Written by: Giulia Simolo
Just because there’s a lot of greenery in your garden it doesn’t mean that it’s an eco-friendly space! You could have a garden on your hands that is actually wasting water, which isn’t very eco-friendly at all, especially with how water has become a luxury.
With the green trend sprouting in many different areas of life, gardening is one of them. Here’s how to landscape your garden so that it is an environmentally smart area. Best of all, it can be a DIY project that requires no expert landscapers.
Ensure every plant has a purpose
A garden is not just a melting pot for a variety of flowers and colours; it should be an intelligently designed area with plants fulfilling a purpose. Ensure that the plants are not just decorative, but water-wise too. Learn about the plants you buy at the nursery so that you are sure of their requirements and whether or not they are difficult to maintain.
What to plant
Local plants
Try to choose as many indigenous plants as you can, because these plants are native to the area so they have adapted to the climate and soil. These plants also support the birds that have adapted to the region, thus they prevent disruption of the region’s environment. Because they are already accustomed to the climate, they mean less effort for you to maintain them.
Low-water requirements
When buying plants for the garden, try to buy ones that require low amounts of water. Examples of such plants include geraniums, hydrangeas and the crane flower (Strelitzia reginae).
Your own vegetable garden
It might sound like a massive task, but it’s easy and rewarding. By growing your own vegetables, you cut out the need for processing and transport that is used for vegetables you buy at the store. Even if all you plant includes a few herbs, you will be promoting energy conservation as well as working towards a healthier lifestyle for you and your family.
Where to plant them
Deciduous trees (plants that shed their leaves at the end of the season) are best planted to the south and west of your home to ensure that they offer shade. They also don’t cut out sunlight in your garden when you need it, thus resulting in allowing the garden to maximise the sun’s potential.
Annuals (such as marigolds and petunias) are great additions to the garden because they grow fast, are economical and provide great decorative flair in the garden. They are great in spaces that are left between shrubs and perennials, those areas that wind up being a waste of space.
Bulbs (such as lilies and agapanthus) must be grouped with other plants that don’t require much water, and remember to group together plants that get thirsty often. This prevents you from wasting water in unnecessary spots in the garden.
Other ways to prevent water wastage
- Avoid watering the garden when it is windy outside as this increases evaporation
- Also water less when it’s winter or the weather is cool
- Ensure you water the garden at a cool time of the day, such as the early evening, when there is not much evaporation
- After a soaking rain has nourished your garden, don’t water your plants again for a few days
Eco-compost
Compost is what keeps organic nutrients moving from soil to the plants, and then back into the earth. Make sure you keep this process eco-friendly by using organic waste from your home as compost, such as in the form of fruit peels and dry leaves. The benefit of compost in this way is that it reduces municipal waste, it boosts the plants’ immune system and increases soil moisture retention. It’s a much better way to enrich your garden without the use of chemical fertilisers.
Good luck green fingers, happy gardening and let us know how yours turns out!
The liveeco team
