{"id":178,"date":"2018-06-09T17:58:15","date_gmt":"2018-06-09T16:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/?p=178"},"modified":"2021-04-21T16:54:34","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T15:54:34","slug":"obsessive-tidiness-disorder-or-how-we-can-learn-to-stop-worrying-and-love-natures-messiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/2018\/06\/09\/obsessive-tidiness-disorder-or-how-we-can-learn-to-stop-worrying-and-love-natures-messiness\/","title":{"rendered":"Obsessive Tidiness Disorder or: How we can learn to stop worrying and love nature\u2019s messiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why do we do it? It consumes countless hours of our lives. It must cost millions. Every hedge neatly trimmed, every verge carefully mown, every \u2018weed\u2019 meticulously eradicated. Obsessive Tidiness Disorder (OTD) is everywhere – and it\u2019s choking our wildlife.<\/p>\n

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Weapons of mess destruction.
Images: Alamy(RF); cjp\/Shutterstock (RF); Peter Broster\/Flickr (CC 2.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong, tidiness can be important. No-one likes to see litter. Long grass can impede visibility at some junctions. Dense vegetation can make urban parks unsafe.<\/p>\n

But what I\u2019m talking about is different. It is excessive. It is pointless. It amounts to the relentless sterilisation of precious habitats.<\/p>\n

Wildflower patches annihilated with herbicide, autumn leaves purged from lawns, hedges battered into perfect squares, rotting trunks exiled from forests. The examples are endless.<\/p>\n

Gardens, farms, parks, verges, canals, woodland, wasteland. Nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n

Why are we so hell-bent on tidying our flora and fauna out of existence? What can explain this ubiquitous disorder? The first clue can be found close to home…<\/p>\n

What would the neighbours think?<\/h6>\n

We\u2019re a nation of gardeners. The garden is nothing but an extension of our home and the average Brit spends 114 hours a year<\/a> getting it \u2018just so\u2019.<\/p>\n

All this toil usually results in a manicured green desert. For me these feel unexciting and forlorn. Yet, messy gardens effortlessly have depth: the understated beauty of flowering \u201cweeds\u201d, a clumsy bumblebee nectaring, the bush crickets\u2019 chorus in the long grass.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just me. There\u2019s evidence to suggest higher levels of biodiversity improve our wellbeing<\/a> and diverse gardens can be more aesthetically pleasing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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I know which I\u2019d rather spend an afternoon in.
Images: Jean Cuomo\/Shutterstock (RF); Tejvan Pettinger\/Flickr (CC 2.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Embracing nature means less work, more wildlife and a more interesting garden. So why don\u2019t more people do it? I think the neighbours may have something to answer for.<\/p>\n

Gardens mediate many of our interactions with the people living around us. We chat over the fence and our children play together on the lawn. But this proximity can generate conflict. Disagreements over shrubberies have even been known<\/a> to result in death-threats. Perhaps it\u2019s hardly surprising we are willing to sacrifice our ideals for amicable neighbourly relations.<\/p>\n

Even without any prior quarrels, we all have some perceptions of neighbourhood norms.<\/p>\n

Fundamentally, the garden is a very public display. We maintain it, just as we tidy the house before visitors stay. Messiness is a trait we are reluctant to put on show.<\/p>\n

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Gardens: Britain’s largest nature reserve?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An uncut lawn can be misinterpreted as laziness or neglect. We worry others will think we don\u2019t care about where we live, or are struggling to keep on top of daily tasks.<\/p>\n

This can be a major barrier<\/a> to the adoption of wildlife-friendly gardening.<\/p>\n

Public areas can be subjected to the very same neighbourly pressures and tend to get managed with the same enthusiasm for neatness. Green spaces teeming with wildlife can be the most beneficial<\/a> to our wellbeing. Yet, urban planners continue to opt for neat parks, citing \u201cpublic demand\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t just stop at places for recreation. Local authorities are often under pressure to keep all grassy areas short. Come summer, and the local rags are filled with residents looking angrily<\/a> into long vegetation or taking it upon themselves<\/a> to make their street look \u201crespectable\u201d.<\/p>\n

Together, these tidy gardens and immaculate green spaces make up a significant portion of the country. But this is dwarfed by farmland, which covers around 70% of the UK.<\/p>\n

The sterilisation of the countryside<\/h6>\n

Shifts in agricultural policy after the Second World War dramatically changed the face<\/a> of the British countryside. Small family farms gradually gave way to industrial agribusiness. As fields got larger, the space available for wildlife diminished. The length of hedgerow destroyed over the last century could wrap around the planet ten times.<\/p>\n

Engine-powered machinery, artificial fertilisers and herbicides became commonplace. This squeezed higher yields out of the land to produce vast amounts of – often surplus \u2013 food.<\/p>\n

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A casualty of tidy agriculture: the bright-blue cornflower used to be common. Image: Veronika Seppanen\/Shutterstock (RF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, agriculture is complex. Farmers run a business. Space is valuable. And \u2018messy nature\u2019 can harbour ravenous leaf beetles and thuggish grasses, ready to eat into profits.<\/p>\n

But tight margins aren\u2019t solely to blame. The simple reason cited by<\/a> a third of farmers for uprooting hedgerows? \u201cTidiness\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tidiness symbolises control over the landscape. This closely aligns with the productionist values farmers have traditionally held. Boundless subsidies affirmed the idea that food production is sacrosanct; some farmers<\/a> use words like \u201cderelict\u201d and \u201cwasted\u201d to describe uncultivated areas.<\/p>\n

These ideologies may seem outdated but they are entrenched in social norms<\/a> of what \u2018good farming\u2019 looks like. Most farmers take great pride in their role as custodians. For them, stewardship is about actively making the landscape look cared for.<\/p>\n

Tidiness has simply become the sign of a good farmer. Someone who\u2019s on top of things and knows what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Overgrown hedges? The hallmark of laziness. Idle fields? A wasted opportunity. Flower-rich field margins? Sheer incompetence.<\/p>\n

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: farmers\u2019 specialist knowledge means they perceive landscapes differently. Unannotated image: Shaun Wilkinson\/Shutterstock (RF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
From the done thing to the right thing<\/h6>\n

Laziness, neglect, ineptitude – the things we associate with untidiness are almost universally negative. It\u2019s no wonder we\u2019re all so concerned about the appearance of our land.<\/p>\n

How did this pervasive social norm come to be? Well, it may have been to avoid deadly wildlife and diseases. But I don\u2019t think its origins really matter. These justifications are no longer relevant. It continues mostly because it\u2019s the done thing.<\/p>\n

This universal expectation of tidiness has been aided and abetted by increasingly powerful machinery to mow, trim, strim, saw, blow and flail. The casual destruction of habitats has never been so easy.<\/p>\n

As wildlife gets pushed out, we contract shifting baseline syndrome<\/a>. We forget just how messy, complex and alive the countryside used to be. Sterile landscapes become the norm, as each generation strives for increasingly immaculate surroundings.<\/p>\n

So what can be done to make ecologically healthy areas more socially acceptable? According to Joan Nassauer\u2019s influential essay<\/a>, \u2018cues to care\u2019 are the key. These are intentional features that help prevent \u2018messiness\u2019 being misinterpreted as a lack of care. Parts of the lawn kept short, showy flowerbeds, freshly-painted fences, bold patterns and clean edges – anything that shows the owner is in control.<\/p>\n

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Small touches can make places look cared for and help make benign neglect more palatable. Image: Joe Gough\/Shutterstock (RF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This approach is most worthwhile in communal areas. If a council stop mowing verges close to homes, there\u2019s often an outcry. Locals feel like their community is being neglected. \u2018Cues to care\u2019 can help avoid this.<\/p>\n

But I think we need to go further.<\/p>\n

The norms are so insidious. Pressure to conform makes gardening a burden, not a pleasure. Failure to conform makes people ashamed of their own garden. And most fundamentally, these conventions spawn an aversion to \u2018ordinary nature\u2019.<\/p>\n

Where it causes no harm, why can\u2019t unkempt nature be the norm?<\/p>\n

Making messiness mainstream<\/h6>\n

If we want to save our wildlife, we must learn to love nature in all its messy glory. Of course some people already do. Throughout the country there are farmers and gardeners doing their bit and embracing nature. Going against the grain often takes courage so this deserves praise.<\/p>\n

For a laissez-faire approach to become widely adopted, people will need to stop seeing wildlife as a blot on the landscape.<\/p>\n

This needs education. A little bit of ecological understanding goes a long way. It confers an appreciation of complexity. It lets us see nature through a new lens. A patch of obnoxious nettles metamorphoses into a vital nursery for butterflies, that tenacious yellow weed is transformed into an indispensable fount of nectar for bees, an overgrown eyesore becomes the saviour of foraging birds.<\/p>\n

Levels of ecological illiteracy may be high, but I firmly believe most people do care about our wildlife. A bit of guidance and encouragement is all that\u2019s needed to turn this concern into positive action.<\/p>\n

One promising stimulus is the plight of pollinators (every cloud, eh?). This has become firmly lodged in <\/a>public consciousness, which appears to have boosted the acceptability<\/a> of \u2018messy\u2019 flower meadows. Admittedly, flowers are the easy bit (pollinators are a diverse bunch that also require nesting sites, dense vegetation and larval foodplants). Happily, there\u2019s evidence<\/a> people in urban areas can also tolerate drab and messy patches if they are made aware of their biodiversity value.<\/p>\n

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Concerns about bee declines mean scruffy habitat may have become more acceptable in urban areas. Street art by Louis Masai in Shoreditch. Image: sheilabythesea\/Flickr (CC 2.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Fields of dreams<\/h6>\n

Tidiness may be everywhere we look, but our wildlife clings on. We can all do something to help.<\/p>\n

If you preside over outdoor space – no matter how big or small – you can make a difference. What\u2019s more, you can do so simply by sitting back and letting nature flourish.<\/p>\n

At first, it may be baby steps. Letting a small corner of garden run completely wild, or giving the mower a break while the clovers are in flower. And then if you have the time, go wild. Add native plants, dig a pond, or create a dead wood pile.<\/p>\n

Build it \u2013 and they will come.<\/p>\n

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The humble hedgehog is one garden visitor that prefers things on the messy side. Image: Coatesy\/Shutterstock (RF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And of course, the wildlife won\u2019t be the only thing to benefit. I found converting part of my lawn into a wildflower meadow<\/a> immensely rewarding. Within a year the patch was abuzz with bees. Come autumn, the garden was filled with the tinkling songs of goldfinches, feeding on the seedheads.<\/p>\n

The next step is to spread the word. Be sure to tell neighbours, family and friends about how you\u2019re sharing your garden with nature. Although, don\u2019t merely defend it \u2013 be proud of it! Enthusiasm is infectious.<\/p>\n

Contact those in charge of public places you use \u2013 parks, hospital grounds, road verges, railway stations, etc. Their management probably reflects the assumed preference of public, or complaints from a vocal minority. Let them know you\u2019d appreciate more alive green spaces.<\/p>\n

There are some reasons to be optimistic. A garden which included buttercup meadows and native woodland<\/a> recently won the public vote at the world\u2019s most influential gardening event, the Chelsea Flower Show. So okay, this may be ordered untidiness, but it\u2019s a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

Perhaps gardening fashions are changing. If enough people release their gardens from the tyranny of tidiness, we\u2019ll forget why we do it. We\u2019ll see just how inefficient, unnecessary and detrimental obsessive tidiness is. Our wildlife would certainly be better off \u2013 and we\u2019d be all the richer for it too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why do we do it? It consumes countless hours of our lives. It must cost millions. Every hedge neatly trimmed, every verge carefully mown, every \u2018weed\u2019 meticulously eradicated. Obsessive Tidiness Disorder (OTD) is everywhere – and it\u2019s choking our wildlife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[11,20,21,22],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.douglasboyes.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}