From Guest Blogger Brooke Chaplan: How to Make Your Landscaping Greener and More Eco-Friendly

In a world of finite resources and climate-damaging environmental practices, it is more important than ever for each of us to adopt greener and more ecologically-helpful habits, especially in our landscape. The landscape around any house is a microcosm of the wider environment, and, like good manners, good land husbandry and eco-friendly practices begin at home. It is here that we can all make changes to ensure the sustainability and well-being of our respective habitats.
Reduce Pollution

Cut down on landscape pollution by using manual tools. According to an ABC news report, an EPA spokeswoman confirms that fuel-powered landscaping equipment are major contributors to air pollution. A push mower is best, but if that is not an option, use an electrical mower rather than one which uses gasoline.

Use Solar Lighting

Night lighting is a safety measure, and it brings the landscape to life. However, electrical lighting is a waste of energy. Use solar lights instead. Solar lights have great aesthetic appeal, especially at night time. Think about choosing some high quality solar lights that will last a long time, this will also reduce your carbon footprint.

Choose an Eco-Friendly Landscape Design

Whether it is designing a landscape from scratch, or renovating an existing landscape, experienced landscape design companies can incorporate any number of green and eco-friendly features. Depending on the suitability of the site and the budget available, such features can include a rain garden to prevent soil erosion and for watering plants. Landscapers can use permeable pavers to create attractive hardscaped areas for entertaining and relaxing, thus reducing areas laid to lawn, and the need for expensive and potentially-toxic lawn maintenance. Artificial turf can be used to create children’s play areas.

The landscape designer will consider factors such as soil type, sunlight, shade, and slope of the land. He or she will select suitable plants and shrubs for each environmental condition. When the optimal needs of plants are met, they are less susceptible to diseases and infestations, eliminating the need for harmful pesticides /herbicides.

Go Native

Take a leaf out of Mother Nature’s book. Use native plants in your flowerbeds. Some companies, such as W.H. Boyer, Inc., know that they are more disease-resistant than plants that hail from foreign climes, and they attract beneficial insects and pollinators to the landscape. This can make your garden into a veritable paradise of life for many different types of animal and plant life.

Conserve Water with Xeriscape

Xeriscaping is landscaping that is highly drought-tolerant. In particularly dry regions, the right plants provide color and beauty without the need for supplemental watering. Conserving water in your garden and yard is important, as many people waste gallons and gallons by watering during the day, and over-watering during the night.

Use Online Resources

Along with the services of a good ecologically-friendly landscaping company, you can also make use of a series of webinars on sustainable gardening and landscaping. These can be found at the eco-landscaping website: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/ela-webinar-series/. The website has an Eco-Marketplace where you can purchase green landscaping and gardening resources and supplies.

Ultimately, we are all stewards of our landscape. When we adopt greener and more ecologically-friendly practices, we help to reduce the toxic burden on the environment and on our health. Large or small, the changes we make now will have a massive and positive impact on the future of the environment as a whole.