The visibility of locally-grown food received a significant boost in recent years with the growth in popularity of what has become known as the “farm-to-table” movement. Restaurants – especially trendy ones – began embracing locally-grown foods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, and poultry as a way to create uniqueness and be more environmentally aware and responsible. Ingredients and dishes were proudly labeled with the local grower’s name and other information about the food we were eating, so we would know exactly what we were putting in our mouths – hence the term, “farm-to-table.” 

To some people, it may seem like a stretch to make a connection between gardening and climate change. There is, however, a direct relationship between how we as a nation grow and distribute our food and the carbon emissions that are a major contributor to a warming Earth.

It seems that every week there’s news directly related to climate change: historic heat in the West; 100-year floods on the Gulf Coast; earlier, more damaging hurricanes affecting the East Coast. And perhaps the most fundamental contributor to this climate chaos is increased carbon dioxide emissions.

We live in an increasingly global community. Digital technology, the Internet, and innovations in transportation have all contributed to making it easy to interact with even the farthest corners of the world. And while there are certainly benefits to globalization, there are drawbacks, too. One of the biggest is the growing loss of locality – the awareness and preference of our local communities and the unique benefits they have to offer.

Climate change is affecting all things large and small, in ways that are sometimes not so apparent, while in others the impact is readily felt. Gardening is a unique activity in which climate change can be experienced throughout every aspect.

As the call to action to help slow climate change grows increasingly urgent, average citizens are responding. Many are eager to join the movement to reduce our collective carbon footprint in an effort to curb carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect they help to create, which is responsible in large part for raising global temperatures. 

At times, this battle can seem overwhelming and many individuals feel helpless, not knowing where to start. Fortunately, there are a number of meaningful actions we can all take and many start with the things we choose to do and use every day. The key is to understand the consequences of how we go about living our daily lives and to change those that can lessen our impact upon our fragile planet. As more of us choose to do the environmentally correct thing, the positive effect will grow, creating an impetus that can significantly change our ecological impact for the better.

There is no question that the climate is changing. The real question is, what can we all do about it? For me and The Garden Continuum, the answer was to go hyper-local with our business to help reduce carbon emissions while improving the health and beauty of our communities. 

Every homeowner attempting a landscape project starts out with the best intentions. Regardless of size, every project usually begins with a desire to make improvements – perhaps a redesigned garden space, or the installation of a patio, firepit, or some other hardscape feature to add versatility and opportunities for relaxation or recreation. 

This year, the normally quiet streets and neighborhoods became a bustling sight of people outside, puttering and cleaning and building in their landscapes. Nurseries and garden center shelves were stripped clean of blooming perennials, seasonal annuals, and bulbs soon after being stocked. Even Christmas trees and holiday decor sold out early this year. We saw record traffic to our landscape blog library, even when I stopped posting (it was a weird year to juggle being an employer and a blogger). To say that people felt empowered to get out into their yards feels like an understatement! So what takeaway tips will 2020 give us?

As the current battle against the coronavirus rages and images of wartime are invoked, memories of the famous “victory gardens” of World War I and II come to mind. During both wars, over 20 million victory gardens, large and small, were planted and produced almost 40 percent of the nation’s fresh vegetables. People grew their own produce in planters, on fire escapes, in empty lots and backyards. 

Today, as the pandemic takes hold around the world, panicky shoppers are cleaning out stores, and basic foods like dried beans and potatoes are becoming increasingly difficult to find. As a result, even individuals with no gardening experience are searching YouTube for DIY videos on building raised beds and planting gardens.