Recycling plant waste can help turn your garden into a eco-friendly paradise
As a nation of garden lovers, we Brits dedicate countless hours to cultivating and beautifying our outdoor spaces. But as eco-conscious gardeners, we also have the opportunity to enhance our gardens’ sustainability while supporting the local wildlife.
Experts at Howarth Timber have shared that the average carbon footprint in the UK stands at six tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per person. Adopting eco-friendly gardening practices not only reduces our carbon footprint but also contributes to a more sustainable future.
A gorgeous garden may not only be the perfect place to enjoy the summer it is also a great way to help do our bit for the planet. There are lots of little ways in which we can adopt more eco-friendly gardening practices.
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By embracing these practices, gardeners can enhance their enjoyment of their outdoor spaces while making a meaningful contribution to the planet’s well-being.
Emily Green, garden expert at Howarth Timber has shared some easy changes we can make to create more sustainable gardens.
Save your grass cuttings and leaves
Composting plant waste is perhaps one of the easiest ways to help your garden grow sustainably.
Emily said “Don’t throw away grass clippings, leaves, plant trimmings and waste food such as potato peelings and coffee grains – use them to create wonderfully rich and nourishing compost for your garden.
“Not only is it environment friendly, it’s a free source of compost that’s there whenever you need it.”
Emily also recommends recycling some other types of unwanted waste products in the garden. She suggests “Old bricks, broken pots, cardboard boxes, plastic milk bottles – these can all be put to good use in your eco-friendly garden.
“Break up old bricks and chipped or broken crockery to make crocks that you can use in other containers. Laying cardboard on soil can suppress weeds. Plastic bottles cut in half and cardboard toilet roll tubes make great little cloches for growing from seeds.
“The list of things you can recycle and put to work in your eco garden is endless!”
Collecting rainwater
Gardens are intensive when it comes to the use of water. Therefore, for more sustainable gardening, rather than turning to the tap whenever you need water, connect the water butt to your guttering to collect rainwater from your roof.
This gives you a natural source of irrigation and takes the strain off water supply and sewage treatment.
How and when you water your garden can make a big difference as well. Emily suggests that gardeners “Water in the mornings and evenings because avoiding the warmer hours of the day will reduce evaporation. Another good way to be more efficient with water is to use drip irrigation or a soaker hose.
“A soaker hose is a porous hose that is buried under the soil that lets water soak out to water the soil. This is great for eco gardening as it cuts down on surface evaporation plus it gives you better results when growing plants and vegetables.”
Grow your own
Growing delicious fresh fruits and veggies is a dream for some people, and it’s also much kinder to the environment.
Emily’s advice says “Rather than getting in the car to go to the shops, spend money on expensive packaged vegetables, fruit and herbs, you can cut down on waste, save money and be eco-savvy by simply growing your own organically.
“Not only do they taste better and reduce your carbon footprint, they are there ready to pick and eat fresh whenever you need them. Less waste, more taste! Plus why have shop-bought flowers when you can freshly cut some from your own garden?”
The experts recommend that planning and bringing an eco-friendly garden to life is something you can do in little steps. Tackle them one at a time and within a year, you can have a sustainable garden that looks beautiful and is environment friendly.
Emma has compiled a list of 14 ways in which you can help your garden to flourish while doing your bit for the environment. You can read all of her suggestions here.
