Why Pick Sustainable Gardening?
Here at Birch Landscapes in Milton Keynes, we do all we can to ensure our impact on the environment is a positive one. With gardening becoming an ever more popular hobby, it’s important to make sure our home’s outdoor living spaces are environmentally resilient.
Not only is gardening a relaxing and nurturing hobby, it is also proven to have exceptional benefits for mental health and general wellbeing. A publication from The British Psychological Institute even cites horticultural therapy as being extremely beneficial to those suffering from mental health conditions and diseases such as depression, schizophrenia and dementia.
With gardening having so many beneficial aspects, it’s surprising that only 40% of the UK population have picked up gardening as a pastime. This is especially surprising, as approximately 87% of UK households have access to a garden in their own homes!
The impact sustainable gardening has upon local environments is astounding, and it’s important that we understand the importance of sustainable gardening, and why it’s essential for preserving our environment.
Definition & Impact
Sustainable landscaping, also known as ‘eco-gardening’, is designed to find an even balance between aesthetic appeal and minimal environmental impact. This usually means that the design needs to be functional, aesthetically pleasing, and environmentally friendly.
This unique method of creating garden living spaces also means taking extra care to use sustainable practices, products and utilities throughout its entire design. This includes using water efficiently, utilising irrigation, planting pollinator–friendly plants and trees, and growing home produce. Another facet of sustainable gardening is ensuring that your garden continues to be environmentally friendly, even after installation.
What We Do To Reduce Our Environmental Footprint
Here at Birch Landscapes, we ensure to keep our environmental impact to a minimum. We believe that your green living spaces should not only be beautiful and relaxing environments to find joy in, but should also be beneficial to the environment. One of the many ways we curb our environmental impact is by always recycling our excess gardening materials, such as soil, turf, wood and more.
We work exclusively with Smith Recycling in Milton Keynes, who are specialists in waste management and recycling. We choose to work with this environmentally conscious waste management service, due to the staggering impact recycling has on the environment when compared to other landfill methods.
What You Can Do To Help
According to The Royal Horticultural Society, these are some of the best ways to improve the sustainability of your garden:
Plant Trees
Planting even small trees in your garden significantly improves oxygen levels in your local area, adds significant value to your property, provides shade, and looks beautiful.
Go Peat Free
When peat is extracted from its natural source, large amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere. With so many sustainable options such as bark, wood, bracken and more, why not choose a friendlier option to do your part for the environment?
Make Your Own Compost
Making your own compost from household waste is an excellent way to improve your environmental impact. By creating your own nutrient rich soil from regular waste, you can significantly reduce the amount of waste going to landfills.
Remove Garden Pavers
Removing garden pavers from your green living areas is a great way to make space for grass, plants, wildlife and more, even the smallest of garden spaces can be transformed into a beautiful green space.
Plant Pollinator-Friendly Plants
Pollinator friendly plants and perennials such as Borage, Coneflowers, Milkweed and Dahlias are an excellent way to invite pollinating insects into your garden, helping to improve bee populations and more.
Recycle Your Leftover Garden Waste
Recycle any garden waste responsibly! There are many reputable recycling and waste management services offering sustainable waste management solutions, so instead of going to the tip, do your bit and recycle your garden waste responsibly.
Final Thoughts
With all of the benefits that gardening brings, it’s surprising why more people haven’t picked up this therapeutic pastime across the UK. With extensive research stating that gardening and horticultural practices in general are exceptional for improving mental, physical and emotional health, as well as being incredibly beneficial to the environment, local wildlife, and air quality.
There are many cost and space friendly options available, including population-boosting bee houses and habitats, rainwater harvesting tanks, and even simply growing your own produce. It’s never been easier to have a green living space that is not only visually stunning, but is also sustainable for the environment.
For ideas for your own sustainable garden, check out our previous work in our online portfolio, or get in touch with us for more information on our garden and landscape transformations.
