If you’re wanting to focus on making your gardening practices more eco-friendly, you’re in the right place! We’re here with some simple swaps that won’t only help the environment, but they’ll help your garden to thrive and also save money in the process. So, let’s get into it!
Use Companion Plants Instead Of Pesticides
Firstly, we’d definitely recommend that you get rid of the chemical pesticides you’re using and look for alternative options. Whilst pesticides do kill off unwanted bugs and pests in your garden, in the process they also damage the local water sources and the other plants and wildlife in your garden. So, a good alternative is to look for companion plants that naturally help to keep bugs away from your plants.
For example, planting rosemary or thyme near your roses will help to deter the bugs, as the strong smell distracts them from the sweet smell of the roses. If you grow your own vegetables, plant marigolds near them to help combat nematodes. There are so many options, so think about the plants in your garden that you have pest issues with, and do a bit of research to help you find good companion plants so you don’t need to use pesticides.
Collect Rainwater
Next, you can save a considerable amount of water when you collect rainwater to use in your garden. You can get a water butt that attaches to your gutter, so whenever it rains, it collects the water that you can then use all over your garden. If you live somewhere with quite a lot of rain, then you may not need to use your hose at all! These can be subtle and make such a big difference in your garden. Plus, if there is ever a hose ban, then you’re sorted.
Swap Petrol Power Tools For Electric Ones!
Another great thing you can do to make your garden practises more eco-friendly is to swap your petrol power tools for electric ones. If you can sell your petrol tools and get electric alternatives, like an electric chainsaw or lawnmower, then they let off less emissions, as well as being quicker and in most cases, they’re just as powerful as the petrol alternatives. If you have any renewable energy sources, like solar panels, it’s even better as you won’t be using any energy.
Plant Native and Wild Flowers
A great eco-friendly choice you can make for your garden is to plant native and wild flowers. When you choose these plants, firstly you cut out the need for them to be transported across the world, the first step in making them more eco-friendly. Also, as they’re designed to live in your country, they require less maintenance and water. They also really help to benefit the local wildlife, like ladybugs, bees and butterflies, improving pollination and helping your garden to thrive. Not to mention, they’re cheaper and look absolutely stunning in your garden.
Create Your Own Compost
A wonderful thing you can do to make your garden more eco-friendly is to create your own compost. It couldn’t be more simple, all you need to do is get a composter for your garden (you can get quite stylish ones with wooden exteriors to add a feature to your garden), then you can put your garden waste in there (grass clippings, leaves, branches, sawdust), as well as food scraps (vegetable and fruit, coffee grounds, raw egg shells) and finally things like teabags, and cardboard egg boxes. Over the course of 6-12 months, this will turn into compost that is ready to go straight onto your garden!
You’re utilising what would’ve gone to waste, as well as saving money and packaging on paying for compost. The smaller or more broken down the items you put in there, the quicker it will take to generate, however rule of thumb is to apply compost to your garden once a year, so this works perfectly with the timeline for it to generate. Keeping it moist also helps to break down the organic matter, but try not to make the compost too wet. If you know it’s going to rain, perhaps leave the lid uncovered for an hour to help the process along!
