Why tidy towns can benefit from unkempt gardens

LAY OF THE LAND FIONA O’CONNELL

SOMETIMES more than one friendly face greets you at the checkout in the local supermarket, as various community groups vie to pack your purchases in (hopeful) exchange for a small donation to their worthy cause.

Such was the case when I spotted Colin Castle ready and waiting there last week. Though you couldn’t really miss this courteous former colonel from Zimbabwe; Colin is not only very tall but is as well put together as the many Tidy Towns projects he is involved in that aim to keep the country looking equally shipshape.

I was happy to contribute to Colin’s bucket, for Tidy Towns do a great job. And not just as the annual competition date approaches, when they encourage business owners to freshen up their facades with a lick of paint, and maybe invest in a couple of hanging baskets to add a welcome splash of colour on overcast days. All year round, its meticulous members can be seen planting public areas and picking up other people’s litter, as well as urging them to do likewise after their pooch makes a dubious deposit.

So this town owes them many thanks. But maybe we need another gang of volunteers to address a matter that is literally closer to home in rural Ireland. It could be called “the lively lawns league” or “the gloriously unkempt gardens group”.

Or how about “forget the Wild Atlantic Way and let wild flowers have their way” association? For some houses cover their gardens in cement or tarmac, all for the benefit of their mobile tin cans or in the name of convenience.

While too many McMansions have lawns that look more like golf courses, devoid not only of weeds but any plant life. Which in turn means no insects — including bees — or birds.

Yet if charity begins at home, shouldn’t their exteriors be somewhere that our wildlife feels welcome to seek refuge, especially with loss of habitat and deteriorating environment being ongoing concerns? It’s as if some rural residences are repulsed by the countryside — especially that nuisance called ‘nature.

Weed-killer is routinely used on the grassy areas of housing estates. One resident thought a burglar had broken into her home when she found white footprints on her hall carpet — until she realised that it was residue from the chemicals used outside that day. Though surely damaging the eco-system is criminal.

Local shopkeeper Paudie O’Neill shudders as he recalls the 1980s, when a man on a lawnmower with a knapsack of weed-killer was the motif. He has a business idea: instead of selling wild flower seeds, he says, we should market them as ‘butterfly and bumble bee magnets’.

It might also remind folk that the purpose of flowers is not just to look pretty — but also to enable these beautiful and essential creatures to survive.

To that end, Paudie always leaves part of his garden wild.