How to ensure that your garden is environmentally friendly
So many people spend hours in their garden looking to make it beautiful and to do good things for the environment. They firmly believe that a nice garden is good for the world and they go all out to make it the best possible garden it can be. But the truth is that often gardens cause more harm than good and that while a garden might look great on the surface, anything more than a cursory look will reveal bad things. ‘What are those bad things?’, you ask. How can a garden be bad for the environment? Here are a few things that could be done better, or which shouldn’t even be done at all.
Keep it natural
People love to put water features in their garden and these are great. They look good and they can draw animals like birds to the area, but they can also be a drain on electricity. So, if you feel the need to have a pump powering a stream or a fountain, then investigate solar fountain pumps Melbourne or any major city in Australia should have plenty of companies that can supply and install these devices. Quite simply, you don’t need to draw electricity from the grid to enhance your garden.
What about the water
If you plant indigenous vegetation it should be hardy enough to survive the local conditions. And if you do need to water plants to keep them going through the dry periods then look to use grey water. Clean water is a scarce resource that is rapidly running out. It is a complete waste to use it in the garden. Rather install a system that collects your used water (not from the toilet), from showers and baths and washing machines and dishwashers, etc. and which then pumps it onto the garden. In essence, this is a solution that uses water twice. It is great for your budget and it is also good for the world!
Say no to fertilizer
Gardens really don’t need fertilizers. Well, it might seem like they do, because they grow better once fertilizer is applied. The problem here is that the fertilizer ends up in runoff water and heading into streams and estuaries where it continues to work its magic. As a result, rivers, and streams become overrun with plants and alien vegetation thrives even more than it should. The rampant growing plants take oxygen from the water and animals die. It is a bad situation!
Stop the raking
Some people have the idea that a perfect garden has no leaves in it. They spend hours raking and picking up every last leaf. This is very bad behaviour and it slowly but surely causes the soil to deteriorate. Fallen leaves are nature’s way of making mulch, which keeps the soil moist and provides habits for small insects and bugs. These insects break the leaves down and form compost which in turn makes the soil more fertile and encourages more plant growth. So, removing the leaves is bad practice. The small bugs and insects that live in eth fallen leaves are food for birds and other larger animals, which all work together to form a healthy ecosystem.