5 Eco-Friendly Ways to Put the Green in Your Garden

Image by Chiot’s Run, shared under a Creative Commons Licence

We’ve all become a little more eco-conscious and most of us are aware that limiting our use of toxic chemicals will help the environment. This thinking can be extended to our garden and there are a few simple but cost-effective ways to maintain your garden and keep the planet safe.

From growing your own food to solar-powered products to eco-friendly patio products – here are five ways to help put the ‘green’ into your garden.

Grown your own food

You can easily start growing vegetables in your garden throughout the year and save money on store-brought vegetables. It doesn’t take a lot of time and effort to plant and grow carrots, peas, lettuce, beetroot and cabbage, and you’ll be surprised how much better they taste when they’re home-grown.

Apples, pears, tomatoes, rhubarb, gooseberries and strawberries are great fruits to grow at home. If you’re short on space there are certain vegetables that can be planted in pots and grown in a garden shed including mushrooms, carrots and bean sprouts.

Home composting

Compost is a vital ingredient towards boosting your lawn and giving your earth a healthy dose of nutrients. If you’ve been throwing your food leftovers straight into the bin then you’re missing out on a good source of free compost.

Left-over fruit, vegetables, tea leaves and coffee grounds, egg shells and even shredded paper can all be transformed into compost. Making your own means you’ll avoid buying chemical-infused fertilizers; to speed up the composting process you can simply add a few earthworms into the mix.

Eco-friendly garden furniture

Illuminating your outdoor areas using solar-powered lamps is not only kind to the environment but it’s a way of reducing your fuel bills as well. If you’re looking to create some pathways or lay a new patio deck then take a look at tiles available made from recycled vehicle tires; easy to lay and inexpensive to purchase.

The garden isn’t just a place for people as feathered visitors often make an appearance, so why not add some recycled glass bird-feeders, which are ornamental and eye-catching?

You can always dig an eco-friendly garden pond using a protective underlay, adding a pond-liner on top of it, then finishing with a layer of sand, to create a simple water feature.

Harvesting water

Instead of using water straight from your home supply why not place a rain barrel in your garden to catch fresh, chemical free water? This can then be used to keep your lawn and vegetables hydrated, or used to wash down greenhouses or the car.

Place a protective screen across the barrel opening to ensure bugs and dirt are kept out.

Keep it natural

Your garden will get along just fine without the need for chemicals contained in commercial weed killers, fertilizers and pesticides. Keep it organic with chemical-free fertilizers or make your own weed-killer with a simple combination of a gallon of vinegar and a tablespoon each of salt and dish detergent.

Your garden and Mother Nature will thank you for your environmentally-friendly gardening efforts, such as growing your own fruit and vegetables. Many of these methods will save you a great deal of money over the long-term too.