Though people are slowly realizing the importance of ecologically friendly lifestyles, home gardens are often left unchanged. However, with the vigorous worldwide campaign on environmental issues, it is time to take control, and it all starts with you. An environmentally friendly garden not only promotes a healthy lifestyle, but also uncontaminated air. In spite of your gardening focus, there are many ways you can positive and eco-friendly changes.
Restore Native Plants
Native plants are plants that grow in your area naturally without relying on chemicals or fertilizers. They require less effort, water, and pest control chemicals. Unfortunately, most people prefer non-native plants because they are appealing and more beautiful than native plants. However, non-natives upset soil and ecosystem balance because they require more fertilizer, chemical pesticides, and effort.
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
An environmentally friendly lifestyle starts by reducing the waste you create. This is by reusing waste such as peelings, plastics, fencing and using a water barrel to catch rainwater for outside use. For example, MCG BioMarkers make markers out of recycled plastic, then make them into biocomposite markers. This means they never need to go to the landfill. Moreover, you can create your compost by recycling kitchen and garden waste. This way, you have a constant supply of fresh and nutrient rich compost to use in your garden.
Consider Drought Resistant Plants
This is workable if you are landscaping. Consider drought resistant plants that do not require a lot of water and care to grow. They are ideal for people with less time to spend on the garden or prefer something easy to manage. A good example of drought resistant plants are palms, lavender, and verbena.
Plant Large Trees
Large trees such as beech trees, magnolia, and conifers not only blend well with any landscape design but also offer cooling shade for smaller plants, especially during summer. You could also relax in the shade as you read a book or meditate!
Use Eco-friendly Products
Ensure that you use eco-friendly tools in your garden. Go for organic products when buying fungicides, pesticide, plant food and fertilizers. Organic products are slow acting as compared to inorganic products because they are made of large molecules that take time to break down. They are produced in a way that makes them ideal for eco-friendly gardening. Besides, you should consider biodegradable lawn trash bags for your waste products and use solar lighting if your garden requires lighting.
Bright Flowers
Plants and flowers bring out the vibrant patterns of nature. Thus, bright flowers like sunflowers and candytuft tend to be inviting to insects like lacewings, ladybirds, and bees that act as pollinators. Ladybirds and lacewings act as beneficial bugs that eat aphids like blackfly that destroy your crops and flowers. You could also add nesting boxes and bird feeders to welcome birds to your garden.
How you handle your garden will determine the health of your soil, water, air and vegetation that you and the people around you use. Sustainable gardening techniques discussed above assist in protection and conservation of natural resources. So, if you want a planet-friendly yet biologically-diverse garden, adopt the above techniques!
