7 Ways to Help the Environment in Your Garden
Whatever size your garden is, it helps the environment in lots of ways.
But, of course, we could all be doing more to help reduce the human impact on the environment and the world we live in.
Climate change is a very real threat to the human race, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to completely change the way we live in order for us to have less impact on the environment.
Some things are very simple to do and often they don’t just benefit the environment, but will help us all financially, too.
In our latest article, we’ll be exploring some of the ways in which you can help the environment in your garden.
1. Create a Rain Garden
Creating a rain garden helps to prevent surface water run-off from being channelled through storm drains.
Processing the vast amount of water that travels through our drainage systems consumes large amounts of energy, which in turn has a significant impact on the environment.
In addition, by returning rainwater to the ground, it benefits the water table, and by capturing the water, moisture is returned to the atmosphere via the process of evaporation.
But what exactly is a rain garden?
A rain garden is usually an area of ground that receives surface water run-off from buildings and hard landscaped areas, such as patios and paths. It could be that hard surfaces are angled and drainpipes are directed to send run-off to the rain garden.
It’s very easy to create a rain garden and it will create an interesting feature in any garden.
Prior to planting, you can improve the quality of the soil by digging in organic material, such as recycled green waste.
By then planting moisture-loving plants such as herbaceous perennials, shrubs and grasses, you’ll be able to create an area that not only looks attractive, but thrives, with little extra work on your part.
To finish off your rain garden, add bark chippings to further help the absorption of moisture and keep potential weeds at bay.
2. Plant More Plants, Shrubs & Trees
Not only do plants, shrubs and trees enhance the look of your garden and make it a much nicer place to be, but they also help the environment, too.
Carbon dioxide loving plants and trees will help to reduce pollution in the air, via oxygenic photosynthesis.
Oxygenic photosynthesis is the process by which plants absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen. The oxygen is then returned to the atmosphere.
The more plants and trees you have in the garden, the more you will be encouraging the local wildlife, too.
Birds, insects and other animals all need plants and trees to survive.
Plants can be sources of food, shelter and even places to hide from local predators.
Growing and tending the living greenery in your garden will go a long towards helping the local environment.
3. Use Native Plants
When choosing plants and trees for your garden, it’s very important to choose native species.
This is because they will thrive much better in your garden than foreign species.
Often, you’ll need a whole host of potentially harmful chemicals, such as fertilisers and pesticides, in order to help non-native plants to grow and survive.
These chemicals are harmful to the environment.
Native species will typically thrive with very little maintenance, too.
If you want to find UK species of plants, the RHS gardening website is a great resource.
4. Grow Your Own Fruit & Veg
Growing your own fruits and vegetables will mean that you’ll no longer need to visit the supermarket so much.
The fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets may have travelled thousands of miles to reach your local store.
This uses up a lot of energy and has a high CO2 footprint.
Creating a fruit and vegetable patch in your garden is also a lot of fun. You can create a raised bed by using reclaimed railway sleepers. That both looks great, and reduces the strain on your back when you’re tending to your patch.
You can find seeds online for a whole range of fruits and vegetables at a very low cost and you’ll be surprised at just how much you can save by growing your own.
It’s great to get out in the garden and get your hands dirty, and the satisfaction of preparing and eating your own fruit and veg is well worth the effort.
Why not enlist the help of your kids, too? It’s a great way to get them outside and away from their laptops and tablets, and who knows – they may just learn a thing or two.
By growing your own, you’ll help to reduce your own carbon footprint, save money, and have fun in the process. It’s a win-win situation.
5. Install Artificial Grass
You may be surprised to hear that artificial grass is good for the environment.
There are several reasons for this.
Firstly, unlike real grass, artificial turf doesn’t need mowing.
This means fewer CO2 emissions caused by lawnmowers and strimmers, which are harmful to the environment.
Also, there will be no need to add any form of potentially hazardous chemicals, such as fertiliser, pesticide or weedkiller, all of which are potentially harmful not only to the environment, but also to your family and pets.
Finally, artificial grass doesn’t need to be watered.
During the summer months, keeping a real lawn sufficiently watered means that you may need around 2 cubic metres of water, per week, for a 100m2 lawn.
Using such large quantities of water is bad for the environment and can leave you facing a large water bill, too.
If you are considering having an artificial lawn installed, why not view our range of artificial turf products? You can also request your free consultation with your local NeoGrass Approved Installer.
6. Make a Compost Bin
Creating a compost bin is a great way to help the environment.
Rather than your food waste ending up in a landfill site, why not use it to create an organic compost that your plants will love?
It’s the most sustainable way in which we can all deal with food and garden waste.
Compost bins are inexpensive to buy or you could even make one from recycled pallets.
Virtually all manner of food waste can be recycled and used to create compost.
It’s not just fruit and vegetable peelings and leftovers that can go in your compost bin, either; egg shells, egg boxes, tea bags, coffee grounds, wool and cardboard boxes make for great compost, too.
The best thing about having a compost bin is that your plants will absolutely love the nutrient-packed organic matter you’ll be able to provide them with, and what’s more, once you have your compost bin set up, it’ll never cost you a penny.
7. Install a Green Roof
There are a number of reasons why green roofs are great for the environment and it’s little wonder that they are becoming increasingly popular in urban areas.
The potential is, of course, huge for further green roofs to be constructed throughout the country.
When you look at aerial photos of towns, it’s difficult not to notice the huge amounts of space that roofs cover. It’s barren space, but it can easily be converted into a green roof that will benefit the environment.
With an ever-growing population, and more and more homes being built on green belt sites, it’s vital that we build as many green roofs as possible.
Green roof systems have many advantages.
Firstly, they help to reduce surface water run-off by absorbing a high percentage of rainfall that hits your roof, therefore drastically reducing the amount of rainfall that ends up in our drainage systems and preventing flooding.
A green roof is also a fantastic way to insulate your home and will certainly help to reduce your heating bill, a win-win for your wallet and the environment.
It will also help to reduce noise and air pollution. They’ve even been shown to reduce people’s stress levels!
Installing a green roof needn’t be expensive, but the potential benefits to the environment could be huge.
It’s important that we all play our part in looking after the world that will live in and ensuring that future generations can enjoy the planet in the same way we do.
We can all do our bit and together we can make the planet a cleaner environment for humans and wildlife to thrive in – starting with what we do in our gardens.
Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas and inspiration for how you can help the environment.
But now we want to hear from you. Do you have any other ideas as to how we can help the environment and the local wildlife in our gardens?
If so, leave us a comment below and join in the discussion