Looking to spruce up your landscape but you aren’t 100 percent sure what you want to do with it? Why not try something that is not only stylish, comforting and relaxing but also will benefit the environment? This type of landscaping is called a variety of names – green landscaping, environmentally friendly landscaping or as we are going to deem it; sustainable landscaping.
A Closer Look
This style of landscaping involves nature rather than taking it over and streamlining it. It uses the natural flow of the plants and ecosystems to create a masterpiece rather than trying to make it a magazine. It also involves more types of plants than flowers, shrubs and trees. While these are absolutely important to have because trees turn carbon dioxide into oxygen for the plant and repairs the ozone layer, sustainable landscaping will also involve incorporating vegetables, fruits and more to the garden.
That is why today we are going to go over some sustainable landscaping ideas that you have to try the next time you want to spruce up the land surrounding your home. Not only will you help your environment, you’ll look good while doing it!
Not a gardener or a landscaper? That’s perfectly ok as numerous people start from scratch. It’s a matter of having the willpower, gumption and time to put the work in with the help of the numerous tutorials found online. If you still need expert help to carry it out, you can hire a professional landscaping designer to make the process easy for you.
Gardening for the Table
While flower gardens are beautiful to look at, hard at times to maintain, offers a comforting place to relax and will get the blood pumping during the physical labor required; sometimes you just need to go a little further.
Incorporating a vegetable garden, fruit trees and fruit vines, and also planting a small herb garden is good for the environment because it cuts down on transportation emissions getting the fresh produce to the grocery stores and the emissions caused by yourself going to purchase such fare. You also are never completely sure what pesticides or steroids were used to grow the produce you are buying which can be scary. Plus – grocery stores tend to mark up the prices of fresh produce, especially in the off seasons as it has to be transported from even further away.
By planting your own garden, you are supplying Mother Nature with more green things to help heal the environment, you are confident that the food you are ingesting is fresh without the use of preservatives and pesticides, and you are also able to save a little bit of money. If you have the space to grow multiple vegetables, you might even be able to get a table at the local farmers market to sell produce to the public for side cash.
Conserve H2O
Another way to have a sustainable landscape is to use conserved water whenever possible. Have a nice-sized lawn to water during dry seasons? Those flower and vegetable gardens have to be watered on a daily basis unless there was a significant rainfall. All of this water comes from reserves unless you get creative. Using barrels or water troughs, collect rainwater and use this for the watering of your green spaces. You can even use this surplus to wash your car, saving even further on the environment.
Make sure to use a screen on an open water collection barrel to prevent pests and critters, such as flies or mice, from getting into your water and contaminating it.
Get Smelly
Instead of using expensive fertilizer to add nutrients to your garden and lawn, why not start a compost pile? These piles are easy to create – it’s just a matter of taking recyclable and compostable material, allowing it to ferment, turning it over allowing it to dry and crumble, and using a rake and shovel to spread it over areas in need.
Having a compost pile reduces your garbage output and prevents items that can be recycled from clogging up the landfills. It also provides highly needed and wanted nutrients, vitamins and minerals to your gardens for strong, healthy plants that produce high quality vegetables, fruits and herbs. Plus your flowers will never be brighter!
Conclusion
Whether you are an experienced landscaper or gardener or instead, you have no clue what you are doing when it comes to outdoor work – sustainable landscaping is the way of the future to protect the environment and try to lessen our carbon footprints. Just research before starting and make sure to note that it’s going to be landscaping for beginners! In times of doubt, go online, go to the library and borrow books with diagrams or visit your local farmer, gardener and/or landscaper to pick their brains a little.
One thing that would definitely help in terms of making a sustainable landscape is having the tools in your arsenal to tackle each task with gusto. It’s a matter of having the right equipment, such as gardening shovels (steel-topped), a wheelbarrow and a lawn mower. Another item that will help maintain your land is a string-trimmer for those pesky weeds that tend to crop up with no notice. Another bonus about these? They are better for the environment, produce less carbon emissions and you can read more about them here.