Green Perspectives: Tom Christopher on Sustainable Gardening

My Story
Like most gardeners I know, I learned the basics from my mother; her passion was the garden she cultivated in a backyard overlooking the Hudson River in Upper Nyack, New York. Her passion was infectious. And so, after completing a four-year degree in Latin and Greek literature and history, I realized that what I wanted more than anything else was to get my hands back into the soil. Despite my lack of experience, sympathetic administrators allowed me to enroll in The New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture.

In those days, the NYBG gardeners were mostly Italian immigrants or the children of Italian immigrants from the nearby Bronx neighborhoods. They told me in the kindest possible way that they couldn’t believe anyone as dumb as me had graduated from college. (I remember the day I asked one of them why the guy in the local espresso bar wouldn’t accept my tip. The gardener guffawed, then told me I had just tried to bestow a couple of quarters on the neighborhood bookie.)

Two years in the Bronx cured me of my naivete. It also taught me a deep respect for the craftsmanship of my mentors. The NYBG library was also a great resource. I spent night after night there, reading books one after the other as I found them in the stacks. (Did you know that the best guide to hard-cider making is a short reach away from The True History of Chocolate and a manual for producing methane from manure for small dairy farm owners? Makes you think).

After finishing the two-year program at NYBG, I went to work for Columbia University, restoring the gardens and landscapes of an old estate that the university maintains as a geological observatory. I also began submitting articles to newspapers and magazines to share what I was learning. When I developed a compressed disk in my lower back, my orthopedist (Dr. David Andrews, a great gardener and a benefactor of the NYBG library) looked at the X-rays and issued a simple prescription: Spend less time digging and more time typing. Since then, I’ve served as a garden columnist for Horticulture and House & Garden magazine and as a contributing editor at Martha Stewart Living. I’ve also contributed occasional articles to The New York Times, most recently a story about the effects of global climate change on weeds.

My wife, Suzanne O’Connell, is a geologist who studies long-term climate change, so I’ve been hearing for years about the impact of human activities on global climate and our need to develop a more sustainable lifestyle. We try to practice what we preach. We built our cottage in the Berkshires (which we hope to turn into our principal residence as soon as our work permits) largely from locally harvested wood. (I helped to cut and mill the cherry trees from which we made the flooring and trim; the structure itself is a timber-frame handcrafted from local white pines). The stone countertops came from a small quarry down the road, and our principal heat source is a geothermal system that draws warmth from the soil to keep the house warm through the winter. I’m planning a garden composed entirely of indigenous plants and stone collected on site.

One of the most exciting aspects of our pursuit of sustainability is that it’s a learning experience for all of us. We are made to rethink the ways we have always done things. This will lead, I believe, not only to a reduction of our landscapes’ environmental costs but also to exciting new styles of garden design. I’m hoping you will join me in making this happen, and that we can enjoy the fruits of this revolution together.