All hail Bristol – this year’s European Green Capital. Bristol is the first UK City to earn this prestigious award, gained by its exceptional environmental, sustainable and eco-friendly commitments.
As a landscape gardener I am becoming increasingly interested in how to implement eco-friendly and sustainable ideas and practices into the garden. I strongly believe that this is the main area where gardening is going to evolve, and much that I see at the horticultural and RHS Shows supports this.
Ecologically friendly gardening is not a new concept – for many years now we have been:
- using non-peat compost
- using less plastic and choosing biodegradable products
- collecting rainwater
- planting drought tolerant plants and planting for wildlife
but I’m interested in what we will be doing in the future.
One area of change will be our front gardens where simple changes can make a huge difference. How can we do this? I encourage clients to “green up” their front garden space with plants that both tolerate pollution and simultaneously help reduce pollution. Good pollution tolerant shrubs include hydrangeas or dogwoods, or evergreens such as Skimmia japonica, Aucuba japonica or any of the Euonymus fortunei varieties, all of which are hardy, low maintenance, easy to prune and have attractive foliage, stems or flowers.
Plants can also be used to control the environment by acting as an insulator against exterior walls by trapping air against the structure. They can also reduce the heat gain in summer by shading and moisture loss from the leaves. Admittedly this is not often required in this country but may become more of an issue if global warming takes hold. There is even research under way for the next generation of cheap Photovoltaic panels which mimic the photosynthesis cycle and store unwanted energy as plant starches instead of using inefficient current technology batteries. The mind boggles!
Back down to earth the functionality of front gardens does not prevent eco-friendly opportunities. For example it is now possible to have an eco-friendly drive. This is a drive made from a porous or permeable product that allows water to drain back into the ground, thereby purifying it and preventing the run-off into drains and possible flooding. Porous drive options include:
- Using a permeable concrete or asphalt.
- Using grass, growing through a durable mesh or grid.
- Special pavers with gravel filled gaps between and gravel beneath.
- Paving only the car tyre tracks and having planting in between.
Looking to the future there is one innovative material that I can’t wait to use – carbon dioxide absorbing concrete. It’s been in the production stage for many years – but it now looks very close to becoming readily available. Not only is the manufacture of the concrete more eco-friendly as it emits less CO2 during its production, but the concrete actually absorbs CO2 as it cures and continues to harden over its lifetime.
The eco-friendly approach is very important in the materials we use. I always try and source in an eco-conscious way, whether this means using locally produced aggregates such as gravel and paving, or timber that has been produced in a sustainable way. I try and buy from local trade nurseries that have grown the plants themselves – and this benefits my clients as they get plants that can cope with local conditions.
Eco- friendly gardening is something that I am very passionate about and will be returning to in future blogs. The great thing about it is – big or small – we can all make a difference by doing something we love – planting.
Bye for now
Next post – 19th February – “Builder vs Landscape Gardener”