I want to write a book, and Radical Horticulture might be that book
I am not sure why but I want to write a book. A book about gardening for the climate emergency. I half-jokingly coined the phrase “radical horticulture”, because really, it’s not that radical (working with nature, perennial edibles, native plants where possible, vegan, organic) and really is just a compilation of all the best practises and ideas that I’ve come across in my forest gardening journey these past few years.
So, how about Radical Horticulture - The Book? How do we garden for the climate emergency? There are great economic and social inequalities and rifts, and how can gardens be carved out as a positive and hopeful space in the underbelly of the relentless doom leviathan?
My Dad was an architect, and I am uncomfortably aware of the post-war idealism of a modern built environment to solve Man’s (sic) ills, worthy design handed down from the experts for the masses.
There is a phrase doing the third sector rounds called “co-design”. I am wary of catchphrases and zeitgeist words but I do think actually involving people affected in the design & build process is a darned fine idea.
This is where the Hope Garden project is centred: a wildlife forest garden with a Communit Assembly at its heart.
And this, I think, is where Radical Horticulture is different, because it isn’t a form, it isn’t a style, it is some simple guidelines melded with a transparent and socially equitable process.