Environmentally-Friendly

As much as I love the idea of a green, lush garden, this post is really about having an environmentally friendly garden!

Here are just a few tips on making your garden green…

• Plant as many trees as you can; a single tree will absorb one tonne of carbon dioxide in its lifetime. Remember that trees don’t have to be towering gum trees, even a dwarf apple tree or a bonsai tree helps absorb carbon dioxide!
• When selecting plants for your garden choose plants that are native to the area that you live in, or an area with a very similar climate. Non native plants often require more watering and care than an appropriate plant.
• Cut back on the amount of lawn you have as this needs a lot of water to maintain it in a good condition. Increase the size of gardens, swap to ground covers or use mulch in place of some grass; if you do have grass, choose the varieties that need less water and mowing.
• If you have paved or concrete areas in your yard, find out how you can use the rain that falls there - maybe slope the paved area so water runs onto the garden or collect the water and pipe it into a tank
• Put water loving plants together and closer to the house rather than mixed in with plants that don’t need as much water. This saves you time and water, and makes it easier to get grey water form the house to the needy parts of the garden, too.