The Line of Tolerance
When I write about turning my little spot of ground into paradise, I don't mean just paradise for me and the other humans that live here. I mean creating a haven for the native flora and fauna of the region, plus the myriad non-natives that we find useful or beautiful.
But what about the species, exotic and native, that cause problems in the garden? What about rodents, slugs, and squash vine borers? What about foliage-munching caterpillars and rampaging raccoons? What about my personal nemeses, creeping Charlie and violets?! Does creating paradise mean we have to make room for all these organisms and let them do whatever they want?
Absolutely not. If my goal is to create a space that I find peaceful and healing, but I don't like spending time there because it feels unpleasant and out of my control, then I've failed. Humans love to control things. Let's just admit it and get it out of the way. We love to exert our will and mess with things to see what happens, and there's not necessarily anything wrong with that. With knowledge and mindfulness you can be a good land steward without giving up total control in the garden.
In my garden there are things I love, things I accept, and things that drive my crazy. Start by recognizing the line that lies between what you can accept and what drives you crazy. I call this the line of tolerance. The easiest way to adjust to an environmentally-friendly gardening style is to simply move the line of tolerance.
You can do this by increasing your knowledge. Read up on all the beneficial insects that chemicals kill, how many butterflies die when you send your leaves to the landfill, how many birds go hungry when all you've planted is exotic ornamentals. If you've been leaning toward a more environmentally-friendly style, your line of tolerance will probably start to become unmoored, and to drift in a favorable direction.
It's very important to spend time in your outdoor space doing nothing. As a high energy gardenoholic, this is extremely difficult for me, but it is so important! Make a chillatorium with a comfortable place to sit and drink coffee or your favorite legal beverage, as you observe the life in your garden. Make note of the birds and insects that visit, and plants that have volunteered. A phone with a nature ID app is an invaluable tool in this process. The more you learn about what's going on out there, the better equipped you will be to restore functionality to your ecosystem, but more importantly the more you will care. Get intimate with your space and its inhabitants to the point that "ecosystem restoration " is no longer an abstract idea, but a real-life imperative.
Getting to really know your space, and becoming knowledgeable about harmful practices, require almost no physical labor. The activities I've described can be hard work though, because they might require changing your mind, often very difficult because it means letting go of ingrained beliefs about what is acceptable. Doing the hard work of changing your mind now, will result in less physical labor in the long run.
Once you've got your line of tolerance to shift, there will still be things that drive you crazy (weeds!), so come back next time for ways to deal with them and keep your sanity.