Looking to boost your carbon footprint and improve your garden, both at the same time? You’re in luck. There are occasions when an eco-friendly homeowner has to choose between what they actually want and what’s good for the environment, but those rules generally don’t apply to gardens (unless you have over-the-top plans).
In fact, many earth-boosting garden initiatives will have a direct positive impact on your experience of your garden. There’s much to love about sitting out on sustainable decking, watching Britain’s wildlife make their way by, as you eat a meal that consists of ingredients that you grew in your garden.
Achieving this goal is more realistic than you might think. In this post, we’ll run through a few handy garden improvement strategies that will be good for you and good for the planet.
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Start a Vegetable Patch
Fresh, delicious vegetables that come straight from your garden? Sign us up. Given how easy it is to start a vegetable patch in the UK, it’s a wonder that more homeowners aren’t doing it. You can get started with little more than a little bit of soil, a few seeds, and patience. Over time, you’ll get a natural feel for how to do it and will be ready to tackle the more complex vegetables to grow, such as cauliflower and sweetcorn. Starting a vegetable garden doesn’t just give you free access to fresh vegetables; it’s also much better for the environment, since there’s no transport or packaging required.
Use Eco-Friendly Materials
As we mentioned above, many homeowners think they need to choose between what they want and what the environment needs, but that’s not the case. You can have a visually-appealing, highly functional garden while still being earth-friendly, provided you use earth-friendly materials. FSC-certified timber is best for your garden’s decking, shed, and fencing projects. That, combined with natural stone/gravel for pathways and decoration, is an excellent way to keep your garden’s carbon footprint as low as possible. You can also buy outdoor furniture that uses durable natural materials such as bamboo, wicker, linen, and cotton.
Supporting Wildlife
A good, earth-friendly garden will do more than help to boost your quality of life at home. It can also lend a helping hand to the UK’s wildlife, which, if you haven’t heard, needs a serious helping hand. Planting bee- and butterfly-friendly plants, installing a water feature, and letting some areas of your garden run a little wild (a neat lawn is nice to look at, but not so great for wildlife) can ensure that wildlife will consider your property a safe space.
Install a Firepit
A firepit in your garden elevates your property’s earth-friendly credentials indirectly: it’ll open up the possibility of spending chillier evenings outside rather than inside, with the heating on, consuming energy. Spending time in the garden can be lovely during the winter, if you can keep the chill at bay. An eco-friendly firepit that uses vegetable wax, compressed sawdust, or sustainably sourced water will allow you to stay warm without harming the planet.
*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post. This post has been pre-written.
