Five Easy Ways to Create an Environmentally Friendly Garden

Everyone knows that we should help the environment. Yet what should we consider when maintaining a garden? This article describes five ways which will help you create a beautiful and environmentally friendly garden all at once. It doesn’t matter whether you have 100 square meters or only a few potted plants on the balcony- even the smallest garden helps!

1. Refrain from using pesticides.
Not only do pesticides kill or chase away many living organisms that are not targeted, such as ladybugs, they can also cause bioaccumulation and eutrophication. Bioaccumulation is the process when a small organism consumes a small amount of poison, and its predator, for example a mouse or cat, consumes many organisms and thereby a lot of poison. Eutrophication on the other hand is when the pesticide gets flushed into a water body and causes algae to grow there. This smothers all other life forms in the water. As an alternative, if you really need to control some pests, there are many biological pest controls available nowadays.

2. Let it grow!
Although you have to remove weeds from your garden, don’t enforce your will upon it entirely! If you planted, say, tulips, and for some reason strawberries start to grow in the area, don’t immediately rip them out. The area might be better suited to strawberries, and they make lovely plants too!

3. Get informed about local plants.
Every area has different indigenous species. If you buy traditional plants, this will greatly help local wildlife and you can soon enjoy all kinds of animals in your garden!

4. Add variety.
Experiment with many different plants and see what grows best! It’s much better to have a variety of species in your garden, so that different birds, bees, butterflies and insects can find food or shelter. In addition, who wants their garden to look monotonous? Buy a mix of tall, short, leafy, flowering, and seasonal plants. A great idea is to set aside a patch and sow wild grass and flowers. This is, as well as being ecologically useful and beautifully colorful, low-maintenance, as it only has to be mown twice a year.

5. Finally… Enjoy!
Once you’ve established your garden, don’t neglect it! Do a quick weeding every week or so to keep it neat, and cut down dead flowers. Now it’s time to enjoy your healthy, natural garden! If you’ve planted veggies or fruit, why not use them to cook your next meal? Check out my other article for some great cooking tips you could use: http://expertscolumn.com/content/five-great-cooking-tips
Have fun, and don’t forget to tell me about your new garden in a comment!