The beauty of nature in a new light
People’s perceptions of beauty change over time. How can we evolve our concept of beauty to be more sustainable?
People’s perceptions of beauty change over time. It’s not just about fleeting fashion trends. Nature and greenery have always been and continue to be seen as beautiful across different cultures and times. Over the years, garden design ideals have varied: sometimes the structured elegance of a baroque garden has been favored, while at other times, the “wildness” of an English garden has captured people’s hearts.
It is a widely held ideal that an appealing environment is one carefully tended by human hands. For instance, a neatly robot-mowed lawn might be considered a calming sight to behold out of the living room window. However, when looking for a pleasant spot in the garden for an outdoor table or a picnic, we tend to gravitate toward the shade of a tree, a pergola, or another sheltered area with lush vegetation.
When I visited the gardens of Versailles a couple of years ago, I was shocked to see how climate change has already impacted this magnificent cultural heritage. Many of the meticulously trimmed shrubs in the vast classical gardens were visibly suffering from drought. The topiary plants simply cannot withstand the hot, dry summers. The concept of sustainability—or the lack thereof—became strikingly tangible.
So, the question arises: how can we create a more diverse human footprint in urban greenery. How can we evolve our concept of beauty to be more sustainable?
Residents with an overgrown yard might actually be promoting biodiversity
Can greenery which is not carefully tended start to appear beautiful to us as our appreciation for biodiversity grows? Will a perfectly maintained golf course seem bleak when we understand how impoverished an ecosystem it is?
Even patches of greenery and individual urban trees play a role in combating biodiversity loss. With this realization, I’ve started noticing opportunities to add more green spaces in my own neighborhood. Roadsides and traffic islands where wildflowers and shrubs could grow. Stony, gray streets where I would like to see a row of trees. Playgrounds and parking lots where trees could provide shelter from the sun. If a neighbor’s garden is overgrown, perhaps it’s not due to neglect but rather a desire to increase biodiversity. Also, could it be that a part of the lawn in an urban park has intentionally been left unmowed.
Of course, well-maintained urban parks are still valuable, if only to preserve cultural heritage. The park at Lahti City Hall is our “Versailles.” Mowed lawns are also necessary—on sports fields and popular picnic spots like Pikku-Vesijärvi Park. However, maybe in many other areas we could embrace more natural greenery. Just think of the surroundings of the Loviisanpässi walking and cycling path; how wonderfully lush and inviting it is, thanks to the vegetation running wild on its verges!
