Come spring and summer, people look forward to spending more time outdoors. Whether you have a small yard or a large garden, you can make your outdoor space more eco-friendly using a few simple tips and equipment.
Go Organic
One way to create an eco-garden is by going organic. You can grow fruits, vegetables, flowers, and lawn in a more organic manner by avoiding chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Instead, focus on using non-GMO seeds and organic compost and mulch in your garden. You can also utilize techniques such as companion planting to reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides in your garden.
Solar Lights
While lights are a must to make the garden usable in the evenings and at night, you can reduce the dependence on electricity and make the garden eco-friendly by using solar lights. Install solar panels that will recharge a battery during the day and use the power of the sun to keep your garden lighted during the night, or at least most of the night. You may still want to keep a flashlight nearby but with this set up, you will save time and money in several ways.
Rain Water Barrels
With many parts of the US experiencing drought and water shortage, you can make your garden eco-friendly and green without feeling guilty about using municipal water by installing rain water barrels. These are barrels that will collect rain water from spouts and store them for use in the garden. You can install a mechanical sprinkler or hose to the rain water barrel to make watering your garden easier.
Compost Bin
Depending on the size of your garden, you can either install a compost pit or a compost bin in your yard. A decorative compost bin is a great way to go organic in even a small yard. Simply keep adding dead garden waste and food scraps from your kitchen into the compost bin and spread the compost on garden beds. Let’s be honest, you do not eat everything. There is going to be left over food and scrapings if you cook at home at all.
Eco-Friendly Furniture
You can also use eco-friendly furniture designed for the garden. These wooden furniture are not treated with chemicals and can be left exposed in the garden during the warmer months.
Natural Swimming Pools
You can increase the quotient of eco-friendliness in your garden by installing a natural swimming pool or converting your existing swimming pool into a natural one. This typically requires twice the area of the pool to ensure that the water in the pool is cleaned naturally using plants. These pools avoid the use of chlorine and other chemicals and also do not need to be drained. You only need to top up water that evaporates, reducing your water bill as well.
You can opt for a hybrid swimming pool that uses some mechanical components and plants instead of chemicals if you do not have sufficient space for a completely natural swimming pool.
Natural Features
An eco-friendly garden will have more natural features and local plants and trees in it. Instead of stocking your garden with exotic plants, plant local varieties of trees, flowers, and vegetables. These are easier to grow and more eco-friendly as they require less chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
While an eco-friendly garden can be a challenge to design, the pleasures it provides can be greater. You can be sure that you will not develop allergies to the pesticides and chemicals used in the garden. Moreover, you can use your ingenuity to upcycle, recycle, and repurpose items you have found around the house and yard to create your garden.
For instance, instead of uprooting a tree stump after chopping down a dead tree, you could leave the stump in place and design a garden feature around it. Maybe, you could build an arbor over it and use the stump as a center table or a seat.
Similarly, you can place large rocks under a pergola and create a natural seating arrangement that is aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly. These types of seating will also require less maintenance as they will only become weathered over the years.
Naturally Weathered Look
Another way to make your garden eco-friendly is to decide to have the tree house and garden furniture sport a naturally weathered look. This means that you can avoid painting them each year, keeping chemicals away from the garden. Instead, you might have to apply a coat of varnish over the weathered wood once in a couple of years to protect the wood.
If you want to convert your garden into a more eco-friendly one you can start small and begin with a compost bin or rain water barrel and gradually move on to other features.
A lush and green garden is a welcome sight, but with many parts of the country suffering from water shortage, choosing to plant drought-resistant plants that require less water will reduce your water bills and make your garden more eco-friendly.
Drought-resistant plants do not mean only cacti. There are many flowering plants, shrubs, and perennials that have been developed to be drought-resistant. These plants will survive on rainfall after they have become established.
However, the first year or first month you will have to ensure that they are watered adequately. After that the drought resistant plants might not bloom when there is no rainfall or watering, but will survive and add color to your garden after you water them or there is adequate rainfall.
General Watering Tips
Whether you have planted only drought-resistant plants or some sections of your garden have plants that require regular watering, you need to follow the rule of occasional deep watering rather than frequent shallow watering.
A general rule of thumb is to water the plants once a week so that the soil receives an inch of water. Avoid watering the leaves since this can lead to the growth of fungi.
Covering the soil with mulch will also help prevent water evaporation from the soil, helping to delay watering sessions.
Drought-Resistant Plants
Yarrow ‘Coronation Gold’: These are golden yellow flowers that bloom among tall silvery gray leaves. The flowers bloom from mid-summer to early autumn. The plants grow up to three feet in height and require plenty of direct sunlight and soil that handles moisture well with the proper drainage capabilities.
Silver Artemisias: You can add fragrance to your garden with this silvery gray leafy plant. The aromatic leaves grow from between one and a half feet to four feet in height depending on the variety you choose. These plants thrive in direct sunlight and when they are growing in well-drained soil. They can be invasive and you need to divide them often to limit their spread.
Purple Coneflower: Another plant that prefers direct sunlight and well-drained soil is the purple coneflower. The plant grows to be between .6 to 1.3 meters or two and four feet in height.
Tall Bearded Iris: This hardy plant also requires direct exposure to sunlight and well-drained soil. It blooms in spring and is a great ornamental plant with blade-like leaves and purple flowers with six petals. The plant grows to be more than .6 meters or two feet in height.
Rosemary: Another hardy plant that produces both flowers and aromatic leaves. The pine-like leaves add a distinct aroma to the garden while the sun-loving plant will thrive on well-drained soil and less water.
Common Thyme: This is a garden plant that blooms in late spring and early summer. The bush-like plants grow to a maximum of one foot in height and the flowers are white or light purple in color. The plant can be grown in either direct sunlight or lightly shaded areas.
Lavender: These mounding plants flower in the summer. The silvery gray leaves of lavender are spiky and the plant grows to between two and three feet in height. The flowers can be lavender, purple, or white depending on the variety you choose.
Common Sage: The wooly gray green leaves of this plant make them attractive throughout the growing season. The plant prefers direct sunlight and a soil that is not too saturated and that allows the water to drain away appropriately. It can grow to between .6 to 1 meter or two to three feet in height.
Hens and Chicks: This is a succulent plant with blue green leaves that are tipped with red or purple highlights in the summer. The plants should be placed in direct sunlight or lightly shaded locations and the soil should not be flooded.
Snow-in-Summer: This plant is very short, only six to ten centimeters or two to three inches in height. The leaves are silvery and the flowers are star-shaped and white. The plant thrives in direct sunlight and in soil that does not hold water for extended periods of time.
Creeping Phlox: This is a hardy plant that grows in fertile soil that is well drained. The flowers bloom in late spring or early summer. The plant is only six to 21 centimeters or two to six inches tall and the leaves are bright green and form a majestic background for the white, pink, or violet flowers. These plants can make attractive borders.
Sedum: This plant has fleshy evergreen leaves and grows well in average or fertile soil. The plant requires direct sunlight. It flowers in summer and produces loose clusters of purple or white flowers. The short plant attains a maximum height of about 14 centimeters or four inches.
An eco-friendly garden should make every effort to conserve water, using drought-resistant plants, storing rain water in barrels, and using mulch to help the soil retain moisture for a longer period of time. These steps will ensure that your garden is lush and enticing without consuming a lot of precious water during the dry months.
Come spring and summer, people look forward to spending more time outdoors. Whether you have a small yard or a large garden, you can make your outdoor space more eco-friendly using a few simple tips and equipment.
A lush and green garden is a welcome sight, but with many parts of the country suffering from water shortage, choosing to plant drought-resistant plants that require less water will reduce your water bills and make your garden more eco-friendly.
Drought-resistant plants do not mean only 
