There are people with great passion for what they do. Some people are born with a clear vision of their path and others discover it later in life having experimented with other avenues before settling on one. Many go on to pursue their goals with great intensity and live and breathe it every day; and then there is Paul Dalton.
He not only lives horticulture, he IS horticulture. His DNA is green. If Paul Dalton could plant himself into the earth, he would.
Image: Paul Dalton.
Guerrilla Gardener
Paul is a tutor at the Garden Design Academy of Ireland (GDAI) where he is on a mission to save the planet, one guerrilla action at a time! Planting seeds and helping them grow is his world, so it is no surprise that Paul has ended up in education. As a tutor he is motivated by educating his students to do much more than just making a garden look pretty. Paul’s approach is to look at everything that goes into the ground as a tiny part of a much bigger picture.
The earth is a giant system, and every single moving part relies on another to keep it turning. The earth needs saving, and this generation of gardeners need to be enlightened. Such was the pressure to be modern and convenient that less than 50 years ago, gardeners refused point blank to work with organic products. The tragedy of this irony needs to be educated out of people and that’s where Paul comes in.
All of this is encompassed in his unique guerrilla approach. One of his early guerrilla projects was a neglected and idle roadway where Paul decided it needed some love. Paul took it upon himself to sift tons of topsoil by hand, he added more soil and used only soil-based compost. As if that wasn’t enough work for one man, using cuttings only, he propagated 100’s of plants from a single shrub thus creating a fully sustainable strip of beauty, at almost zero cost. The plant he used was Mexican sage which, is not only drought tolerant and needs no watering from 8 weeks after planting, but it is also a pollinator!
Image: Paul Dalton.
But why go to such lengths sifting all that soil? It’s the bees. Bees are vital friends of the earth. This small piece of previously neglected land will now house solitary bees who can burrow into the fine soil at night and fly about during the day pollinating the plants.
Save the earth
Because he IS the earth, Paul is teaching his students how to save the planet through showing them how to tackle some of the catastrophic problems we face. The great rainforest of the Amazon is often described as the lungs of the planet, but earth has other powerful organs and some of it is right here in Ireland. The Amazon must be protected but Paul is concerned about peatlands. Only 3% of the planet is covered in peat yet it can absorb more carbon than all of the planet’s trees, combined!
Canary in the coalmine
Carbon emissions are a serious pollutant and must be tackled but Paul encourages us to also look down, down into the earth. We need to save the soil. If we cannot grow food, we cannot eat. Paul worries about the diminishing earthworm population.
He describes them as the ‘canary in the coalmine’ and if they are not there, something is very wrong. It is the pesticides and chemicals we have been pumping into the earth that is the problem. There may be commercial restrictions, but it is the responsibility of the everyday gardener to hold back on the use of these. There are organic, homemade, and often cheaper options that Paul will insist upon teaching his students to utilise. You just need to know where to look and this is where the GDAI are lucky to have him! Paul has the sight, and he will show you.
Image: Paul Dalton.
The future
The insects are as valuable as the plants and looking around Ireland, its beautiful green landscape hides a worrying norm. We are living in a monoculture, a green desert where colour and diversity is lacking, and pollination and insects cannot thrive.
While all of this is alarming, we are in good hands. Students will learn from Paul and in turn, will pass on his green wisdom. It is not rocket science, but it is science. The planet is an eco-system that thrives on support, nourishment, and care. If we can inject that into the land, the healthy co-dependence of plants, insects and animals will be restored. Paul encourages his students to build a future where urban spaces are a 50/50 split with green spaces. It will not only help rescue our endangered planet, but it will also enhance life. Gardening, and living close to trees, has been proven to help reduce anxiety, depression and even aggression. And it looks beautiful.
Image: Paul Dalton.
Falling into shrubs for over 4 decades
Paul has found solace in plants since as far as he can remember stating that ‘plants don’t judge you’. He has Cerebral Palsy which is a condition that effects movement and balance but Paul who says he’s been ‘falling into shrubs for over 4 decades’ is undeterred. It is as though the earth is pulling him down into the muck, where he truly belongs.
Paul has worked for 24 years as a horticulture professional having graduated from the College of Amenity Horticulture in 1997. His experiences includes interior landscaping, horticulture retail, plant nursey management and working as a head craftsperson gardener in the private residence of the McAlmont family in the Mount Juliet estate, County Kilkenny As a guerrilla gardener he relishes the outdoors, nature and community activism. Paul acquired a Bachelor of Horticulture Science in 2014.
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