Again, a lot of these things are a reaction to economics and some by availability. Some are a reflection of values at the time. Used ties were a very cheap construction material that allowed people to manipulate grades in big ways at comparatively low costs. This is what is now going on with modular block walls. Bark mulch was a byproduct of the timber industry and got to be useful re-use of a waste product (it used to be very cheap 50 years ago). It eventually became a commodity on its own. Now other waste products (old fences, pallets, and some demo material) are ground up to supplement or replace bark mulch. It is helped along by the values of the time which include the notion that recycling a waste product is "the right thing to do". It always helps when these materials are making somebody some money as well. Recycled tires are definitely more embraced by eco-superheroes than by high end consumers. This is a head scratcher to me when I visit a town owned park that has this under a swing set adjacent to a salt marsh. The stuff is kicked around everywhere, looks bad, and smells. I don't know how you can clean it up without removing an equal volume of soil effectively doubling the volume of waste. I don't get the idea of why dumping it here is better than dumping it somewhere else. But, some people felt they were saving the world doing this. I'm sure they will blame "industry" for misleading them. Availability also affects fads when something that was not widely availably becomes widely available and people react to the novelty of it. Red lava rock in the eighties, bright colored dyed mulch, strong colored concrete pavers, granite cobbles from India, ornamental grasses, ... These existed for quite a while before they became widely available. When they did become available a lot of people rushed be on the cutting edge of doing "new things". Novelty goes a long way, too. I'm fascinated by the way western cities and the people in them find so much beauty in colored concrete pavers and modular blocks while here in the Northeast they are viewed as extremely cheesy and tacky. Even multi-million dollar homes out there are fully dressed out with it. What is embraced here is possibly old and passe there.

Organization, or lack there of, deer, rabbits, groundhogs, slugs (up to 3", disgusting and voracious eaters) and clay ground that looks like the back yard "pond" in above photo after merest rain sprinkle. I've done the amending and mounding thing but that seems to have made gardens prime target for moles, voles and chipmunks. While side dressing perennials with compost yesterday found more than a few holes directed right at roots when I was moving foliage to get compost under there. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to fit in potting up perennials that don't have a home yet, plant all the bulbs after trying to amend the always soaked/compacted clay (tulips I planted yesterday have puddle over them this AM), what to do with perennials that look like they have lace foliage from slugs/bugs/insects and still try to get the hang of winter sowing so I have enough to replace what the miserable creatures ate and destroyed. I'm tied up in an anxiety knot my second year since I know it all doesn't work out well and it's so disappointing after all that work to get it going. Did I have germinating mix too wet, did I feed them soon enough, who needs light and who wants dark...on and on and on. Gotta take the time to make a chart and get organized. After marathon sowing (without record keeping except Sharpie notes on containers)I got lost in what all different things needed and how they wanted to be planted. I don't have the experience or personality to just hunk'o'seedlings them and let em survive or perish! My fenced butterfly garden has been decimated by groundhogs that climb 4' fence, rabbits that find the smallest opening to slither under and deer that are getting in there although they aren't supposed to jump fences without a lot of open space beyond fence. The only thing they haven't eaten in there is milkweed but that was moldy and losing most foliage long before the last of my Monarchs were released in late August. I also know there will be a plethora of self seeded monarda just waiting to spread mold coming up all over in there...LOL. Had to put Tithonia in huge container 3' high (was for onboard boat storage) with another 3' of chicken wire rigged on top of container. Groundhogs still got up there and repeatedly ate them to nubs, went away for a while and then pulled down 4' stems until they looked like they'd been struck and split by lightening. To add insult to injury not a single butterfly used them but the bees loved them. I should be asking myself why I've already purchased most seeds and have a few more to get for next year but it's impossible to fathom. This is supposed to be fun but I guess seeing at least some flowers that attracted lots of bees and butterflies who don't care about the rest of the plant looking like hell or know what's not there that was planted makes up for all the disappointment. Just to put in my 2 cents, I'd have wanted to explode if workers and/or neighbors were so inconsiderate to trample plants after all the work it took to get them in there! I'd just seethe but my head would hurt from keeping it in...LOL. You at least expect "humans" to have more sense than all the critters that plague your plants/gardens. I've spent a small fortune on bagged garden soil, potting soil, compost and amendments as well as critter repellant sprays. Started winter spraying regime yesterday on roses, azalea, boxwood, hollies and yews. Compared to people who have snakes in their gardens I think I'll consider myself relatively lucky on the critter front no matter how much of a continual fight it is. I could go on whining forever but it only makes me feel guilty for all the troubles I DON'T have that others battle daily on a more serious level. It won't stop me from whining or gardening but people "alive in the flesh" around here just walk away when I start talking about seeds, flowers, plants, containters or any gardening topic. Wait until I come home with bales of germinating mix when it comes in Friday at Agway 30 miles away that ordered it for me...LOL. Sorry for whining when "challenges" was topic! I need an attitude adjustment like they tell kids.

You must be kidding, there is more info in the over 55 group than you could possibly imagine.

You are right to a point. Certain pests can get out of control because of garden conditions. For example if you over fertilize, you can get lots of lush green growth which can be attacked by aphids. Certain pests are designed to attack certain plants and it is not to eliminate them in nature, but to keep them in check. Like the borers that old rugosa rose stems will get. If you've ever seen rose rugosa growing wild, you may know that it will spread creating large patches. So the borer killing off the old stems helps keep the rose from overtaking everything. Sometimes it is the weather conditions that cause perfect conditions for a pest. So one year you can be perfectly fine and the next have a problem. To keep pests in check, attracting birds to your garden can help. Birds eat lots of pests. I found that the sawfly larva problem I had on my roses diminished after working on attracting birds to the garden. Also working on having plants in successive bloom attracts beneficial insects. Even if you are not into flower gardening, having plantings really will help the health of the vegetable garden in my opinion. I've found the longer I've gardened here the less pest problems I have had, but I know that I can always get an out break of something at any time. Oh and having tolerance for a not picture perfect garden helps too. Some people get all nuts over seeing few spotted leaves, etc. when there is nothing really wrong. Knowing you insects help, some insects are fairly harmless while others need be eradicated quickly like Red Lily beetles. I have no clue about grubs eating cabbage roots. I hope someone post who does. Remy