Let your garden grow wild | Rebecca McMackin

Summary

Podcast Summary: TED Talks Daily – "Let Your Garden Grow Wild" by Rebecca McMaken

Episode Information:

• Title: Let Your Garden Grow Wild | Rebecca McMaken
• Host/Author: TED
• Release Date: May 26, 2025
• Original Talk Date: 2023

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Introduction

In this enlightening episode of TED Talks Daily, horticulturalist Rebecca McMaken delves into the transformative power of ecological gardening. Delivered at TED Women in 2023, McMaken challenges conventional gardening practices, advocating for a harmonious coexistence between human-designed landscapes and the natural ecosystem.

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The Problem with Conventional Gardens

McMaken begins by identifying a critical issue in modern gardening:

“The vast majority of gardens are ecological deserts.” (03:30)

She highlights the extensive environmental damage caused by the overuse of insecticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers—over 100 million pounds annually in the U.S. alone. This relentless pursuit of aesthetic perfection leads to a stark contradiction: gardens intended to beautify our surroundings often contribute to ecological decline.

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Benefits of Ecological Gardening

Shifting the narrative, McMaken presents a compelling vision where gardens do more than just please the eye:

“Gardens and landscapes that are absolutely gorgeous can also help the world around us.” (04:15)

She emphasizes that thoughtfully designed gardens can provide essential resources—food, water, and shelter—to various forms of wildlife, thereby fostering biodiversity. Such gardens can even aid in the conservation of species teetering on the brink of extinction.

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Case Study: Brooklyn Bridge Park

To illustrate her points, McMaken shares her experience with Brooklyn Bridge Park:

“We took these massive derelict shipping piers out over the water between Brooklyn and Manhattan and turned them into an 85-acre, post-industrial public park.” (06:10)

Initially barren concrete spaces were transformed into lush habitats that now welcome migratory birds, rare insects, and swarms of butterflies. Despite being situated in the heart of New York City, the park thrives as a sanctuary for wildlife, proving that ecological gardens can flourish even in urban settings.

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The Biodiversity Crisis

McMaken underscores the urgency of addressing the ongoing biodiversity crisis:

“We're changing the planet so quickly that plants and animals cannot keep up.” (07:45)

She references the alarming decline in insect populations—nearly half lost since her childhood—and a significant reduction in bird numbers, especially those dependent on insect prey. This crisis extends beyond human concerns, threatening entire ecosystems.

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Strategies for Gardening for Biodiversity

1. Planting Native Plants

McMaken advocates for the use of native plants, which have co-evolved with local wildlife:

“Native plants... evolved alongside of the wildlife.” (09:00)

She cites the example of the Eastern Red Columbine and the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, highlighting their mutualistic relationship. Native plants provide essential resources tailored to the needs of local fauna, ensuring the survival and prosperity of both.

2. Supporting Pollinators and Full Lifecycle

To fully support species like butterflies, McMaken emphasizes the importance of providing resources throughout their life cycles:

“When butterflies visit flowers, they're there for a quick drink of nectar. But if we want to support their full life cycle, we need to provide them with food when they are very hungry—caterpillars.” (12:30)

By planting host plants such as Pearly Everlasting, gardeners can offer vital sustenance for caterpillars, ensuring the continuation of butterfly populations.

3. Embracing Garden Pests

Contrary to traditional practices, McMaken encourages gardeners to allow certain pests to thrive, as they play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance:

“I know that it might be a shock for some of you to hear that people like me want insects eating our garden plants.” (13:45)

She shares a success story from Brooklyn Bridge Park where lady beetles, introduced to control aphid populations, became a natural pest management solution without the need for harmful sprays.

4. Changing Mowing and Lawn Practices

McMaken challenges the conventional maintenance of lawns, advocating for more natural and less manicured approaches:

“Why not get rid of your lawn or shrink it drastically? Lawns should be area rugs, not wall to wall carpet.” (14:30)

By reducing mowing frequency, leaving fallen leaves intact, and allowing seed heads to remain, gardeners can create habitats for various species, from bumblebees to songbirds.

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Changing Perceptions of Garden Beauty

A pivotal theme in McMaken's talk is the redefinition of beauty in gardening:

“Traditional gardens were often about displaying control over nature, but we no longer wear powdered wigs and hoop skirts. We don't need to be authoritarian in our garden design.” (15:10)

She illustrates this with the Rose Mallow, which, when left uncut, attracts beneficial insects and provides nesting sites for songbirds. This shift from sterile perfection to natural abundance not only enhances ecological health but also adds unique aesthetic qualities to gardens.

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Personal Stories and Outcomes

McMaken shares personal anecdotes to demonstrate the tangible benefits of ecological gardening:

“A few weeks later, we found a song sparrow nest nestled in between those uncut stems. And soon we had baby song sparrows hopping around outside of the garden.” (16:00)

These stories serve to inspire and reassure listeners that individual efforts can lead to significant positive changes in local ecosystems.

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Conclusion: Hope Through Gardening

In closing, McMaken addresses the emotional and psychological benefits of gardening amidst environmental despair:

“In these scary times, it can be so hard to know what to do and how to help. But it feels great to cultivate life with your own two hands.” (17:30)

She emphasizes that ecological gardening is a hopeful act—a way to contribute to solving major environmental issues while also enhancing personal well-being. McMaken leaves listeners with a powerful message of optimism rooted in simple, tangible actions like planting flowers.

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Final Thoughts

Rebecca McMaken's talk serves as both a call to action and a guide for transforming our outdoor spaces into thriving ecosystems. By adopting ecological gardening practices, individuals can play a pivotal role in reversing biodiversity loss, fostering resilient communities, and redefining beauty in harmony with nature.

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For more insights and to explore the full talk, visit TED.com.

Transcript

[Elise Hu]

Hey TED Talks Daily listeners, It's Elise.

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[Elise Hu]

You're listening to TED Talks Daily where we bring you new ideas and conversations to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host Elise Hu. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, spring is in full swing and that means.

[Unknown Co-host]

Gardening season is among us.

[Elise Hu]

So to celebrate spring and especially for those who like to get their hands dirty, we've got a great talk from our archives for you today. In her 2023 talk, horticulturalist Rebecca McMaken shares that there is a better way to build beautiful gardens, one that benefits the environment more. She offers her advice for building these gorgeous gardens wherever you are, and reminds us all that it's okay to let our gardens grow a little. W.

[Unknown Advertiser]

So, full disclosure, I am the nerdiest gardener you are ever going to meet. Technically, I'm an ecological horticulturalist, which is a fancy way of saying that I design and manage gardens that are extravagantly beautiful while also providing habitat for plant populations, wildlife communities, and even soil organisms. And you might wonder, isn't that what all gardeners do? Unfortunately, no. The vast majority of gardens are ecological deserts. And in fact, an incredible amount of environmental damage has been done in the name of making pretty gardens. In the US alone, we dump over 100 million pounds of insecticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers on our lawns and gardens every year. There just isn't a garden pretty enough to be worth all of that. And the reality is that it's completely unnecessary. Gardens and landscapes that are absolutely gorgeous can also help the world around us. They can provide food, water, and shelter to wildlife. Gardens can and have brought back plants and animals from the brink of extinction. There is a movement happening all over the globe. Gardeners, garden designers, landscape architects, even entire cities are finding ways to beautify our environment while making space for the animals we share this land with. I've seen biodiversity return to one of the toughest places to live on the entire planet. The middle of New York City, where I cared for, designed, and helped build public parks and gardens. At Brooklyn Bridge park, where I was director of Horticulture, we took these massive derelict shipping piers out over the water between Brooklyn and Manhattan and turned them into an 85 acre, post industrial public park. It was designed by MVVA and built out over a decade. And it's hard to imagine now, but this lush landscape was built on parched concrete. This is about as appealing to wildlife as a parking lot. And yet, just a few years after construction, we welcomed migratory birds, rare insects, and clouds of butterflies, all among millions and millions of park visitors. When people go to Brooklyn Bridge park, they're usually there to play basketball or have a picnic. They have no idea that they're walking through a monarch habitat or a firefly sanctuary. It just reads as a beautiful park with lots of butterflies and magical evenings. And if we can do that in the middle of New York City amidst all that traffic and concrete, you can do it anywhere. Indeed, we must incorporate habitat Everywhere, immediately, especially in our cities. We are facing a biodiversity crisis of catastrophic proportions. We're changing the planet so quickly that plants and animals cannot keep up. You may have heard of the insect apocalypse, and unfortunately, it is just as terrifying as it sounds. We have lost nearly half of insects on planet Earth just since I was a little kid. Now, you might not like bugs, but they are still keeping you alive. One in every three bites of food that you eat is the direct result of insect pollination. And this isn't just a problem for humanity. Where we have the data, we've lost a quarter of our birds. In North America, it's 29%. Most of these birds feed their babies exclusively on insects. So it's not just climate change that we need to solve right now. There is some existential multitasking required of us. Thank goodness that there are solutions, and many of them literally involve planting flowers. So let's talk about gardening for biodiversity, because while you might not be a gardener, I am still going to ask you to get your hands dirty. All it takes is a pot on your stoop to have a positive effect. The first thing we should all be doing are planting plants that are from the places where we're gardening. We call them native plants, and they're important because they evolved alongside of the wildlife. There. Plants and animals often form relationships and even dependencies on each other. For example, the eastern red columbine is arguably the most cheerful of our spring wildflowers. But of course, they're not blooming for us. Their red flower heralds the return of the ruby throated hummingbird, the East Coast's only hummingbird. After these tiny birds have flown thousands of miles on their migration from Central America to the Northeast, they rely on the sugary nectar of the columbine to refuel. And they have reason to believe that this flower will be waiting for them when they do. The columbine stores their nectar at the end of long spurs where only the long tongues of the hummingbird can reach it. As the bird drinks the nectar, they pollinate the flower. Both organisms are benefiting here, and in fact, the ruby throated hummingbird is the eastern red columbine's pollinator partner. The bird and the flower could not be more charming. But it's the dynamics between the two where the real magic resides. Let me explain. Birds have an extra photoreceptor that allows them to see red incredibly well. Flowers have taken advantage of this and use the color red to communicate. As the hummingbirds fly overland on their journey, a wave of red Flowers blooms to greet them. This beautiful dance of symbiosis is happening all around us among plants and animals that have evolved together for thousands, if not millions of years. In return for planting native plants, we get a front row seat to the wonders of the natural world. It's hard work, but it's the best kind. Because at the end of our efforts, not only do we get biodiversity, but we get butterflies. When butterflies visit flowers, they're there for a quick drink of nectar. But if we want to support their full life cycle, we need to provide them with food when they are very hungry. Caterpillars. Caterpillars eat leaves, but they can't just eat any leaf. They need the leaves they have evolved to digest. Monarchs and Milkweed are the most famous duo. But every butterfly and moth has a plant, or even a few that they lay their eggs on. These are their host plants. At Brooklyn Bridge Park, a while ago, I saw American lady butterflies visiting our flowers. So I looked at their host plants and found that their favorite was a tiny white flower called Pearly Everlasting. So I ordered a few, hoping that the butterflies would eventually find them. However, when I opened the box, it was like butterflies just materialized out of thin air and went straight for the Pearly Everlasting. We had to brush the butterflies off the plants just to get them in the ground. Now, I know that it might be a shock for some of you to hear that people like me want insects eating our garden plants. But even bugs we refer to as pests can be important for biodiversity. Long ago at Brooklyn Bridge park, our catalpa trees got covered in aphids. They're a common garden pest that suck the sugary liquid out of leaves. People encouraged me to spray them with pesticides, but I didn't. And the following year, we found the two spotted lady beetle on our catalpas. This was the first sighting of this ladybug in New York City in 30 years. And the thing about them is that they eat those tiny aphids that are on our catalpas. So if we had sprayed the trees, we would have harmed the ladybugs as well. Gardening is a long game. With patience, we can return balance to these systems. When we allow pests to live in our gardens, predators like ladybugs will soon move in. By building up biodiversity, pests are kept at bay. Most gardeners try to maintain these clean, sterile environments that are the exact opposite of what wildlife wants. The more we can stop being tidy, the more wildness we can bring into our gardens and landscapes, the better. Habitat we provide. Wherever possible, we should stop mowing. Why not get rid of your lawn or shrink it drastically? Lawns should be area rugs, not wall to wall carpet. Leaves that fall to the ground should be left there. They're literally called leaves. We should leave bumblebees nest in those leaves, birds will forage in them, and butterflies overwinter in them as well. Seed heads can be sculptural while feeding the birds, and old flower stems can be tucked away to allow tiny bees to nest in them. All of these practices create new looks for our gardens, but part of this work is changing our ideas of beauty. Traditional gardens were often about displaying control over nature, but we no longer wear powdered wigs and hoop skirts. We don't need to be authoritarian in our garden design. And it's not all or nothing. There's almost always space on our land where we can go a little wild. The rose mallow is this tropical looking hibiscus that grows throughout eastern North America. The stems are often cut down by gardeners in spring, but we left them up one year because we found that there were a bunch of beneficial insects that used those stems. And what we ended up with I find absolutely stunning. It might not be a look for every garden, but certainly we can find space for it, because a few weeks later, we found a song sparrow nest nestled in between those uncut stems. And soon we had baby song sparrows hopping around outside of the garden. There's a direct link between that garden practice and an actual baby bird. In these scary times, it can be so hard to know what to do and how to help. But it feels great to cultivate life with your own two hands. And there's an abundance of research now to show how beneficial gardening is for our health and even our happiness, because we all deserve to live in a healthy and thriving ecosystem. But it feels even better when we're part of those systems supporting the plants and pollinators around us, the way that they support us. Like many of you, I am at times immobilized with climate grief, thinking about the world that we're leaving for our children. But gardening honestly brings me so much hope that we can solve some very big, very serious problems, that we have the solutions already, and many of them simply involve planting flowers. Thank you so much.

[Elise Hu]

That was Rebecca McMaken at TED Women. Her talk was first published in 2023. If you're curious about Ted's curation, find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tonsika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballarezzo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.

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