Landscape Design and Laudato Si': Selective Maintenance

Graham Hogg, licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

"12. What is more, Saint Francis, faithful to Scripture, invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness. 'Through the greatness and the beauty of creatures one comes to know by analogy their maker' (Wis 13:5); indeed, 'his eternal power and divinity have been made known through his works since the creation of the world' (Rom 1:20). For this reason, Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty[21]. Rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise."

This paragraph from His Holiness Pope Francis’s most recent encyclical references the idea of intentionally selective maintenance regimes that can be incorporated into landscape plans: “Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched.” Leaving an unmanicured or selectively maintained patch of open lawn or edge habitat that contains native plants, as small as 4 feet by 4 feet, can help everyday landscapes serve as vital stepping stones between habitat patches for various species endemic to an area [1].

The landscapes around the built environment are where the commingling of wild elements of the environment with the planned environment inevitably occurs. “Messy aesthetics” may be a concern about implementing Saint Francis’s wild little patch. However, we can assess space to determine how to integrate such patches in ways that enhance the natural beauty of the landscape, rather than leaving it with a seemingly ignored appearance. The design of landscapes is a cocreative act between the designer and the Creator; human design, living Creation, and the abiotic environment all come together to create a landscape. The wild and the meticulously planned elements of a space should be capable of working together to make designs that function for the people who encounter the site and the species that depend on the what is in the site. A well-placed selective-maintenance patch of native plants can do just that, by aesthetically and ecologically enhancing a site.


Molly Burhans
goodlandproject.org

Sources:
[1] Batchelder, Burhans, and White. Portland Pollinator Vision Plan. Conway, MA: Conway School of Landscape Design. 2015. Print.