Being avant-garden

It’s the time of year when around the world, many of us look to gardens to derive delight. After all, with spring comes the vivid blossoming of flowers, the soft, new fabric of velveteen grass, the fragrance of verdant shrubs and herbs, literally, the fruits of many a gardener’s labours. Indulging in these is no passing fad — indeed, gardens are human beings’ most ancient evolutionary transition, the first act of settling down and planting roots. The exercise of gardening reaffirms our primordial bond with nature. Some posit it even reflects a human desire to control the elements. What is certain is the transformative effect gardens have on people as they temporarily leave behind the banal carnival of society for a place of uplifting peace, finding tranquility amidst orderly tangle, being suddenly elevated as a garden is bathed in bewitching twilight, filtering through pink clouds and green leaves.

But are gardens entirely harm onious? Strands of social science now argue these are unfairly enclosed urban spaces, welcoming largely to elites, using but also disregarding the skilled labour of the less privileged — when was the last time we thanked a park gardener for their hard work? Gardens are challenging beings also for the making of these idylls involves taking away the habitation of others — numerous non-human species lose their ground and trees as we uproot grass and plant turf, seed non-native plants and privilege decorative flowers which offer no nurture to insects, birds and bees. Perhaps the garden, seen in this light, is symptomatic of the environmental crisis which typifies the Anthropocene — this is caused by human desire fusing with our short-sightedness, seeking an eternal summer but managing to instead create a paradise that’s poised pre cariously on a cliff.
It is time for us to rethink gardens, as Times Evoke’s global experts emphasise. It is important to acknowledge that gardens serve much more than our individual delight. It is still possible to devote such areas in large part to native plants, sustainable systems and the well-being of other species. We need to recognise the need for green escapes is universal — during the pandemic’s lockdowns, starting exactly five years ago, spreading rapidly worldwide, visits to gardens by Indians seeking respite rose from 1.8% to 72% — and ensure our gardens embed inclusion and respect. Join Times Evoke in exploring the roots of gardens great and small — and grow an avant-garden yourself.
Photo credit: iStock