Let’s get planting!

As usual my end-of-summer garden is looking worse for wear. On return home after a brief break, two plants dominated the scene. Summer grass and black nightshade had sprung up seemingly from nowhere overnight. Beneath these waist-high invaders, a successful crop of delicious Jersey Benne potatoes was my reward for an afternoon’s weeding. The pumpkins are thriving too. Not so successful were the beans, which I failed to pile enough mulch onto and have all succumbed to the drought. Better luck next year.

Now with autumn approaching we have the divine prospect of a whole new planting season. As gardeners, we plant for the sheer love of watching things grow, but in a global sense have we ever had a better reason to plant? After a summer of extreme weather events, climate change feels more real than ever. Sure, there is more to the daunting task we all face than simply planting trees, but every tree we plant is a tiny step in the right direction.

As our government works towards establishing its ‘zero climate act’ and plans to plant 100 million trees per year, local governments are also rising to the challenge. Hawke’s Bay Regional council, for example, aspires to be the first area in New Zealand to be carbonneutral and asks its citizens to help by planting at least five trees each year. Meanwhile, community groups all around the country continue the good work they’ve been doing for decades. The volunteers in Sarah’s Greenlife Matters story this issue belong to an army of kiwi planting heroes who deserve better recognition.

Let’s all join them this planting season, even if it’s only to plant something lovely in our own slice of paradise. Happy autumn gardening