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Is your garden probiotic? In other words, is it teeming with beneficial microbes that vastly outnumber pathogens and keep you healthy? Looking at your landscape from this angle, suggests British ecological gardener and designer Sid Hill, can be an easy way to boost your gut health.
Gardeners tend to have healthier microbiomes than non-gardeners, he says, since handling plants and soil and working outdoors increases our intake of the good guys, which easily enter our systems. Biodiversity in plants boosts the biodiversity of our gut flora. So, removing even just lowly moss or pulling little plants out of cracks reduces this access. Instead, as gardeners we need to make sure our landscapes invite more plant life, and one way to do this is by using materials that have bioreceptivity. It’s simpler than it sounds.
Photography courtesy of Sid Hill.
Sid is a gardener who also coaches other gardeners on how to make their spaces more effective in supporting biodiversity. His communication style is persuasive, seen to good effect on his YouTube channel and on Instagram. Growing up, Sid was home-schooled, traveling around Europe with his parents in a campervan. At age 15, he even set up his own gardening business. Sid’s style is thoughtful. He is not looking for instant fame.
Recently, we asked Sid to tell us more about how something as passive as paving or a wall can support biodiversity.
Why is it important to encourage plant life in overlooked places?
“Science is showing that our own biology is closely linked to the health and diversity of plants in the landscape. We are constantly exchanging microbes with the environments around us. When those environments are thriving with plant life, that microbial exchange helps to strengthen our personal microbiome. And diversity is key.”
What materials in a garden are bioreceptive?
“Natural stone, weathered wood, and other organic materials are bioreceptive in the sense that they have the ability to host life. Surface texture is a huge factor in whether something supports life or not (the ingredients for this are shelter, water, and nutrients). That’s why cracks in paving are so successful: those crevices provide shelter from disturbance, hold moisture, and capture organic matter, which offers nutrition for mosses and other plants to establish.”
How do you reduce the impact of paving?
“I’m an experimental gardener, always testing ideas and playing with new theories. The idea behind ‘soilcrete’ is to create a mix of roughly 5:1 garden soil to cement instead of using sand. Sand extraction has a huge environmental footprint, although, of course, cement is even more impactful. It’s very easy to use, but natural builders I’ve spoken to have since suggested using lime instead of cement. I haven’t tested that yet, so for me it’s still open for experimentation.”
How can we adjust or improve the hard landscaping we already have?
“The key is to make plant growth look intentional. Allow moss to grow in a geometric pattern through paving cracks. Lift a few paving slabs and plant herbs or ornamental grasses in those gaps. Or you can sow wildflowers into the cracks so you end up with a patio that offers bursts of flowers through the season, rather than something that feels neglected or overgrown.”
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