Book review: The gravel must go

When we first heard the book title, we immediately piqued our interest. Our motto, "For more green in the gray," means exactly that: The gravel must go! This damned, stupid, barren, gray gravel must disappear from the city! To our great regret, more and more front gardens are turning into dead, stone deserts. Why? Because people are lazy and want things to be easy to maintain. But what many people don't realize is that this convenience is poison for biodiversity - and it doesn't make for any less work. Don't believe us? Well, then let's take a look at the new book " The gravel must go !" from Eugen Ulmer Publishing and find out how we should design our front gardens in the future. One thing is certain: They have to be green and wild!

It is always nice,

to hold a new book in your hands. There's the excitement of what to expect, the anticipation of new discoveries and, of course, the anticipation of finally turning the first page. We admit: with this book, number 1 - the excitement - isn't quite as pronounced. That's simply because the cover already makes it pretty clear what it's about. It's about front garden design, or more precisely: rock gardens. And the book clearly speaks out against it. The title says it all. " The gravel must go! " is a demand with a bold exclamation mark, a cry for more green amidst the gray. OK! Good! We're in, are you?

In three chapters

The book can be roughly divided into the following sections. After a foreword by the author, he delves into the topic. But "What is it actually about?" It concerns urban development and the growing trend towards rock gardens. Tjards Wendebourg calls these "gardens of horror" and quickly makes his point clear. He expresses his criticism clearly in a humorous way and attempts to find answers to the pressing question "How, how, what for?" In the main part of the book, Wendebourg dispels the misconception that rock gardens are easier to maintain. "Why it's nonsense to throw stones into the garden" provides logical arguments against graveling.

No plants, no flowers, no food...that means no life.

Yes, there's also a hint of accusation in Wendebourg's educational work here. Not in a "finger-wagging" way, but in a way that's understandable. After all, it's about biodiversity. In Part 3, Wendebourg offers guidance on how to do things better, thus answering the question: "If not this way, then how?" Yes, there's another way. If you take nature as a model, he says.

Important topic, compactly packaged

Wendebourg achieves this with this work. The book is rather small in A5 format and, with its 96 pages, also rather short. But that doesn't detract from the content in any way. Wendebourg crisply explains everything important on the topic. And this book is important reading not only for homeowners in the city. The content is actually aimed at anyone who has some kind of free space at their disposal. Be it in front of the house, behind the house, or even on top of the house, for that matter ;-) The (re)design of small areas into colorful oases is becoming increasingly vital for insects. Displaced from the countryside by monocultures, colorful front gardens can be a last refuge and become vital! After all, what insect can survive in a rock garden? Woodlice, perhaps... but that's about it!

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