As a homeowner, you want a visually appealing backyard that wows everyone who walks in. Unfortunately, landscaping can be harmful to the environment and tends to be costly. Luckily, there are various eco friendly landscaping designs and maintenance tips you can incorporate into your garden to protect the environment. These tips ensure you maintain a beautiful and inviting garden while playing your part in saving the environment.
What is eco friendly landscaping?
Eco friendly landscaping refers to when you design, construct, and maintain your garden or yard in a manner that uses as little energy as possible. It’s also referred to as green landscaping or sustainable landscaping and aims to minimise the impact your landscaping activities have on the environment. This lowers your carbon footprint, protecting and saving the environment.
Here are our top 5 eco friendly landscaping tips you can consider for your yard:
1. Invest in eco friendly materials
The materials you use in your yard can significantly impact the environment, especially hard landscaping. From stone and cement to bricks, these materials contribute to high carbon emissions, making it vital to invest in sustainable and eco-friendly materials.
Sustainable landscaping materials can be anything from reclaimed stone slabs and decorative natural stone to recycled ceramic gravel. Wood can also be a sustainable choice, especially if it’s from managed forests.
Invest in second-hand garden tables and benches to take your eco friendly garden a notch higher. Similarly, don’t buy materials unless you have to. Instead, try working with what you already have in your garden.
2. Go chemical-free
The chemicals and pesticides used for gardening are detrimental to the environment and your health. So, try steering clear of them and consider using eco-friendly chemicals and pesticides to eliminate harmful, destructive pests from your garden plants.
A simple DIY solution of salt spray or orange citrus oil is a great eco-friendly chemical to deter slugs and ants. Neem oil, garlic spray, and eucalyptus oil are other excellent natural pesticide alternatives for keeping your crops healthy and alive.
3. Start composting
The amount of waste your household throws out every day or week significantly contributes to environmental pollution and degradation. This is why you should start composting to make the most of your rubbish.
Choose a suitable location in your yard and install a compost bin. Add a mix of garden and household waste, including eggshells, vegetable scraps, fruit peels, weeds, and wood shavings, to create a compost heap. After a few months, your compost will be rich, nutritious, and ready for use in your garden. Be sure to add compostable items to your compost heap as some, such as meat and fish scraps, may contaminate your entire compost.
4. Choose your plants wisely
When it comes to picking the crops for your garden, take time to consider several factors and how they impact the environment. For instance, it’s advisable to select native plants because they’re naturally resistant to local pests and diseases and hardly require pesticides, fertilisers, and supplemental watering. Therefore, they’re more eco-friendly and inexpensive to maintain.
Additionally, go for pollinator plants to ensure the survival of insects such as bees, butterflies, and moths. These animals are essential for the environment as they allow plants to fruit, seed, and breed, providing food for many other creatures, including humans. So, investing in flowering plants ensures their survival and the environment.
5. Build an insect hotel
Another great way to preserve animals and insects is to build an insect hotel. Insect hotels are simply homes for the many wildlife creatures in your environment, and you can easily make them using recycled material lying around in your yard. Bees and butterflies are key pollinators, essential for the thriving of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Ladybirds and lacewings help control aphid populations, acting as natural pest managers. Ground beetles and woodlice contribute to breaking down organic matter, enriching the soil. By creating an insect hotel, you provide a haven for these insects to rest, hibernate, and breed.
6. Harvest rainwater
Harvesting rainwater is a simple way to make your landscape more sustainable. It eliminates the need to use household water to irrigate plants, reducing your impact on the environment. Use rainwater harvesting systems such as rain chains and rain barrels to harvest water when it rains and use that for supplemental watering of your garden.
Ready to get started?
If you’re ready to transform your garden into an eco-friendly haven, shop our range of landscaping supplies and products at JTD Building Supplies. We stock an extensive collection of supplies, including natural stone paving and slate chippings, to help you create a sustainable yard. Contact us today if you have any questions or to buy your landscaping supplies.
