#159 / Garden Tour

Each weekday, I provide a very brief Land Use Report on KUSP Radio, as a local insert in NPR's "Morning Edition" program. Generally, I talk about land use, water, and transportation policy, with an emphasis on upcoming meetings and events that are relevant to those interested in land use.

Of course, it's my position that we all ought to be interested in land use, since how we make use of the land has a major impact on the future of our local economy, the environment, and how (or if) we achieve our social equity goals. I routinely advise listeners to let me know of important events upcoming, so I can feature them, and this is exactly how I heard about a "Native Plant Garden Tour" being sponsored by the California Native Plant Society this weekend. The Garden Tour will take place here in the Monterey Bay Region, and I think that there is still time to register if you would like to participate.

As I note on tomorrow's edition of the Land Use Report, there are some very practical and important water policy impacts associated with the use of native (as opposed to non-native) plants in our residential and commercial landscaping schemes. On a philosophical level, though, the use of "non-native" instead of "native" plants reflects our human desire to replace the World of Nature, upon which we are ultimately dependent, with a world that we create ourselves. Anyone who consistently follows these blog postings know that I think that this is a big mistake.

So, let's hear it for native plants! Take the tour. You might just like what you see.