The Marketing Agency is Our Own Front Lawn

The Marketing Agency is Our Own Front Lawn
The Marketing Agency is Our Own Front Lawn

It’s the trashy parts of towns where people are most likely to encounter a native garden. The old dump site that’s now a restored wetland. The flood zone reborn as a rain garden. A vacant lot transformed into a meadow.

Unintentionally, are we building a perception of native gardening as: A bunch of weeds on derelict public land helping bugs? That can’t be a good branding strategy.

I really want native gardening to equal home gardening in people’s minds. But I fear that the way people usually encounter a wildlife garden — as a public solution for a crappy site to help critters — an honest, instinctive reaction has got to be: Not in My Backyard!

I don’t mean to diminish any of the important work that the ecologically-minded are doing to restore habitat. They are not managing the native gardening brand. But could this important work be counter-productive when it comes to framing the public’s take on native gardening?

I want native plants to become the Next Big Thing that will Disrupt the gardening world, Go Viral so that everyone will covet native plants for their own garden.

The High Line, one of the most celebrated urban renewal projects in the United States, definitely forged my positive take on native plants. But typically, a public park does not have that kind of funding or workforce.

In cities like Philadelphia and small towns like New Britain (both in Pennsylvania) vacant lots have been transformed into native meadows. Ever walk through a native meadow in mid-summer? It’s unbelievably hot, humid and uncomfortable. Growing a native meadow from scratch is time consuming and expensive. A meadow design plan is basically: sow a mix of native seeds in the largest space we can afford. Which is great, insects desperately need meadow habitat as accompanying signage explains. But I suspect most folks reading about habitat restoration don’t dream of relaxing in their very own meadow. Because a large meadow is for insect, not human comfort.

Rain gardens are another commonly encountered native plant landscape. It’s designed to collect rainwater, filter pollutants while building beneficial wildlife habitat. A beautiful ecological solution to flooding. In Aspen Hill, Maryland political candidates described rain gardens as dangerous pits of death. That scored more political points than sharing — what I guess — are their true feelings: I don’t want a weedy gutter in front of my house.

No one wants to hang out in an ugly, uncomfortable garden because it’s the right thing to do.

It’s my hope that the popular perception of native gardening will shift when beautiful, private native gardens become more and more visible. The marketing agency is our own front lawn.

Negative [shift to—>]  Positive 

Public Site [shift to—>]  Private: what anybody wants from their garden, a place to relax with family and friends and get away from the troubles of the world.

Derelict Site [shift to—>]   Best Part of Town

For the Environment [shift to—>]   My Enjoyment: it’s fascinating to observe the interconnections between plants, insects, birds, and other garden visitors.

Pristine Nature [shift to—>]   Designed Nature: work with the plants that make your corner of the world unique but also design it for your comfort and whimsies.

Chaotic [shift to—>]  Designed Space: edging contains the “chaos,” intended zones for critters, intended zones for humans, comfortable seating, focal points, paths that invite exploration, landscaping that uses color, texture… a full design toolkit.

Staffed by Volunteers [shift to—>]   Me Happily Puttering Around

Weedy [shift to—>]   Resilient Beauty: not just showy flowers but flowers that shift through four seasons from emerging bud, to flower, berry. Grasses that turn brilliant colors in fall and define the shape of winter snowfall.

What are your thoughts on how to shift the “native gardening brand” to the positive?



2 thoughts on “The Marketing Agency is Our Own Front Lawn”

  • I had no idea you had a running blog, Sarah. This one is so close to my heart. It has been interesting over the last 2 decades to watch hundreds of people pass my “wild” postage-size front yard and visually compare it to the manicured, landscapered lawns of the million dollar homes across the street. I have to say while I overhear a few “eeeeews” about mine, most find it lovely – particularly when butterflies are landing on swaying coneflowers. So I think, as with many other conflicts or differences, it is the personal experience of these wild gardens that will make the difference. Perhaps we need to have wild garden “tours” in Monmouth County?

    • Hello, Merry! I use the blog to work out what I want to say in my work-in-progress documentary, “Wild in the Garden State.” Trying to use time off during the Pandemic to edit this personal project. : )
      This is such a tricky topic because it’s difficult to get people past “the weediness” to appreciate this different type of beauty. Love your point: it’s the personal experience that makes a difference in shifting people’s perception of native gardening. And glad to hear most people walking past your front lawn find it lovely.
      A wild garden tour is a GREAT idea!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.