From Guest Blogger Amelia Atkins: Green Design–Eco-Friendly Backyard Ideas
If you want to breathe some new life into your outdoor space but don’t want to do that by harming nature, don’t worry! Today, there are amazing new ways to remodel your backyard AND help our environment get back on its feet. Here are some practical and stylish eco-friendly backyard ideas to try this summer!
Ditch fences
Sure, wooden fences are practical and they provide ample privacy, but they do a lot of damage to wildlife. So, instead of fencing your backyard with wood, you can plant a living hedge! Once this natural fence grows, you’ll get a beautiful privacy screen that’s 100% natural. Plus, it will allow wild animals and insects to move as they like and even provide shelter for many species! If you can’t wait for your living fence to grow, you can go with a wooden one, but make sure to cover it with hanging planters!
Tear down your garage
If the only purpose your garage has is to provide shelter for your car, you can easily ditch it and opt for something more space-saving and eco-friendly. For instance, there are practical carports that can be installed in your backyard in no time. They offer great protection to your vehicles while giving your backyard space to breathe. However, the greenest benefit of carports is that you don’t need concrete floors in order for it to be functional. You can leave your ground natural or cover it with beautiful grass of gravel! Tiny critters and burrowing animals will be very grateful!
Go local
Watering plants and lawns wastes a lot of water that is precious, especially in draught-prone areas like Australia or California. So, don’t waste water on irrigation, but plant some native greenery that is perfectly adapted to your climate and rainfall levels. Plus, these plants thrive in local soil and need very little to no mending and fertilizing that pollutes groundwater sources, adding to water pollution. Just make sure to consult with your local experts to avoid planting some overly aggressive plants that will spread quickly and choke up other plants.
Conserve rainwater
Another easy way to conserve water is to create a rain harvesting system. All you need for this practical water collecting is a large barrel that will catch the rain coming from the roof and store it for later use. This collected water isn’t exactly suitable for drinking, but it’s perfectly fine for irrigation, lavatory plumbing or car washing!
Be smart with shade
If you want to have a cozy and beautiful backyard that will also reduce your electricity bill, you must go with trees! Strategically planted trees that shed leaves in winter will provide your backyard AND your home with shade that will help keep your home cool in the summer and showered in warm sunlight in the winter. This will help you reduce your heating and cooling bill and give your backyard ample shade.
Choose eco-friendly pavers
In order to make your backyard safe and practical, you need to invest in some hardscaping, too. However, try to go green with permeable pavers instead of your traditional ones. They will allow rainwater to penetrate the ground instead of getting wasted in the sewer. If these aren’t practical for your backyard, you can opt for reused bricks, stones and concrete slabs rather than buying new.
Repurpose, don’t throw away
Most backyard remodels and renovations usually leave you with many things that don’t have a purpose in your new environment. However, don’t just discard those items and ditch them on a landfill! Try to think outside the box and find new purposes for them. For instance, you might have some old wobbly ladders that have seen better days. With a bit of zero-VOC paint, they can be turned into a chic planter display! Search the internet for these repurposing ideas and you’ll be amazed by what you can do with the “junk”.
With a bit of ingenuity and careful planning, you can have a gorgeous backyard that will help you conserve the environment AND offer you all the comfort you could ask for!
