Throughout the decades most homeowners and keen gardeners have realized the importance of creating a sustainable garden – a garden that’s not only beautiful but also productive and fruitful for the wildlife and environment. The key is not only to avoid using pesticides and numerous harmful chemicals but to make it environmentally friendly. This implies having a garden that’s more pollinator, wildlife-friendly, and which is highly sustainable. Creating such a garden in Australia is not plain sailing, but it’s not impossible as well. If you were to combine ethically-sourced materials, innovative technology, and some of these useful pieces of advice, you would be able to plan out a perfect eco-friendly garden.
1. Plant for pollinators and “friendly” bugs
Bees and similar pollinating insects are inevitable garden gems. Pollinators help all the plants, planters, and flowers grow with ease, but if there’s a lack of crops and flowers that boost their energy, they might become a scarcity. The key is to have enough leaves and flowers for bees to pollinate such as buddleia, perennials, or echinacea, but you can also plant veggies for other “good” insects like soldier beetles that love eating rhubarb and cabbage, for instance. By planting various scented flowers and other plants, you would provide food for the wildlife which will immediately boost your garden’s ecosystem. Bear in mind that there will be “bad” bugs, but don’t resort to hazardous pesticides, but rather attract the positive insects that will take care of the nasty ones.
2. Cut down on chemicals
Luckily, Cairns has a tropical climate with hot summers and dry winters, enabling you to adequately control and water your garden. However, there will always be weeds and pests. Using harsh chemicals is not a green way, but you should imply some natural methods to combat pests in our garden. You can use copper slug rings, knock out some pests like greenflies off plants by using a strong jet of water, or planting garlic, elder or rhubarb to control those pests. What’s more, you can opt for companion planting. You can grow carrots and leeks together to repel each other’s garden pests, or plant onion around roses to fight off black spot disease. However, if nothing works, you can contact professional pest control from Cairns for a free quote and see whether they could assist with applying a mindful approach to treating pests.
3. Make your compost
If you wish to be utterly eco-conscious and reduce waste, start composting. Making your own compost is one of the best ways to stay green. Every household has plenty of green waste, and if you were to gather organic waste, such as vegetable peelings, fallen leaves, and weed munch, you would be able to create healthy and nutritious compost for the soil. Composting improves backyard sustainability by reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers, improves the soil in your garden, and keeps moisture in. Do your research and figure out how to start composting and how to maintain it. When you begin composting, aim to stay eco-friendly and pick a bin made out of recycled or reused materials.
4. Choose recycled and other eco-friendly materials
The materials and tools you use for gardening are equally vital as any other sustainable amenity. Try to use locally sourced and manufactured equipment and materials because this significantly reduces the carbon footprint. Pick eco-friendly materials for the garden furniture, pathways, walls, pots, and any other items. Avoid plastic and go for biodegradable planters like egg cartons. Opt for materials such as clay, cob, wooden logs, or any other recycled products to use as garden accessories over plastic. Using green materials brings charm and character to your garden plus it’s one of the easiest ways to go green.
5. Save water
If you strive to protect and make your garden flourish, you need to water your flowers and plants. However, water overconsumption is not a very eco-friendly way to do things. Instead, you could conserve rainwater or try cost-cutting irrigation. Other options include placing an automated watering system and considering going for an underground rain tank. You would save water by not using a sprinkler and watering only the roots when necessary instead of wasting precious water on spraying leaves. Also, don’t mow the lawn too low in hot weather, especially if you happen to live in tropical Far North Queensland.
6. Improve the soil’s health
Sometimes it’s not enough only to use quality compost, very often well-rotted manure is vital as well. Soil is the key ingredient to creating a productive and sustainable garden. It traps and stores carbon and provides a home for the billions of wildlife that are essential for maintaining the health of the planet. The aim of creating an eco-friendly garden and enabling it to flourish is to improve soil quality by paying attention that healthy plants don’t succumb to tedious pests and diseases. Use homemade compost, dig sol when it’s time to plant and let insects do their job.
By switching to green gardening options and looking after your garden mindfully you will be able to protect it and get healthy products for the entire family.