I work as a landscape maintence technician currently. I went into this line of work with hopes of learning how to better care for plants. Now i just feel like i'm part of the problem. I spend all my days planting annuals that arent native, pruning exotic shrubs, and laying mulch for rich people who dont care for anything but a unique look and sterile lawn. I do all this for these people who dont care and i have no time to work in my own garden. I'm looking to quit my job, take some classes at the local community college, and maybe becoming a conservationist or landscape designer with the intent of planting native eco-spaces. I want to be part of the solution!
@eugeniafarauanu29534 ай бұрын
Where do you live?
@tfarr8034 ай бұрын
Hopefully one day people will realize we need to get back to our gardening roots (no pun intended). But the good news is, covid caused a lot of people to not only take up gardening but build a much bigger sense of purpose behind it. We're seeing surge in self sufficiency practices come back. All we need it for HOAs n whatnot to start lifting restrictions for this kinda thing.
@AlexArthur944 ай бұрын
We're rooting for you!
@todwod4 ай бұрын
I’m currently enrolled in Oregon state’s permaculture design program. Check it out. It’s well worth it and a great way to learn these other ways of gardening. It’s either 10 or 20 weeks. Well worth the investment!
@GaSoliNa2o4 ай бұрын
Have you ever heard of permaculture or regenerative landscaping? You might find it very interesting.
@aletheist27094 ай бұрын
My neighbors spray their lawns, and one even complained that my fruit trees, garden, and berry hedges attract birds! Seeing birds and wildlife is one of my favorite things about gardening. I had found a praying mantis egg sac two years ago. This spring I found two in my hedges and plant stalks I left up. I am so glad I stayed away from HOAs.
@Frostie36724 ай бұрын
Your neighbours sound like they are so disconnected from nature that I feel sorry for them!
@tw84644 ай бұрын
Well done. The "HOA" nightmare needs outlawed.
@-OBELUS-4 ай бұрын
I had one complain about bees on my star jasmine. That glorious vine perfumed the whole house.
@aletheist27094 ай бұрын
@@-OBELUS- Jeez lol. I love watching the bees pollinate!
@justagirlsd30004 ай бұрын
I would never live in an HOA. I hate those ticky tacky homes😂
@spda814 ай бұрын
I converted part of my backyard into a native wildflower garden with a small pond about 7 years ago. Every year the garden gets healthier and more robust, and attracts so many birds and butterflies!
@charlesw3224 ай бұрын
I'm starting to do the same thing and I have these butterfly plants that grew really big should I trim them or just let them go?
@victorsr67083 ай бұрын
A good friend of mine, an elderly man doesn’t own a rake. He just chops and drops and says he’s never had a traditional garden. His back yard is like the garden of Eden. One of the most relaxing places to visit.
@robertblackwell13502 ай бұрын
I did that, some what inadvertently, a few years back. I had at least one rabbit. And some gorgeous blackberry vines.
@gabriellamclellan11022 ай бұрын
I do chop and drop...it works magic for so much plant life..and moisture retention..
@victorsr67082 ай бұрын
@@gabriellamclellan1102 I ended up buying a leaf shredder/mulcher to keep things a bit more tidy and my better half happy. The results are great, the mulched break down faster.
@chessman4834 ай бұрын
We have 33 acres in Australia. We took over the property 2.5 years ago. They had used poisons and generally the property was dead. Just stopping using poisons and letting things grow and establishing fruit trees and some animals. We now have beautiful birds flocking in eating our fruit etc. the ground is alive now. We have all sorts of butterflies there now. Ducks and other birds are now returning to our Dam. Things are really getting exciting now.
@gabrielalbores8464 ай бұрын
That’s amazing! What part? I’m planning on buying land south of Perth and doing the same thing! Grow a paradise
@chessman4834 ай бұрын
@@gabrielalbores846 we are in QLD . We really try to apply permaculture principles. Just the fact we don’t have any poisons or synthetic fertiliser near our place it’s pretty awesome to see the abundant life everywhere. We ultimately want enough food to survive on should we ever need to. We have achieved that now, so in a good place. We have had a lot of failures. But also some great successes. Always love sharing if you ever want any encouragement or advice.
@ausfoodgarden4 ай бұрын
Fantastic. I'm stuck on a Melbourne suburban block so no ducks for me. However after only a couple of years of trying to improve the soil and providing habitat for native insects etc. The garden is literally abuzz with life. It would be even better if the local authorities didn't ban growing food in the front garden. Shh! Don't tell them but I grow a lot of unusual and not easily recognisable foods out front.😊
@wendibridge35774 ай бұрын
I have lived in Victoria for over 30 years and one of the first things I did was get rid of the lawn. Since then I have transformed an empty space to a productive garden that supports us and the many animal/insect visitors we enjoy observing. It is encouraging to know that this has stopped being "fringe" activity, a bit like being vegan nowadays, just so painfully slow 🤔.
@francineh.78254 ай бұрын
That is absolutely so wonderful to hear!
@Consciouslightwarriors4 ай бұрын
A few years ago I was inspired by the back to Eden documentary when I was researching garden styles. Then I visited Paul Gautchi’s garden in person to learn how to prune fruit trees. Because of his teachings our 1/2 acre has about 30 fruit trees & bushes. I’ve spread 25 truck loads of free wood chips to turn the grass into fertile soil for gardening. The front yard is now covered with strawberries. And the vegetable garden is turning into a food forest with chaos gardening taking root. 3 years ago I didn’t know how to grow a thing. Now neighbors are covering their lawns with wood chips and planting gardens. So many have benefited from Paul’s teachings ❤ Working with Mother Nature is so much more rewarding !
@killakori4 ай бұрын
Where did you get free wood chips?
@mikebird33654 ай бұрын
@@killakori Search for "chip drop". You can pay a little bit to get faster delivery or wait a bit and get wood chips free. Arborists drop off free wood chips because it's cheaper than paying to take them to the landfill.
@karenjcosme3 ай бұрын
@@killakori check out ChipDrop
@sophieblooming85553 ай бұрын
I don't have a garden to grow, only potted plants on balcony. One time a purple butterfly rimmed in yellow visited my balcony and danced around me for a good minute whilst I was doing yoga. It's a magical moment.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
precious, lovely. Thanks for the experience you shared. It made my heart smile.
@voiceinthenoise33573 ай бұрын
While on a natural stretch of beach in Dorset, a woman commented that it was lovely, but it was just a shame that the seaweed and debri marking the tide-line was so untidy, and wouldn't it be nice if someone cleaned it up. While in the woods I asked a passing dog walker if they knew why the trees had been cut down, and she said, in a well-meaning attempt to bond over the issue "I know, it's messy isn't it!" So I replied that I hoped they were harvesting the non-native pine crop, so that the native shrubs and trees could recolonise themselves. An old colleague looked at a lawn carpeted in daisies, bright as a smattering of spring snow, and said it was "unkempt" and needed a good mow. It was breathtakingly beautiful, but she missed this because she saw it through eyes trained to see nature as something ever-encroaching that should be cut into squares and bound tight at the borders. Something can be a little loose in looks, a little "untidy" in traditional terms, and still be beautiful. See beneath the surface and you realise that beauty lies not in how something appears, but what that appearance means. Sometimes ugliness is beautiful because it is honest. And sometimes ugliness isn't ugliness at all, but blindness.
@jackiem36704 ай бұрын
I have 3 acres - 1/2 clear, 1/2 wooded with an ephemeral stream bisecting it. I'm meticulously removing invasives and replacing with regional natives. I can't save the whales, or tigers, but I can save butterflies, birds, herps, fireflies, etc. on my little lot of land.
@MightandMagic884 ай бұрын
Any tips on bringing back fireflies to an environment?
@jackiem36704 ай бұрын
@@MightandMagic88 I believe most firefly species need leaf litter to safely pupate and they also like long stalks to rest on during the day like native grasses and tall perennials. I'll often find them resting during the day under flower petals, etc.
@MightandMagic884 ай бұрын
@@jackiem3670 Cool, I'm planning on dedicating some of my property to plant a mix of native perennials and I know it'll attract some birds and butterflies but I'd love to see some fireflies too
@composthog43323 ай бұрын
@@MightandMagic88I've read that they need it dark at night and I used to have them until a neighbor put up a security light so bright that it makes my front yard look like daytime! Breaks my heart but he's not a reasonable man. Anyway, the talk and the comments including yours give me hope. Thanks and wishing you all the best! Team fireflies
@kimberleychapman84164 ай бұрын
Thank you for this! I’m from the U.K., and we dedicated a part of our garden as a natural habitat. It has now attracted birds and other insects. We make sure everything we grow in the whole of our garden is native, including the trees and shrubs. We’ve seen a difference just in a year by doing this - more native species. Our vegetable beds also help in this.
@verycool60224 ай бұрын
That’s a bit extreme since the UK doesn’t have a lot of native species and some ‘non natives’ from mainland Europe can fit into the ecosystem too. But otherwise great though!
@user-ns6js4hn3e4 ай бұрын
@@verycool6022 Yeah-but species of food/herb plants native to your locale, I hear, are best to acclimate us to our home environment. Info from TCM.
@verycool60224 ай бұрын
@@user-ns6js4hn3eTrue, but not always! I did a lot of research and non natives that are closely related to native species in Europe (can) integrate well, but even some non close related ones integrate suprisingly well and are even host plants for rare native species. As long as they’re not invasive you can add some carefully selected non native plants from (preferably the same genus and closely related, a rough estimate for integration is how close they are on a phylogenetic tree and their chemical properties in the leaves, allopathy etc). Lots of times the research is outdated and not scientifically proven on the negatives non natives have, because conservationists and ecologists have a bias against them. Sorry if it’s worded in a confusing way. I’m from the Netherlands!
@vdudya3 ай бұрын
From the UK and we have knot weed for the second year running :( so gutted 🙁 we can't let it go wild as its killing everything else x
@user-ns6js4hn3e3 ай бұрын
@@vdudya Our neighbour dug it up, burned it & smothered it by covering it up with "tin" from roofing. But whatever you got. We're in Canada and that's what was available.
@danhartnett30304 ай бұрын
I bought a house with a perfect lawn, and I just let it go. I love it now! My little brother said you have Moles, you need to get rid of them and I asked him why he said because they make holes in the ground, I told him that he is just a grass hole😂
@radioactiverobin82454 ай бұрын
I lived in a 4th floor apartment with a large patio for a long time. I had a solar fountain and a bunch of plants. The patio connected to the breezeway and my neighbors often told me how much they enjoyed it. Not only that, I had frequent visits from hummingbirds and butterflies!
@LeahBrooksJeremiahGardens4 ай бұрын
I have a small orchard where I’ve planted native flowers and allowed others who popped up to flourish on their own. It gives me so much joy to watch the butterflies and bees fly from flower to flower.
@annaward46064 ай бұрын
I own a small landscaping business in Central Colorado and this is exactly what we encourage our customers to do. People love the results. They find a renewed connection and wonder in their small yards. It is environmental activism when so many people feel helpless. We have a misconception that we have to control our yards so it can be very difficult for some people. A natural or ecological gardener helps to facilitate what nature would do on her own time, we help speed up the process.
@whitebluepower43654 ай бұрын
Great idea! But I think that sometimes people cultivate their own gardens in a way that majority does because they are afraid of fire among their thickets of lush vegetation or don't want to transform nearby garden into the forest . As a professional , do you have some tips for it and how to control garden but to do it healthy both for pollinators and human?
@tw84644 ай бұрын
Thank you for encouraging people to grow the native plants and less lawn.
@B014 ай бұрын
Want to add microbiological soil testing to your repertoire? 😇
@berndtherrenvolk19513 ай бұрын
@@whitebluepower4365Living in northern California where the Central Valley meets the Sierra foothills is life in a giant firetrap.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
wow, thank you.
@wildlifegardener-tracey62064 ай бұрын
My gardening style for over 30 yrs. I'm in my 60's now and fear what is happening to our biodiversity. So happy you're advocating Wilding our gardens with native plants.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
Same here.
@madnomad4 ай бұрын
I love it. I returned my backyard in San Francisco to the wild and bugs, spiders, salamanders, birds, one humming bird, even a red hawk came to find refuge. It's amazing to see the wildlife and the beauty that comes with it.
@debandrews74154 ай бұрын
Wonderful. I put in a 50 foot by 60 foot pollinator garden and it is so full of life! And less maintenance than regular gardens.
@sublime903 ай бұрын
i have a tiny 8'x8' cement slab that i fill with 5 gallon containers every summer and grow as much as i can. cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, flowers. not only does it look awesome seeing all that green that started with just seeds and dirt but i love watching all the bee's making their rounds pollinating all my food. it really does make you feel good and appreciate nature.
@jimidaly04 ай бұрын
Rebecca, I really appreciate your ability to capture the most important aspects of local rewilding so succinctly. This TED Talk is such a keeper and deserves to be seen by everybody.
@louisegogel79734 ай бұрын
Beautiful!! One favorite insect species that needs the dead leaves is the glow bug, lightening bug… whatever you want to call this little beetle. It is part of fairy tales and children’s magical moments as well as adults who see a meadow light up with their bright little signals to each other. I love diversity in a backyard. I mow around the flowers, harvest the wild edibles, and basically allow the yard to always be part in sort of meadow. Thyme, clover, dandelion, plantain, and so very many more species of plants amongst the grasses. My friend has been growing crops on a fairly good size piece of land. He allows most of the weeds to grow pretty wild around the plants… some space, but often they’re intermingled. People have wondered why his veggies are so healthy, tasty, and strong when theirs are struggling in their clean tidy gardens. He has never used and never needed pesticides etc. Instead, he allows nature to do its work keeping things in balance. The birds love being there, and many different insects, snakes, and mammals. The “weeds” shade the ground from the hot sun, keeping the moisture in the soil where it’s needed. They also provide food for the insects so that they don’t devour his crops, although they do nibble a little sometimes. Diversity with Nature… truly works! Look up permaculture if you want to see some amazing abundance of growing especially in small and initially barren places in the world.
@justagirlsd30004 ай бұрын
My 1/2 acre yard is wild, no chemicals, butterfly habitat, lots of bees, tons of birds, koi pond with a natural filtration system. I do worm vermiculure and use worm castings for fertilizer. I have lots of hummingbirds, orioles, canaries, bluebirds, mockingbirds, finches, sparrows and more. I love my wild garden.
@Silkresource4 ай бұрын
What natural filter system do you use for your pond?
@justagirlsd30004 ай бұрын
@@Silkresource we have a horse trough that the water is pumped into, it’s filled with those green scrubbers, plus elephant ears are growing in that, then it falls out through holes and pipes down a little waterfall which head towards an area with pipes with holes covered in pea gravel. Whenever the plants need to be thinned out it creates a huge dirt cloud but it totally clears up in a couple hours. It’s not a big pond and it works perfectly. My SO found videos on KZbin.
@longsnapper53813 ай бұрын
Yeah, I have all that and more around my perfectly manicured lawn.
@koicaine12304 ай бұрын
This is exactly what I'm doing with our yard and Nature is showing up all the time! I have an army of Anoles that eat bugs while I garden, Pollinators of all kinds including Bats, new species of birds (new to our yard) and so on! It's incredible!
@user-mv3qb9ze1u4 ай бұрын
Even though I am over 50, I want to what this lady does when I grow up. I am working on a forest garden in the meantime. It is pretty wild. My ultimate goal is to have an orchard surrounding a small NATURAL fish pond.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
Every step you take is amazing. You never know who will see your new gardens and be inspired. You encourage others to experiment in their yards, keep it up.
@rickvandijk2 ай бұрын
Hi, I left my corporate career 3 years ago when I was 56 to become a full time professional gardener and now have a successful and extremely gratifying self-employed business. My core philosophy is taking out tiles (and cultured lawns) as much as possible and replace them with flowers and plants. It can be done :)
@asha84434 ай бұрын
Pulled out my lawn a few months ago, threw wildflower seeds and now am eagerly awaiting the flowers!!
@firstclassavl3 ай бұрын
Get ready for the pest issues related to this.
@iwonakaczmarczyk78394 ай бұрын
Thank you. I'm creating a wildlife area on my allotment. Pond, bird feeding station, logs/branches shelter, hedgehog house, bath station and sowing wildflowers :) I spotted ladybirds yesterday :)
@Sq7Arno4 ай бұрын
I keep my garden a fair bit on the wild side. Generally my opinion is that if a plant can live in my garden without watering, then it belongs there. This is hot country we're talking about here. And there are tons and tons of plants that do this perfectly well. I tidy a bit, and keep the weeds down to a degree, but luckily where I live native shrubs are immensely aesthetic. No regrets.
@kiethj74 ай бұрын
My yard is coveted in dandelions and i never try to kill them. Everyone else around me does and look at my yard with disgust. Its frustrating but i have bees, butterflies, moths, and birds. Love them all
@mrpepe4444 ай бұрын
"Nature never did betray The heart that loved her". William Wordsworth. Thank you for this TED talk. It´s nice to share this beautiful thougts and seeds. I´m a permaculture follower also. Greetings from Saint Sebastian.
@darinherrick92245 ай бұрын
Outlaw HOA restrictions on gardens. Federally outlaw them. Then we can have cactus in the desert and forest and grassland yards everywhere else.
@Pour-me-a-red4 ай бұрын
Just outlaw HOA's
@francesbernard24454 ай бұрын
The only problem with that which I know nothing about how to prevent through only having experience in home care yard area maintanence is how many more deserts are being made faster as time goes on. We need more people like Rebecca McMackin providing information to policy makers who are not going to treat her in the same way others tend to treat Greta Thunburg while sometimes they are confusing pictures of her with pictures of women in her family from past generations. I do not believe all those policy makers have to be from the Liberal party.
@fusion96194 ай бұрын
@@francesbernard2445the earth is greening overall. Some places are becoming more desert, but more desert is turning green.
@chickenfishhybrid444 ай бұрын
Most people don't live in an HOA.
@TerreHauteRemoteGoat4 ай бұрын
@@chickenfishhybrid44What country do you live in? We've bought homes in 2, widely separated states and both times had trouble finding a house without a HOA.
@kbmehta42084 ай бұрын
Thank you Rebecca. I had tears in my eyes many times during this short video. May your passion spread.
@debradykstra87034 ай бұрын
A woman after my own heart. You go, girl! I love to practice permaculture in the city. 🌱
@Lupina-mp5ck4 ай бұрын
Nice❤ Bless you and your plants
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
Cool, me too.
@Sundancer84 ай бұрын
This talk was very encouraging. I've been doing this "wilding" in my farm on Barbados for some time now, abandoning traditional vegetable planting in the face of a challenge from wild monkeys searching for food outside their shrinking environments (I plant fruit trees for them) and what has occurred is remarkable. I have birds, bees, bats, butterflies, fireflies and many more creatures and insects populating the area in unusual abundance. I have started seeing the amazing Stick Insect again and there has been a spontaneous, voluntary regeneration of a multitude of traditional medicinal plants and wild edibles that I now use in the creation of healthful "bush teas" and other useful by-products to maintain my livelihood. I also still get many fruits sharing with the birds and monkeys there is such fertility and abundance.
@AB-cool4 ай бұрын
wow sounds amazing
@aleenaprasannan21464 ай бұрын
Leaving the dead stem is such an underrated and important thing to do in our gardens. Native solitary bees and lady birds lay eggs in them. They are also nest building materials for many birds. The snails and slugs in our garden are controlled by greater coucals and mangooes. The mangooes brings their pups to the garden to play every year; some squished up plants are are fair sacrifice to watch those pups playing around. The garden would honestly be too boring without the biodiversity
@1lasmith4 ай бұрын
We’re so obsessed with beauty it’s unhealthy. Between destroying natural ecosystems to gross consumerism, our obsession with how we are perceived will be our downfall. Love this advice I’m trying to rewild my yard now and just a tiny patch of wildflowers attracted so many bees it was beautiful !
@insertnicknamehere4 ай бұрын
And for some, having wildlife is beautiful and will make an effort to force it to grow, would that be considered an unhealthy obsession ? I ask you because you start your comment by writing about beauty but then you end writing about how beautiful you're patch is.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
We just need to see the true beauty of nature.
@ryleesblooms4 ай бұрын
We removed our lawn and turned it into an urban flower farm with a focus on working with nature not against it. We only spray water and compost tea. We hate neem and we love bugs. Thank you for spreading the word on teaming with nature.
@brianbarnicle80524 ай бұрын
That is why my company is called Grow Wild. Beautiful work, inspirational talk.
@mzindyg0074 ай бұрын
Woman after my little gardening heart. Allowing me to feel proud of my grass free Front and backyard. Giving voice to my natural growing backyard forest. Nothing is symmetrical or balanced. Thank you
@jeff68994 ай бұрын
Amen ! So glad to see this approach featured on TED... this has been my passion for over 30 yrs..
@jerplotkin4 ай бұрын
Great talk Rebecca! Well spoken and paced and funny and true! Thanks for sharing this important message.
@hardstylelife57494 ай бұрын
As somebody humbly trying to preserve a wide wild meadow in front of my house I’m happy to hear that the trend is spreading amongst designers and (some) city planners. I’ve a question: since planners always claim to simply don’t enough green areas on a city, why they don’t simply use the abandoned industrial/commercial cemented areas? Without even dismantling the concrete ground but “simply” covering with a new layer of soil and plants. Nice speech, bravo
@Lupina-mp5ck4 ай бұрын
I thought that too. And imagine all the roofs where green 😮
@hardstylelife57494 ай бұрын
@@Lupina-mp5ck it would be quite nice indeed :) guess I’ll need to work harder on my little project
@hardstylelife57494 ай бұрын
@@Lupina-mp5ck it would be really nice indeed! And a great way to both save and enjoy some nature for everybody. :) speaking of roof it was indeed a dream of mine to create one of this grass/moss roof over my house. For some reasons despite the numerous benefits, and several architectural projects already out there all over the world, it still didn’t get popular as an alternative system to a “traditional” rooftop
@Lupina-mp5ck4 ай бұрын
@@hardstylelife5749 People have no interest to have a lot of nature around them. These people have no connection to themselves. The best garden for them is no garden. Sorry if my english is not perfect. It‘s not my mothertongue 😊
@hardstylelife57494 ай бұрын
@@Lupina-mp5ck it looks like it doubled up my responses, I apologize )) I’m sure you’re correct about the lack of interest on this subject by most of the population; still I personally think deep (deep) inside a majority people may learn to enjoy and cherish such kind of connection, especially when it allows them to have both a “city lifestyle” combined with some greenery. No need to apologize, same here, a fellow English learner ))
@teacherericka4 ай бұрын
Wow! This is wonderful and inspiring! Thank you. ❤ I am a teacher, and I will put this into practice and teach the next generation and implement this into my garden. Thank you so much. Bravo! 👏👏👏
@marktogher74883 ай бұрын
I'm in a standard 3 bed semi d in the west of Ireland but I am fortunate that I am in a corner site, so I have a decent garden out the back. I have been working on Wilding my garden for around 3 years now, front and back, and it's just incredible what you'll find now. So many more bugs, birds and other wildlife. I had a family of 5 hedgehogs live in the back garden for a season. They've move on now sadly. I've replaced a lot of grass with daisies, clover and other wild flowers. Lots of other people are doing something similar over the last 18 months and even the green spaces around the estate are bursting with daisies, dandelions and other flowers I've never even seen before! It's fantastic. Put the mower away folks. It's massively rewarding!
@maggietaylor97134 ай бұрын
Thankyou 🙏 by combining growing food for ourselves and the pollinators everybody wins. So simple and yet rarely practiced. Let's all start doing it now. ❤
@JenniferSmith-lu5cn4 ай бұрын
I've lived out in the woods for a while now in Kentucky where the lone star tick resides and have slowly incorporated wild flowers back into different spaces and have kept the mowing to a bare minimum. The issue I run into is that the areas of the yard where I don't mow become infested with ticks so badly that I can't walk the property without becoming over run by them. I've considered getting guinea fowl but their noises are terrible for the one neighbor that lives nearby. So I'm trying to keep a balance of flowers where I can walk to see them, trying not mow and yet not get a disease from the thousands of ticks just a step away from my porch.
@thr3ddy4 ай бұрын
This is the exact issue I'm seeing, too. I let my lawn grow out for most of the last two years, but the amount of ticks that my dogs brought in every time wasn't worth it. I own 24 acres of land since 2021, and I can let most of it run wild, but I do have to maintain a short lawn around the house (3-4"). I hope that with time, animals that consume ticks will be return to the property, but I fear there are just too many of them at this point.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
@@thr3ddy It will take time, but eventually a balance will come. I am not a fan of ticks either. In case you didn't know, opossums are great for some control of ticks.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
Opossums are great for some tick control. I am not a fan of ticks either.
@gablan14683 ай бұрын
Cities definitely need more green. The way we build cities is just absurd. We run away from nature so much that no wonder we often feel depressed or angry.
@PreachingTruth4 ай бұрын
This is how I try to garden. Regenerative farming practices work. The soil in my garden has nearly tripled in depth, has gone from sandy crap to one work a nice texture that holds moisture much better in just the few years I've been here. It does require effort but it's paying off. I see more praying mantises for example over one small area than most people see in their entire lives. The amount of native bees as increased dramatically since we stopped fighting the weed so heavily. Even hummingbirds. The mycelium has increased dramatically. But one of the most amazing things is since our desert like climate gets so hot sometimes, many people lose their entire crops due to the hot dry climate. However, because I left the ground cover and weeds, God allowed me to have good production when others got nothing. You may mark my biblical views but it was my biblical views that showed me that I needed to change my ways many years ago. I know it was God who gave me the increase. Traditional wisdom doesn't work. By the way, the Columbine comment about the hummingbirds also shows there was a design in creation. But in any rate, regenerative farming practices for letting things be more wild is a beautiful thing.
@tonioyendis44644 ай бұрын
I love my backyard all organic veggie & herbs garden! It is my happy-place & my pharmacy for health/healing.
@adyingbreedofman91124 ай бұрын
This reminds me of a book I read some 20 years ago called "Bringjng Nature Home". If this interested you then you would love this book. I highly recommend it.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
Doug Tallamy's books are amazing. Tha one blew my mind. I love seeing holes in the leaves of my plants, I know someone got a meal.
@adyingbreedofman91123 ай бұрын
@tgardenchicken1780 I recently found the book again going through my old belongings. Shame on me I didn't even think to look for other books by the author. Seriously I'm usually sharper than that lol. Thanks, I'm now going to be reading more by him.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
@@adyingbreedofman9112 Enjoy
@tyronemcsanchez4 ай бұрын
Get rid of city ordinances that require lawns be kept a short height
@OriginalFallofMind3 ай бұрын
Or just leave unnaturally pack cities where they farm you for taxes.
@erinmooney15113 ай бұрын
so true
@longsnapper53813 ай бұрын
Sure, enjoy all of the rodents, snakes, etc that will find their way into your home.
@tyronemcsanchez3 ай бұрын
@@longsnapper5381toys for my dogs and cat
@hellsfrozeover852 ай бұрын
Areas close to the home ought to be trimmed up; however I leave narrow strips of tall grass to go to seed, usually where I see native plants like wildflowers. Further from the home, if the yard allows, you can leave larger patches to grow. I live in rural area, yet I understand not all areas make this at all practical. I am also surrounded by a preserve for an endangered insect, of which I had 2 visit me today while tending my permaculture garden with my little guys today. I was so excited! There are NO pesticides used on our property. I have pondered approaching a nearby HOA meeting(I do not live within) to ask if the residents are aware of the preserve and the capacity the people therein have to aide the return of this creature to a more common population. There is a particular flower it feeds on, which they could propagate, and leaving "weeds" unpoisoned would allow better spread of the creature.
@JasonsGreenSleeves4 ай бұрын
Agreed!! Yes! Thank you! I’m all about wild gardening, biodiversity and supporting plant and soil life with native plants and plants that provide long bloom seasons. I would consider my own garden a pollinator garden/ semi food forest. I love supporting nature. Patience and perseverance are great words of wisdom; great video🌿🌿!
@thehillsidegardener39614 ай бұрын
I have some land in the country and fortunately we have no HOAs, I am working hard to turn our traditional orchard into a jungle, by simply not mowing, not raking leaves, leaving prunings where they are. It looks messy but natural, and so much greener than my neighbours' plots which are mowed constantly leaving nothing for wildlife and nothing to prevent water run-off. And so many more insects, reptiles, native squirrels, badgers, marten, and gradually birds. Oh, and the land is increasingly feeding us too.
@HarendraKumar-my4le4 ай бұрын
5:39 It's one of the example of "Mutualism", where both organism benefitted itself! Being Bio student always happy while reading, watching even observing such nature wonders...
@iazap4 ай бұрын
A very great man once said if the hour of the world ending is upon you and you have a sapling in your hand then plant it. I think this would be a great start to understanding our role in the eco system gifted to us on this planet
@dm-310243 ай бұрын
🎉 hooray for Rebecca. Thank you. And thank you, Ted. More of Rebecca, please. 🙏 I hope we each can do our part. Great solutions. Hopeful.❤
@rosalyndoshannassy4419Ай бұрын
I'm a Landcare volunteer in Lake Macquarie, NSW Australia and this TED has given me a broader perspective of my environment.
@patriciarobinett1235Ай бұрын
Oh, this is wonderful. I am building a "food forest" but hadn't taken it as far as it could go... I still mow a bit - in free-form circular designs to miss the new baby trees that are growing from seed, all over the yard. The old trees in the front are like a park, but they are very old and have been falling (providing firewood) and I decided to let their babies grow, rather than to mow them and buy trees from a nursery. Thank you, Rebecca, for giving me "permission" to not try to keep up with my dear neighbors who have "perfectly manicured" yards... If they complain, I will refer them to this video. :) I will continue to keep paths open, but not mow where I do not need to walk. Thank you for your amazing work and for being an example of sanity.
@BackYardbiz4 ай бұрын
Great talk, i love that more and more content encouraging eco-friendly garden practices are being made. Thank you, from all of us and the future generations that are going to suffer the most if change doesnt occur
@tinkeringinthailand81475 ай бұрын
I use the "Organic no dig" method in my Thai garden, all the farmers around me cannot believe how good and healthy my veg is. I use no pesticides or chemical fertilisers, I have ladybirds, frogs, toads, humming birds and many other beneficial insects in my garden. The farmland around me is dead and sterile through the use of tilling and chemicals. It makes me so sad to see the destruction being done in the name of profit.
@comfortablynumb93424 ай бұрын
You might like to try Dr Earth's fertilizer mixes, they're organic from food waste and they're full of beneficial microbiology. I use them for cannabis, veggies, fruit trees, bonsai and ornamental trees in the yard.
@Austin-wr2zh4 ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing this video. I am growing a "back-yard garden" and I've found that external factors to harm my plants some-times. For instance, an area of my garden intended as a corn patch looks like someone pushed away my corn plants in the middle of the segment to make a 'hang-out' for themselves. I am left with about 15%-20% of the corn I planted to harvest. Creating a thriving ecosystem is important, I think especially in this area littered with bad influences. I think I should just continue benefiting the life of my micro-ecosystem and that eventually the bad influencers will be influenced to be good.
@jonr66805 ай бұрын
Never mind wildlife (great as this is), this woman's work has probably saved human lives in NYC.
@tgardenchicken17803 ай бұрын
When we save the wildlife, we save ourselves. She has saved lives, how wonderful.
@AT-rw3ou4 ай бұрын
Planted several gardens totaling 2200 sq.ft. 15 years ago and magic happened. Almost immediately we got species of pollinators we’d never seen before. I began counting, but soon stopped at 50 species. And we began to get volunteer native plants and trees, most of which we kept. One note, though. I told the landscapers to fully plant the new garden, against their advice to leave plenty of room for the plants to fill out. Starting the third year I have to find homes for extra plants every spring!
@tonyalewis90534 ай бұрын
Thank you! I’ve been slowly transitioning my small corner lot in a lakeside community in SW Missouri.
@gabrielleannacormierart4 ай бұрын
I was just telling a friend today that spring is the season of hope and I cannot wait to get planting. I'm fortunate to be in a new yard surrounded by native trees and wildlife. I want to bring all the right flowers and plants into our garden for our specific climate zone and area. Is there a place where I can learn more about how to do this? Thank you for this wonderful talk! ❤
@sujitjilludimudi76844 ай бұрын
"Gardening is a long game" So true!
@jonathanclutton28132 ай бұрын
Congratulations; an amazing achievement in NYC! On a smaller scale, we dug a pond in our UK garden a few years ago and had newts in it within a year. We also have a wild corner that is popular with hedgehogs, and mow the grass as little as possible. It all helps.
@bobobaggins954 ай бұрын
I started properly gardening about 2 years ago, and my first year I hated all the pest insects and did my best to get rid of them. The following year I let it be, I noticed some more lady bugs, bees, wasps and didnt want to bother the other bugs. This year I've had barely any pests, instead there are lace wings around, my peppers got damaged by caterpillars last year, this year I found a bunch of baby praying mantis on them. Its become easier and better for the environment just by leaving them be
@patriciafitch24322 ай бұрын
I've been allowing part of my property to grow wild. My neighbors complain. Wildlife is appearing. Lovely to see. I allow the honeysuckle to grow. Birds nest in the bushes...the aroma is lovely. I allow the wild white and blue violets to spread across sections of the lawn. So beautiful in the spring, I hate mowing grass and hope it won't be necessary much longer. I've seen the small ladybugs recently. No humming birds as far as I now, but the variety of birds is amazing. The cardinals love the honeysuckle bushes and chirp at me every morning. My veggies are grown in pots or bags. I never rake the leaves. Never use pesticides. Never use mulch. Thank you for the validating my movement towards a more natural habitat.
@rosedasilva37163 ай бұрын
What a beautiful Ted speech It sound like music in my ears , the beauty of nature all connected . My landscape does not spray anything on my lawn I love to see the diversity on my front and backyard , I love the dandelion , white cloves and other weeds . The rabbits , insects , squirrels and birds are welcome in my property .
@TechOutAdam3 ай бұрын
“They’re literally called leaves, we should leave them.” ❤
@olfhausen4 ай бұрын
I am just planting Aster dumosus and Myosotis alpestris while watching this video! Rebecca has a HUGE point here, let's do this folks!
@Psangela33 ай бұрын
I used to have plain green grass the jones look. But now I planted wild flowers 🌺 native plants perennials. Stopped using pesticides. Added a water element. Now I’m blessed with a beautiful garden home to many species of animals like birds, 🦢 butterflies 🦋 hummingbirds, bees 🐝 insects 🐞 and its a small garden now I plan to do the whole front yard and get rid of that dumb grass. I shop at the local butterfly center which sell native species!
@lindseyrose31352 ай бұрын
Thank you! I love gardening and I learned alot of things I didn't know watching this video! You are not only well informed but your delivery is made easy to understand and a joy to listen to. Good job!
@MirandaCozzette4 ай бұрын
I’ve been letting the “weeds” grow. They’re beautiful. I have green bees in my yard. There’s blackberries all throughout my neighborhood but they’ll be cut down soon bc they have thorns :(
@ladel2o1a484 ай бұрын
YES GARDENING!!! YES NATURE!!!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤
@malarumninaivugal2 ай бұрын
I happy to hear your speech that promotes, "Live! and let others live!" Let's adapt this policy in letting other human beings live on the earth. Thanks!
@alamofw14 ай бұрын
Excellent presentation on such an important topic. A very important message, very Well communicated.
@john1boggity564 ай бұрын
Wonderful talk - thank you so much Rebecca!!! I remembered listening to Emma Marris ted talk on what is nature and I was very changed by her talk. How do people and nature intersect? Turns out mutualism applies to us too....I am a horticulturist studying environmental science. Your work is inspiring !!!
@johnnyc87753 ай бұрын
Well done. I follow those principles in my own garden & enjoy it when I hear that beauty does not mean sacrifice of the insects we all need for a better world.
@zanewalsh18124 ай бұрын
AND... If you are lucky enough to have some land it's important to grow your own food as well 🌎🌏🌍🕊️ For all of us 🙏🏼💖
@jesswatt58244 ай бұрын
I killed about 2,000sqft of my lawn 3 years ago and planted a ton of natives, they should be looking amazing this year I can't wait to see it progress into the summer. I had a surprise trillium come up this spring and I about died. On another note- I need to know where she got her top.
@Antarctica20252 ай бұрын
I love Bklyn Bridge Park and just visited it for the first time this past spring and got a life bird, the Swainson’s Warbler! Yes, this is a siren song for nature. We all must become ecologically responsible!
@rich-ard-style69964 ай бұрын
Thank you for this beautiful speech. I had one year SEVEN different Butterflies in my garden, bc I do not spray, a lot of different pollinators too. Instead if buying herbs planting themselves in your garden helps insects and a bird bath (keep it clean) ❗️
@Steve1972014 ай бұрын
Thank God there are people like this lady informing people of the importance of allowing nature to thrive! Our obsession with controllong nature is killing other species, and eventually, ourselves. Like she said, we have to change our perception of natural beauty. Leave the leaves. Stop mowing your lawn, or at least mow it taller. And we need to federally ban all pesticides and chemical fertilizers!
@sjohnson66074 ай бұрын
Gardening is a long game ... yes!
@EmberCrow3 ай бұрын
I love everything you’ve said here! As a landscaper, I cry at the things people want me to do that go against the flow of nature. I’m aiming business towards green consciousness and a focus on pollinators. People want me to mulch leaves immediately during “false spring” here in Kentucky and I’ve started letting them know that moth eggs and bees could be using the leaves well into May so let’s wait! If they’re not into it, they can find another gardener because I’m not it.
@robertfallows10544 ай бұрын
It is amazing!! I sowed wildflowers in a corner of my garden. They replaced Japanese yews. What a difference
@robinbrown35232 ай бұрын
I have no grass and have put in raised beds for calendulas, chickweed, dandelions, feverfew and nettle for medicine. Larkspur, red poppies, 4 types of clover, ranunculus, azaleas, roses, bearded iris, geraniums, potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, rosemary, oregano, thyme, marjoram, watermelon, 5 different types of beans, eggplants, peppers and zucchini. All this on a city lot that is less than 5,000 square feet, over half of which is house, garage and driveway. The only thing I spray is BT on the peppers and eggplants because the cabbage loopers don’t have an off switch. This year (Y5 of my adventure) I’ve found brown fence lizards, mantids, green lacewings and lady bugs. I’m over-the-moon happy as I sit and have my morning coffee in my little Eden. Thank you for spreading the word!
@techwithdipufrom0ton6214 ай бұрын
❤ this talk. I see the saver of biodiversity has descended to this beautiful lady, Rebecca McMackin, to recover the biodiversity. Let's join the saver to save the biodiversity. I'm already in
@chezraks4 ай бұрын
This reminds me of the book Secret Garden. Love that book!
@homa.healing4 ай бұрын
"They're literally called leaves, we should leave them." Best quote ever
@voiceinthenoise33573 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for this. It literally mentions every critical, mind-opening point I try to make to people. I will share it repeatedly. I have planted native plants in my garden, left the stems etc. and let it go a bit "untidy". And now I'm seeing insects (including multiple types of ladybirds) I've never seen before.
@cattuslavandula4 ай бұрын
This is an excellent TED. Ms McMackin is an interesting and informative speaker.
@BluishGnome3 ай бұрын
I love this gardening mentality. My biggest issue as someone in NYC without a car is sourcing these beneficial flowers and plants for my balcony garden. Home Depot definitely doesn’t stock Columbines or Pearly Everlasting. Would love both, though…
@TooDaft4 ай бұрын
All of my neighbors spray 2-3 times a year and I constantly get solicitors asking and they try to sell me on it being "natural" as they wipe out all the beneficial insects - throwing off the balance of the entire ecosystem.
@hemanthk40754 ай бұрын
Gardening has many perspectives thanks for showing good version of it❤
@butterflyj6854 ай бұрын
There are many asking where to get started and what books to read about integrative and regenerative practices. There are lots of books written by those practice integrative and regenerative practices. Here are several: Bill Mollison the founder of Permaculture, "Permaculture the Designers Manual", David Holgrem, "Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability", "Essence of Permaculture", Toby Hemingway, "Gaia's Garden", Eric Toensmeier, author of The Carbon Farming Solution, Perennial Vegetables, Paradise Lot and Edible Forest Gardens, Aryana, "A Permaculture Design, A Step by Step Guide", Amélie des Plantes, "Think like an Ecosystem", Sepp Holzer, "A Practical Guide to Small Scale Integrative Farming and Gardening". I have almost all these books. Geoff Lawton has many videos on KZbin and teach courses on where he discusses integrative and regenerative practices. There are many more great books and videos out there that discuss integrative & regenerative practices. Good luck!
@TrinketTheDragonsHoarde4 ай бұрын
Have you read Doug Tallamy's books as well as what you've already listed above? Such as "Bringing Nature Home" and "Homegrown National Park"?
@butterflyj6854 ай бұрын
@@TrinketTheDragonsHoarde No I haven't.
@oarsteed3 ай бұрын
Much to the displeasure of my neighbors, I call their giant yards "green deserts." A few years ago, every 3-acre lot was covered with mature hardwoods and lush understory. Then our new neighbors clear-cut the trees to erect McMansions. Now the diminished population of wildlife crosses those grassy yards, garnished with sculpted ornamentals, never once pausing, to forage in ours.
@SouthernYankee5 ай бұрын
Organic Gardner here to encourage my little flying friends even though the moles and voles and squirrels keep eating bulbs and digging stuff up. I also do no dig gardens to not disturb the earth but add to it, it gives us so much we should be giving back!
@stephaniepartridge99262 ай бұрын
Try putting cactus grit around. I have done it on top of my pots because squirrels were digging. They have stopped. The product also helps retain moisture.
@jalapenopapper4 ай бұрын
Sooo good, thank you!! I'm trying to turn my back yard into an area rug this year. 👩🏽🌾 ❤✌🏽
@richarddobson43823 ай бұрын
Where I live in Peru, the town hall periodically sprays insecticides going from house to house and garden to garden, to kill mosquitos which can carry dengue (along with other insects I assume, like butterflies and bees). I always refuse to let them spray. I have bats and birds and frogs that naturally help to control insects.