STYLE : GARDENS : Nature’s Way

Natural gardening is taking root in Southern California. Described by one advocate as “simply using what might naturally occur in the garden,” it rules out most man-made chemicals and is therefore similar to organic gardening. But while organic gardening may seem a bit like wizardry, with its often elaborate procedures and concoctions, natural gardening concentrates on simple, even obvious, solutions to garden problems: Does the soil lack nutrients? Add manure or compost. Is a particular bug becoming a pest? Sic another bug on it. That’s how nature restores order.

The absence of chemical fertilizers and strong pesticides at the new La Brea Avenue store called Seeds is a sign of our gardening times. Partners Catherine Dyer and Kathy Kerr, who are committed to selling only natural and organic gardening supplies, started their business “to put our beliefs into practice.” They don’t stock the common man-made chemical fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, but they do carry an amazing selection of natural fertilizers--cricket droppings, bat guano and seaweed, to name a few.

Dyer and Kerr offer alternatives to chemical pest control as well. These range from naturally occurring botanical poisons such as pyrethrum, derived from chrysanthemums, to the ultimate bug killers: other creatures. Seeds is one of the few places where you can find predatory decollate snails and beneficial nematodes.

The owners even scrutinize garden tools before putting them on their shelves. There are no leaf blowers, not even a power mower, in sight. Instead, Seeds carries a manual lawn mower, rakes and other hand tools to cut grass, clip hedges and turn soil with no stinky exhaust and virtually no noise. It also has books on natural and organic gardening, open-pollinated and organically grown seed, and plans for classes on natural gardening.