Thursday, March 28, 2024

Help preserve our planet, one landscape at a time

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GARDEN PATCH

Phyllis Webster earned a degree in journalism before embarking on a long career in public relations and marketing. A Granbury resident since 1998, she has been deeply involved in the community. She is an award-winning writer and photographer, as well as a Master Gardener. She has authored Garden Patch since 2001.

 

The news is filled with stories about climate change — rising oceans, dying coral reefs, burning rainforests and melting glaciers. It’s overwhelming. And it’s depressing. No one likes change, especially at this level, but ignoring meteorological conditions will not make them go away. And letting them become fodder for political debate accomplishes even less.

In 2022, let’s aim to save the planet one landscape at a time. No matter the cause of erratic weather patterns, we must adapt. First, we can adopt practices that cause less environmental harm. And second, we must learn how best to survive the effects.

Plants are a critical resource because they support life on Earth by releasing oxygen into the atmosphere through photosynthesis, absorbing carbon dioxide, providing habitat and food for wildlife and humans, etc. Terrestrial and oceanic plants provide the air that we breathe. These plants are also “carbon sinks” because of their ability to absorb carbon dioxide in the air. In Texas, grasslands, forests, wetlands and coastal ecosystems act as natural sinks.

About 10 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere is released by plants. Plants uptake water through their roots and release water through small pores on the underside of their leaves. Through this transpiration process, plants circulate water from the soil back into the atmosphere, forming clouds and then producing rain. Plants also stabilize soil and water bodies, helping to keep their ecosystems intact.

Adding plants to our home landscapes can therefore play a role in protecting the planet. However, the choice of plants and how we maintain them seriously affects the environment. Native plants support native wildlife, require less care in the form of fertilizer and pesticides and generally need less water when well established.

Growing your own fruit and vegetables means you will make fewer trips to the supermarket. Adding trees and large shrubs creates shade, which helps to cool homes. And cultivating native grasses, wildflowers and perennials supports pollinators, which are critical to successfully growing food crops.

Minimizing lawns reduces emissions from mowers and cuts water and chemical use. Maintaining efficient irrigation systems also saves water. Drip irrigation is ideal, since it minimizes atmospheric loss and keeps moisture where it is needed — at root level.

Other practices with a positive environmental affect include creating rain gardens to redirect and store stormwater runoff, harvesting rainwater, using compost piles to recycle food and garden waste, installing green roofs and repurposing lawn clippings and fallen leaves into natural mulch and fertilizer.

For answers to your horticulture questions, please call the Texas AgriLife Extension, Hood County at 817-579-3280 or go online to visit lakegranburymastergardeners.org.

pwebsterco@gmail.com | 817-680-4849