What is a mini pochette anyway?

The air is fresh, the trees are unfurling soft green leaves, and violets and spring beauties carpet the lawn. The world is a balmy spring wonderland. It's hard to find motivation to write with the uplifting of spirits that comes with the season. It's not that I'm too busy, but rather I lack the motivating irritation that I usually carry around like a fanny pack.

As I wrote the previous sentence it occurred to me that perhaps this item has gone out of style and needs explanation. This popular 80’s butt-riding accessory was revolutionary since it solved the problem of it not being socially acceptable for men to carry purses. This dilemma had been solved previously with the briefcase and the backpack, but the fanny pack was simultaneously less formal and less bulky. A man could now carry important items while retaining his masculine appearance and free use of his hands. Voila!

I'm sure most readers agree with me that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a man walking down a public street carrying Vera Bradley's latest cross body handbag in performance twill or a Kate Spade mini pochette. But I'm also certain that we would all clock it and have the immediate sense that it was “wrong.” We can't help it — we are conditioned to view a handbag as a female accessory. And we don't need to actually witness it: Just reading about a man and fru-fru accoutrements produces a humorous contrast.

How does this relate to gardening? Last week I wrote about the problem of homeowners’ desire for a certain landscape look that was totally disconnected from healthy ecosystems. The look they want has a lot to do with fashion. These folks go for cookie-cutter designs with widely spaced and neatly trimmed exotic plants and a perfect lawn because such a look is trendy. A lawn-free or natural lawn landscape with natives that looks slightly unkempt is registered as “wrong" because it's not fashionable. Strictly speaking, the latter description requires less money and labor to maintain, though the former is often sold as low-maintenance. So I'm rejecting the notion that saving time and money is the main impetus for the spare, manicured look.

My previous post delved into promoting environmentally friendly gardening through campaigns to bring ecological literacy to the general population. Such initiatives are necessary for long term change. Meanwhile, a quicker way to encourage homeowners to adopt earth-friendly practices is to simply make them trendy. High profile celebs with native plantings and permaculture-style gardens rather than a sterile expanse of coiffed and pampered exotics could make a big impact. Local influencers removing lawns and planting natives could too. Highly visible andscapes that are also functioning ecosystems need to be seen as stylish and cutting edge. Being sought after as status-lifting expressions of good fashion sense will lead to such landscapes becoming commonplace. They will cease to stand out like the man with the purse.

I believe humans have a hard-wired desire to elevate our status while simultaneously fitting in. It makes sense that we’ve historically needed to distinguish ourselves enough to attract mates and prove the worth of our special skills and attributes to the group, while also signaling that we weren't a threat to group cohesion. We can't change this, but we can change what constitutes status since this is culturally defined. Remember, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with a man with a Saint Laurent maxi tote. It only looks wrong because we've learned that it is. Let's unlearn our bias against natural landscapes.

Photos from start to finish:

Wild crabapple

Natural lawn

Boxelder

Fothergilla

Spicebush

Pawpaw