{"id":10109,"date":"2020-01-28T02:28:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T16:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardens.theownerbuildernetwork.co\/?p=10109"},"modified":"2025-10-30T21:17:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T11:17:49","slug":"slow-gardening-learn-a-rock-n-roll-approach-to-green-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/2020\/01\/28\/slow-gardening-learn-a-rock-n-roll-approach-to-green-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow Gardening: Learn a Rock n\u2019 Roll Approach to Green Living"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Slow
Slow Gardening calls for gardeners to relax, take their time, and follow nature\u2019s flow and rhythm, instead of doing everything at once. (Photo: Natalie Maynor) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Slow Gardening\nis not what you might think it is. The principle takes its name and inspiration\nfrom the Slow Food movement, whose adherents believe in using local ingredients\nharvested in an environmentally responsible way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This more\nmindful way of gardening was started by American horticulturist, Felder\nRushing, who says he didn\u2019t coin the term, but that he \u201cappropriated\u201d it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply put, the doctrine calls for gardeners to relax, take their time, and follow nature\u2019s flow and rhythm, instead of doing everything at once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Basics of Slow Gardening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Diving into the dirt full-swing is an urge that\u2019s widespread in early spring when people rush outdoors and plant to affirm that winter is over. Rushing says all that haste is unnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m\nsitting out in the sun like a fat old lizard,\u201d the 66-year old Southerner once\ntold the New York Times, \u201cand they\u2019re sweating and huffing and puffing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is immediately apparent about the Rushing\u2019s approach is that there are no set rules, no overwhelming must-do checklists, no hurry to do anything, really. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He happily accepts a little disorder in his garden and is content to let nature get its rowdy way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is, however, a clear and deliberate method to the seeming chaos, and some useful ideas around how to embrace the Slow Gardening experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Horticulturist
Horticulturist Felder Rushing (above) happily accepts a little disorder in his garden and is content to let nature get its rowdy way.
(Screen Capture from Cornell SIPS\/Youtube) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. Start modestly and choose plants that are easy to grow.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rushing believes\nin starting small, with a pot or two. \u201cBuild up to your level of comfort as\nyour expertise grows,\u201d he says. \u201cDon\u2019t start out with a big area and a tiller\nlike a farmer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose\nplants that produce for a long time or reseed themselves. The wild, leafy mix\nof shrubs, trees, and flowers Rushing maintains around his cottage in Jackson, Mississippi,\nis obviously a fantastic example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rushing\nsays lettuce is a good starter plant. \u201cI grew some in a hanging basket last\nyear,\u201d he says. \u201cAll it took was a squirt of vinaigrette, and I didn\u2019t even\nhave to bend over to eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Choose
Choose plants that produce for a long time or reseed themselves.
(Photo: Natalie Maynor\/Flickr) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Go with your instincts.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While it\nmay be hard to resist what\u2019s trending, study your climate and garden space and make\nyour own thoughtful choices. Follow your instincts as opposed to set gardening rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every\ngarden is different, after all. Design styles and rules that apply to one\ngarden don\u2019t necessarily apply to yours. What your neighbor plants, how much\nthey water, how many hours they spend on maintenance is not your set of\nguidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey say\nyou\u2019re supposed to water your grass once a week,\u201d Rushing says. \u201cThe truth is\nyou don\u2019t have to do that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Follow
Follow your instincts as opposed to set gardening rules. (Photo: Natalie Maynor\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Grow what you need.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rushing eschews the consumer habit of going to a store to buy food you can grow yourself.  \u201cBasically, it\u2019s instant gratification stuff,\u201d he says, citing as an example \u201cgoing to the grocery store for basil<\/a> when you can grow it in the back of your pickup truck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are common-sense limits. While Rushing and his wife, Terryl, enjoy growing vegetables like peppers and lettuce in pots, you will not find potatoes in their garden. That is because going to the grocery store to buy potatoes entails less work and is more cost-effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rushing
Rushing eschews the consumer habit of going to a store to buy food you can grow yourself.  (Photo: Felder Rushing\/felderrushing.net)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Always reduce, reuse, and recycle.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rushing is a big believer in reducing, reusing, recycling for slow gardening. His yard d\u00e9cor might strike an uninitiated visitor as an aimless jumble of salvaged materials and junk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several bottle trees – one is made of Bud Light bottles – and rusty beams stuck in the ground. He grew his rosebushes from flowers he found in a cemetery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The principle of slow gardening, leisurely, creative thrift does not end there. It is everywhere in Rushing\u2019s garden \u2013 like a pervading spirit and atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bearded, bespectacled horticulturist turns old tires into planters, paint buckets into pots, and saves money on fertilizer by composting. But he doesn\u2019t adhere to the complex composting science put forth in books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain, there is no race for compost – a slow gardening leaf pile, once started, can be a continuous source of compost with only occasional replenishing of fresh materials,\u201d he writes in a blog post<\/a>. \u201cIn fact, the best rule for composting is simply to forget the rules, and just do it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rushing
Rushing is a big believer in reducing, reusing, and recycling. His yard d\u00e9cor might strike an uninitiated visitor as an aimless jumble of salvaged materials and junk.
(Photo: Natalie Maynor\/Flickr) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Garden unplugged.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rushing\u2019s \u201ccheapskate gardening\u201d \/slow gardening techniques are intended to help hobbyists surmount what could be prohibitive costs. That means he does not use gas-powered blowers and mowers. Instead, he uses simple tools like brooms and hand mowers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rushing
Rushing does not use gas-powered blowers and mowers. Instead, he uses simple tools like brooms and hand mowers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finding Satisfaction in Slow Gardening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the\nend, Slow Gardening is just about enjoying your garden. \u201cThe freedom of growing\nwhat you like, where you like, and how you like, has great rewards for those\nwho want to get the most out of their landscape,\u201d says Rushing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quintessential Slow Gardening believes any landscape can include an area where you can plant \u2018every which way\u2019 and enjoy using all your senses. If you lack outdoor space, you can grow herbs and flowers in a sunny window. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may\nnot seem like much, but it should be good enough. \u201cThat\u2019s all it takes to get\nthat feeling of connection to the land,\u201d says Rushing. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With countless followers and a relaxed approach to gardening, American horticulturist Felder Rushing is changing the way people garden. You’ll enjoy learning a thing or two from his carefree approach to green living! (Photo: Natalie Maynor\/Flickr) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13557,"featured_media":10110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Discover Felder Rushing's laid-back rock n' roll gardening secrets that make green living effortless. Transform your garden with less work, more joy!","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"Slow Gardening","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sma_last_campaign_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,19,180,99,182],"tags":[18,263,209,50,37,262,81],"class_list":["post-10109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colourful-gardens","category-compost-and-soils","category-gardening-with-nature","category-lawn-care","category-tips-and-tricks","tag-compost","tag-felder-rushing","tag-gardening-tips","tag-gardens","tag-recycled","tag-slow-gardening","tag-vegetable-gardening"],"modified_by":"Freddie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13557"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/gardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}