For those of you who’ve experienced a tour of St Ann’s Allotments, you may recall that the principles of Victorian gardens, such as our allotments, were ‘Privacy, Pleasure and Peace’. The three P’s. The plots were used for growing flowers, relaxing, entertaining, and enjoying afternoon tea on the lawn. Those Victorian principles are still enjoyed by most gardeners today. However, global changes to our climate mean that we must urgently examine the sustainability of our lifestyle.
In his book A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future, Sir David Attenborough referred to an additional three P’s:
… we have taken everything we have directly from the living world. And we have done this while ignoring the damage we have been doing… A new discipline within economics is attempting to solve this problem. Environmental economists are focused on building a sustainable economy. Their ambition is to change the system so that markets around the world benefit not just Profits, but also People and the Planet too. They call these the three P’s. Many among them have high hopes for what they term green growth – a type of growth that has no negative impact on the environment.
That latter point – no negative impact on the environment – is a principle that we, as gardeners could and should adopt. We have always had to adapt as new gardening challenges are presented, particularly our early acceptance that nature wins in the end. That dominance of nature over our activities should not be seen as a negative, but a recognition that we can profit from the opportunities that nature offers. I know it’s a pain when woodpigeons strip your brassicas but thank goodness the bees are pollinating the fruit blossom and runner bean flowers.
Even Lord Byron some two hundred years ago, surrounded by the beauty of Newstead Abbey, recognised the value of nature:
There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.
(Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage)
By Paul Freeborough, volunteer
Heritage walks
If you would like to visit the gardens and experience ‘Peace, Privacy and Pleasure’ for yourself, book onto one of our monthly guided tours.
