8 Eco-Friendly Landscaping Ideas

Sponsor/Writer - LouAnn Moss

The way that people decorate their green spaces isn’t always necessarily eco-friendly. Sometimes the path to leading a greener life means being more selective of the way that you style in your literal green spaces. This list will help you get some inspiration for making sure that your landscaping is as eco-friendly as possible.

1. Use Recycled Materials


If there are any non-gardening materials that you’re using in your landscaping, make sure that you’re using recycled materials anytime it’s possible. If you’re interested in outdoor furniture, for example, look into getting something made of recycled steel. Almost 69% of all steel is recycled in North America each year, so you’ll likely have options for different styles and finishes.

If you’re opting for wooden furniture, use reclaimed wood so you aren’t contributing to the demand for more trees being cut down. These small changes create more of a demand for recycled materials, which is better for the environment than if everyone were buying everything brand new.

2. Choose Plants Native to Your Area


Your region will have plants that are native to the area and that are meant for your specific climate. Other plants, though they may thrive in the region, aren’t actually native to it and can cause damage to its natural ecosystems. Something that is not an invasive species in its climate of origin could become an invasive species in another region with different levels of rain, humidity, and other climate-based factors.

That’s why it’s so important that when you’re investing in landscaping, you do your research. Spending just 5% of your home’s value on landscaping can yield up to a 150% ROI, but if you accidentally plant a species that is invasive in your climate, you could end up having the rest of your landscaping totally overtaken.

3. Use Mulch


Mulch is a great tool that not only adds a cohesive look to your landscaping but also helps out the plants in your garden. Mulch helps stop water in the ground from evaporating, which means less watering for you. In addition, once the natural mulch, like wood chips, bark, leaves, and pine needles, starts to break down, it provides nutrients for the soil. Mulch is a great tool to use in your garden even when you aren’t thinking of the environmental impact, which makes it that much better to use in your eco-friendly yard.

4. Ditch the Grass


Grass takes a lot of water to stay as green as it’s supposed to be. If you live in an area where typical grass is a native species, that may be okay for you to have on your lawn, but in drier climates, grass likely requires a lot more water than you would prefer to use.

Instead of traditional grass, look into using ground covering plants, like clover or moss. Clover flourishes in sunny yards while moss is better in shady areas. If you do feel like you need grass in your yard, try to limit the amount of area that the grass covers, and add more garden beds or even outdoor living spaces to take up space where there was once grass.

5. Include a Compost Pile


Composting is great for the environment. Not only is it keeping some trash out of landfills, but it also creates a natural fertilizer that you can use to keep your landscaping looking great. You can compost most food scraps and even certain things like paper towels without added chemicals, and to collect these you can just keep a small, airtight bin in your kitchen. Once the bin is full, you can add it to your outdoor compost pile.

If you don’t have the room required for a traditional compost pile or you know you won’t be able to get out there and tend to it as often as you should, you can also get a compost tumbler designed to work in smaller spaces. These tumblers have a door that you can open to put in your scraps to be composted, and once you add the other materials needed for composting, you just have to turn the tumbler to mix the different things together.

6. Use Solar Lighting


Energy efficiency is a huge topic when it comes to ways to be more eco-friendly, which is probably why 2.2 million Americans have jobs in energy efficiency. Outdoor lighting can be a great way to literally highlight your favorite parts of your yard, and there’s a green alternative to trying to wire all of those lights.

Outdoor lights designed to work solely from solar power have been around for years, and the technology only improves as time goes on. This means that now there are even more options for solar powered outdoor lights, so you don’t have to sacrifice style for energy efficiency.

7. Catch Rainwater


Most gardens need to be watered because the natural rainwater that your area gets won’t be enough. However, instead of tapping into your usual garden hose to fill up your watering cans, consider putting out a rain collection barrel. You can place these barrels under your gutter run off to collect all of the water from your roof, and whatever water they collect during storms can be used to water the rest of your garden.

8. Think of the Bees


Bees are a very important part of our ecosystem, but in recent years we’ve lost a large portion of the bee population. Bees are also very helpful pollinators in the spring, which means that you may have more beautiful blooms because of their efforts. To refresh the bees that come through your garden, try to plant flowers that they like, such as:

  • Sunflowers
  • Asters
  • Dandelions
  • Bee Balm
  • Lilacs
  • Cosmos
  • Wisteria
  • Tulips
  • Peonies
  • Honeysuckle

Not only are these flowers beautiful, but they will also help the bees in your area. Bees are not something to fear, but if you are allergic or otherwise worried, you can plant these flowers close together to encourage the bees to spend their time in one specific area.

Having beautiful landscaping is important, but being kind to the environment is more important. Luckily, you can have beautiful, unique landscaping without having to cause harm to the environment.

Have you tried any of these things in your garden? Are you thinking of trying any of these out?

Image credit: Storyblocks

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