You Are a Steward
Nurturing new growth
At Green & Eco Gardens, we believe that gardening, landscaping, and garden design are not just professions or pastimes — they are acts of stewardship. Whether you love working your garden as a labour of love or whether you choose it as a profession, you are stepping into a role that is as ancient as it is essential: that of a caretaker of a small piece of this beautiful green earth.
For you see a garden is a microcosm of the world and how we treat it says alot about who we are as individuals.
Beyond Lawns and Patios
In modern times, gardening and landscaping are often associated with surface-level transformations — neat edged lawns, tidy borders, stylish patios with porcelain being all the rage at the moment. And while there’s beauty and indeed necessity in creating inviting spaces where people can gather, relax, and enjoy nature, the true calling of our work as gardeners goes much deeper.
Every time we touch the soil, choose a plant, or impose our vision on a garden, we are making decisions that ripple outwards. Are we supporting biodiversity? Are we creating habitats for pollinators and wildlife? Are we thinking about water reources? Are we using local materials such as native timbers instead of tropical hardwoods?
To be a gardener today is to recognise that our choices matter — not just for ourselves or for clients or communities, but for the local ecosystems that ultimately are part of the one giant system that sustains us - Mother Earth..
What Stewardship Means
Stewardship is about responsibility. It’s about recognising that the land does not belong to us, but is entrusted to our care for a time. My late father used to always say “sure ya can’t take it with you”, he was always thinking about future generations and he was right. Therefore a steward does not simply take; they give back, they nurture, they protect. This was a real light bulb moment for me.
To keep it simple for you, in practical terms, stewardship in the garden means:
Choosing bee friendly plants — long flowering plants that feed our little winged friends
Building soil health — through composting, mulching, reducing harmful chemicals and artificial fertilisers.
Conserving water — designing with drought tolerance in mind, mulching and using rain barrels.
Saying no to pesticides — you don’t need them, build a space safe for all creatures including you!
Reducing waste — reusing materials, avoiding plastic where possible, and designing with longevity in mind.
A New Kind of Garden
When we embrace the concept of stewardship, we begin to see gardens differently. No longer are they just decorative kerb appeal trophies(guilty!) or functional places we use for playing and dining, they become living systems — small but significant parts of the greater landscape, the ultimate ecosystem.
You need to start thinking that your garden can be:
A refuge for pollinators, it’s a warzone out there for them!.
A carbon sink, locking up atmospheric carbon in healthy soils and trees.
A sponge that helps manage stormwater and reduce flooding particularly relevant for front urban gardens.
A classroom where children (and adults) learn the wonder of nature, how amazing are seeds?!
A sanctuary that nourishes both the body and soul, because life is stressful
A place where we can feel the interconnectedness of life and feel pure gratitude for the marvel of it all.
And when all of a sudden there are many of us working with this shared purpose, garden by garden, the impact could be profound both across the board on a societal level, on an environmental level and on an individual level.
The Role of Professionals
If you are reading this as a professional gardener, designer, or landscaper, your influence is powerful. You are not only shaping spaces — you are shaping mindsets. Every client you guide towards sustainable choices, every design that puts nature at its heart, every pesticide free garden you maintain— you are sowing the seeds of change.
If you are reading this as someone who has a garden, someone who loves their garden then you too are also powerful because you can choose companies like Green & Eco Gardens and like those in our professional community to help you with step into your eco power.
And stewardship btw is not about perfection. It’s a journey. There are challenges now and there will be challenges in the future — balancing client wishes with sustainable practices, working within budgets and timelines. I know, I’ve been there, I’ve had the requests and I have lost clients because I refused to do things like spray weedkiller. But every small step matters. Every flower, every metre of hedgerow restored, every lawn converted to a meadow, every patio laid sustainably— all these are acts of stewardship.
An Invitation
So as you go about your work whether you are a professional or not I invite you to pause and reflect: What does it mean for me to be a steward of this garden?
It might mean planting more perennials to feed the butterflies and bees.
It might mean choosing permeable paving to let the rain soak through.
It might mean planting a hedge instead of a fence, or if a fence using oak posts.
It might mean saying no to pesticides and seeing what happens.
Whatever form it takes, I want you to know that these choices matter. They all add up. They inspire others. They are part of a much bigger story — one where gardeners, designers, and landscapers are at the forefront of healing our relationship with the natural world.
You Are a Steward
The future is in our hands — and our hands are in the soil. Be the change you want to see in the world.
