Grace Cachia
Interview with Alisha Tummons of AT Garden Spaces
Still questioning the benefits of sustainable gardening? Or not sure how to get started? Let’s hear from some landscaping professionals.
AT Garden Spaces are an organisation formed by Alisha Tummons and Tarnia Hester, that construct ‘intuitive landscapes coexisting with nature’. Speaking to Alisha, it became very clear that their company comes from a place of wanting to interact with nature and expand on what mother nature creates. Alisha and Tarnia both describe it as bringing back childhood memories of camping and time in the bush.
Sustainable gardening not only helps the environment through ecosystem support but allows for you – as the nurturer – to connect with the Earth on a spiritual level of awareness. Or as Alisha describes it, “building a spiritual awareness of the symbiotic ecosystem”.
Alisha and Tarnia identify that the biggest barrier for most is the focus that individuals have on finances rather than environmental issues. However, there are many design solutions that consider the environment, and are still financially viable, we just have to be open to them. AT Garden Spaces is a perfect example of this, as they work with the natural structures that already exist in nature, rather than rebuilding everything with man-made structures.
When asked about the key elements of sustainable gardening, Alisha responded with the idea that “the aim isn’t to build a garden that is just sustainable, but to rebuild one that is regenerative”. The first step to achieving a regenerative and sustainable garden is soil health, as it is the foundation from which the greenery feeds.
The last element that I’d like to draw your attention to – as a prospective gardener – is the community aspect of gardening. While it benefits the world around us by way of the environment, it has been proven to build community relationships. Alisha describes it as bringing out “tribal instincts, helping others and reconnecting with mother nature”.