10 Top Tips For An Eco-Friendly Garden

Approximately 87% of UK homes have gardens ranging from modest and petite to stunning sprawlers. That’s a vast amount of green space, but imagine if you could make it even greener. Being eco-friendly isn’t just about turning the lights off and lowering the temp on the washing machine.

You can turn your garden into a more environmentally friendly area. Whether it is big or small, there are always things you can do to make a difference.

Here are ten ideas on how you and your family could contribute to making your garden more sustainable.

British is Best

There are specific flowers native to the UK which can offer a hardy alternative to some of the plants you may consider choosing? If your garden feels a little lacklustre, try investing in those plants instead of buying non-native ones. Native wildflowers come with their own benefits, and they’re easier to maintain than other varieties! Plus, it’ll help out bees – because who doesn’t love them?

Able Arborist

You may not have space for a huge garden, but don’t let that stop you from planting a tree. Research has shown that gardens with trees attract more wildlife than those without and provide additional benefits like shade and reduced noise pollution too! Again, native species will deliver the most significant benefits.

Garden Song

Do you have background noise of leaves rustling, birds chirping, or bees buzzing around the flowerbeds? If not, then it might be time to take some advice from Mother Nature and let things get wild. Letting a section of your garden become more wild and natural will attract all kinds of wildlife looking for an ideal environment with plenty of room to thrive in.

Home Sweet Home

Many gardeners like to give nature a helping hand and provide artificial shelter for wildlife. From bird boxes to bug hotels and hedgehog homes to beehives, there are plenty of ways you can make your yard more comfortable for animals. There are loads of options online, or why not get the kids involved? They would love to make these mini outdoor structures that help protect our little friends in a decreasing natural world.

Eat At Home

The benefits of growing your food are plentiful. It’s cheaper, reduces your environmental impact and tastes better with the knowledge that you’ve grown it yourself! There are many vegetables to choose from, like carrots or potatoes, but fruit such as apples, cherries and crab apples can also be great for home brewing.

Waste Not, Want Not

When you’re gardening, it can be easy to create waste – but thankfully, there are plenty of ways to do so more responsibly. Rather than getting fresh water from the tap and wasting all those gallons in a day on watering those hundreds of leaves (we feel you), collect rainwater instead! Speaking of leaves: store fallen ones somewhere quiet for future animal inhabitants.

Reduce, Reduce, Grasscycle

You can make your own fertiliser by using natural items from the garden. Use fallen leaves after they decompose. Mixing leftover food with pulled up weeds and grass cuttings creates a nutrient-rich solution for watering plants. You could also try ‘grasscycling’ which involves leaving trimmings on the lawn after mowing, creating an all-natural means of nourishment for your garden to grow in healthy abundance!

Country Compost

Compost heaps are a surprisingly valuable habitat feature for wildlife. Compost heaps can attract a wide variety of creatures into your garden, ranging from earthworms and frogs to hedgehogs and lizards. Always avoid using peat in your compost, as extracting this can destroy unique ecosystems that take centuries to form.

H2O Yeah!

The water is calling! If you have sufficient space, consider adding a natural water feature to your garden. A pond provides drinking and bathing waters for birds and mammals as well as a home for amphibians. Or perhaps offer a birdbath or shallow dish of water placed on the ground?

Easy Access

Hedgehogs are disappearing across the UK and need a helping hand. Ground-dwelling creatures like hedgehogs can’t get to gardens because of their fences, so cut small holes in your fence for them!

Here at Spacecraft, we pride ourselves on eco-friendly construction and innovation. You could even try planting a living roof on your garden room to help recycle some Co2. If you would like an eco-friendly garden room contact us here.