nature? Memories of the garden, experiences of it, direct and indirect, have been with me since early childhood. The ‘Skaubryn’, en route from Germany to Australia. 1951. The ship stopped in the Red Sea or it could have been the Suez Canal; I was looking overboard, seeing huge watermelons being lifted onboard in harnesses by displaced people seeking a new home in exchange for such comforts as pyjamas, sweaters and anything else worth bartering in the equatorial sun. Once the melons were aboard, they were ravenously cut open, juice flowing onto the decks, pips squirming their way out of the flesh, and the green colour substituted by this deep, pink-red, delicious, nectar of the gods. Green, red, and juice.