Godly gardening

In the UK, we are a nation of garden lovers. We may not be Capability Brown, or even Monty Don, but two and a half million of us watch ‘Gardener’s World’ every week.

There are 23 million gardens in the UK, which if put together cover an area of a million acres, roughly one-fifth the size of Wales. That’s more than all our national nature reserves put together.

Even in our biggest cities, gardens account for a surprisingly high proportion of the urban area. Would you have guessed that almost a quarter of the area of London is private domestic garden space? And that’s to say nothing of allotments, parks and other urban green spaces.

Quite apart from the enjoyment of gardening itself (for those who like such things), there are well-established benefits for people’s physical and mental health. I had the privilege of growing up in a home with a beautiful garden that was often a haven of calm and respite. Gardens have the ability to reconnect us with nature in our busy and urban lives. They’re also increasingly a refuge for wildlife which is diminishing in our intensively-farmed countryside.

And for Christians, having a garden or an allotment gives us a small part of God’s world that we can care for. Even for those of us without either, a balcony or windowsill that can hold some pot plants is an opportunity to grow something beautiful or edible that connects us with creation in a very tangible way.

Growing together

Several years ago, my wife and I rented an allotment from the local council, not far from our church building. We started a church allotment group, called Growing Together, and worked together to grow fruit, veg and flowers to share. We were upfront with the council and our allotment neighbours about what we were doing, in the hope that our care for creation in this way would be a witness to others.

It’s often been hard work, literally. During lockdown restrictions we had to keep it going single-handed (although it was a lifeline to us when little else was open). We still don’t always feel we know what we’re doing. We can’t say we’ve had any meaningful conversations about the gospel. But it’s been a pleasure to get our hands dirty, to spend time with our fellow workers and to share our harvest with our church family.

Garden loss

There is, I’m afraid, a darker side to gardens. Many front gardens in towns have been lost to car parking. It’s not only a loss to wildlife but increases the risk of flooding as the ground can’t absorb rain so easily. Back gardens are increasingly seen as an extension to the house. Patios and decking are taking over, and the latest trend is for artificial lawns which completely replace the grass. I must confess a particular loathing for fake grass. It’s the worst thing for wildlife and seems to epitomise everything that’s wrong about our relationship with creation, replacing natural soil and grass with man-made plastic that won’t last and can’t be easily recycled.

Creation-friendly gardens

If you have a garden, here are some creation-friendly things you can do, or avoid doing. Don’t mow the lawn as much – the insects will love it. Plant things that are rich in nectar and berries. You don’t really need to use pesticides, and certainly not peat. If you’ve got room, a pond would be great. Make a hedgehog hole in your fence. Feed the birds and put up nestboxes. There are lots more ideas for wildlife gardening online.

As someone – perhaps a fellow town planner – observed, the Bible starts in a garden and finishes in a garden city. Imperfect as my own garden is, now that’s a garden to look forward to.