The beginner’s guide to eco-friendly gardens

These days, many of us are working hard to try to ensure our homes are as environmentally friendly as possible. However, not many people realise that there are also a few changes they can make to their gardens to try to make then a lot more eco-friendly as well. A greener garden will be very sustainable and you won’t end up causing too much of a carbon footprint by tending to it. They also make much better habitats for a lot of wildlife and plants.

So, are you ready to do a bit more for the environment and create an eco-friendly environment?

Here are a few tips that can help you do that.

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Use sustainable wood

If you ever make a new garden shed or put down some wooden decking, you should always try to use sustainable wood whenever possible. All FSC certified wood is sustainable and comes from environmentally managed forests. By using this kind of wood, your decking or shed won’t have too much of a negative impact on the environment.

Heat your greenhouse efficiently

Greenhouses should keep a lot of the heat inside without the need for constant heating. If you are heating yours around the clock, it will be producing a lot of carbon emissions. There are a couple of ways around this. First of all, you can try to insulate the greenhouse better so that it doesn’t leak its heat. You could also try to find more sustainable ways to heat it. For instance, you could install some solar panels so that the sun’s light generates eco-friendly energy.

Plant trees to reduce CO2

Trees are known for their ability to take carbon out of the atmosphere, but did you know that some are better at it than others? Trees like the horse chestnut, red mulberry and silver maple can take in and store carbon very effectively. If you think that your garden could do with a few more trees, you might want to opt for one of those.

Make your own compost

Man-made fertilizers are seen as very bad for the environment these days. Instead of using them, you should try and stick with natural ones, such as compost. It’s very easy to make your own compost – you just need to start collecting food waste and leftovers. These can go in a bin in the garden. You can also add any organic rubbish from your garden as well. Eventually, this will decompose and you will be left with compost that you can spread on your flower beds and veg patch.  This is better for the environment and also reduces your kitchen waste too by putting your leftover food to good use.

Plant companion plants

Some plants will grow exceptionally well when they are planted next to each other. For instance, tomatoes and chives are great partners. That’s because chives deter aphids, which usually eat tomato plants. Because of that natural deterrent, you won’t have to use any toxic pest controls.  Growing plants organically without synthetic chemicals is better for your health as well as animals and the environment.

Grow your own

Growing your own vegetables in your back garden is eco-friendly in so many ways.  It will reduce the amount of store bought produce you purchase, which will therefore reduce the amount of packaging and waste you create.  As stated above, you can grow your plants organically which will reduce the amount of pesticides being used.  It’s even possible to grow in a small space or in a patio garden using a grow bag or pots.

Hopefully, this blog post has given you a few inspirational pointers and handy nuggets of advice to help you begin to create a sustainable eco-friendly garden.


Read these next:

The dos and don’ts of keeping backyard chickens

Dream design ideas for beautiful landscaped gardens

How we reduce our bills using renewable energy

5 benefits of building your home with sustainable materials


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Images: Canva

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