We are all aware that being close to nature has a positive impact on our wellbeing. If we have a garden, we are fortunate to be able to just step outside our door and experience this first hand. Trees particularly hold a place in our heart and as GTF Tree Care explains, they are not only an attractive addition to any garden but also hugely beneficial to the environment locally and on a wider scale.
Improving your garden will give you a lot of pleasure as it will be a much nicer place to spend time. It will also add value to your property as this ensures your price value will be competitive and give little leeway as possible.
However, when we make improvements to our garden, if we truly want to work with nature then we need to carry out any work in the most environmentally friendly way as possible.
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Go Organic
Many people now shy away from using pesticides, weed killers and chemical fertilizers, as they are uneasy about the long term impact on our soil and on our health. There are alternatives in that you can make your own all-natural compost and you can even introduce helpful insects to your garden to combat those pesky garden pests.
Make Your Own Compost
If you make your own compost, not only are you doing something beneficial for the soil, but you are also cutting down on garden waste, which would otherwise end up in landfill.
Homemade compost offers a wealth of benefits including: enriching soil fertility by providing valuable nutrients, stimulating healthy root development and improving soil texture, aeration and water retention.
Grow Your Own
A garden doesn’t only have to be about the lawn and flowers. You can also set apart an area where you grow your own food. This is extremely environmentally friendly as you know the source of your food, you know that you haven’t added any chemicals to the soil and you are lowering the food’s carbon footprint as it hasn’t undergone a long journey. It has travelled the length of your garden, direct to your plate.
Growing your own food is also good for your budget as you will save a great deal on your weekly shop if you don’t need to buy fresh vegetables, salad and herbs.
Water Preservation
Preserving natural resources such as water is important, and the garden is one area where we can have a very direct impact on this. Install a water butt to collect rain water and use this as much as possible to water your garden plants.
You can also lessen water loss by adding compost and mulch to the soil, watering early in the day and watering directly onto roots, all of which will lessen evaporation.
Reuse and Recycle
Many people have already caught onto the advantages of using pre-loved items in the garden, both as an environmentally friendly option and because it saves money. Discarded railway sleepers can be used for landscaping and recycled wood can be incorporated into decking.
There are also now eco-friendly planters available or you can recycle those you rescue from other people’s gardens, if they don’t want them anymore.
It’s also a good idea to buy garden furniture second hand or pick something up on the websites where people are literally giving things away, such as Freegle or Freecyle. You can give the furniture an easy cosmetic overhaul and then it will service you for many years to come. Even better, you have prevented it from ending up in landfill.
Be a Friend to Nature
We have all heard about the plight of the bees and the dramatic drop in their population numbers. Therefore encourage them into your garden, and offer them plants which provide a varied range of nectar including: poppies, lavender and sunflowers.
Encourage birds into your garden by providing bird feeders. Not only are birds wonderful to watch but they also provide a natural pest control service by eating many insects.
A slightly wild section of your garden can still be of value. Wood piles can provide a sanctuary for beetles and hedgehogs and areas of wildflowers and nettles help many species of butterflies to thrive.
