Over half of the country, or 55% of American households are engaged in gardening activities, according to research by Scotts Miracle-Gro and Wakefield. While this translates to 71.5 million gardening households, those who wish to start a garden themselves — or transform their garden into one that’s even better for the environment — can easily do so in time for Arbor Day. From understanding what makes a garden eco-friendly to how you can implement key changes right at home, here are a few smart ways you can get started.
Appreciating what an eco-friendly garden can do
While gardening is a great way to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle, it’s important to recognize that there are many ways in which the hobby can be even kinder to the environment. According to the American Horticultural Society, sustainable gardening “combines organic gardening practices with resource conservation.” The site further goes on to note that sustainable gardening is forward-thinking, values ecosystem support over aesthetics, and works with nature instead of against it in addition to making as little negative impact on the planet as possible. With that in mind, it’s noted that there are many environmentally friendly ways to enhance a garden, from choosing native plants that are adapted to the local climate/soil conditions to opting for eco-friendly materials and tools, aiming for water efficiency, and maintaining healthy soil.
The advantages of planting more trees
When looking to create a garden that’s kinder to the environment, the plants that you include can make a huge difference. In addition to choosing native plants, planting trees for Arbor Day is an excellent way to start a green and healthy garden. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, trees not only reduce air and water pollution and create oxygen, but reduce energy costs and storm runoff, provide shade, act as windbreaks, sound barriers, and visual screens, thus improving our quality of life in many great ways. Whether you choose to plant a tree to create privacy or shade in your garden or to be a source of fruit, planting trees for Arbor Day can be an ideal way to celebrate the holiday with the whole family while also enjoying the outdoors.
Water conservation through efficiency
For many with their own garden, overwatering plants can be a major challenge. Not only can overwatering result in unnecessary waste, but it can also severely damage plants. In regard to trees, for instance, one post from Utah State University Extension Utah Pests notes that overwatering can cause as much stress as severe drought. The post also explains that too much water will saturate soils, displacing air and “starving the roots of oxygen,” also stating that saturated soils will cause roots to die. With symptoms of overwatering including canopy dieback, leaf yellowing, necrosis, scorch, wilting and leaf loss, it’s highlighted that tree death can occur where standing water is persistent, according to the site.
Avoiding water waste and overwatering can be achieved in a few different ways. While understanding the water needs of your trees and other plants within the garden can go a long way, installing an irrigation system presents another way in which you can make your garden even greener. One Better Homes & Gardens post highlights the various benefits of using an irrigation system, noting that matching your landscape’s watering needs to your schedule, climate, and plantings saves you money (especially if you’ve been leaving sprinklers/soakers on overnight). While it’s noted that installing an irrigation system will require some manual labor, it’s not impossible, and inclusions of an automatic timer can make irrigation even easier. Mapping out the irrigation plan beforehand is a great place to start. According to the Better Homes & Gardens post, this involves sketching your yard in detail (including shrubs, trees, planting beds, etc., which will help your supplier determine what your yard will need.
Optimizing an outdoor space for less waste
When looking to make your garden even more planet-friendly to honor Arbor Day, optimizing your outdoor space in a way that benefits the environment is just one smart way to do just that. If you have an expansive yard with an abundance of grass, for instance, excessive watering, mowing, and other efforts to keep the space neat and presentable can be a strain on the environment. While alternatives such as groundcover can be a great solution for creating an eco-friendly and greener garden space, considering the use of artificial turf may be another way to optimize the space for the environment.
While natural grass needs considerable amounts of water to stay fresh and green during the growing/summer seasons, artificial turf won’t need much at all, thus making for a great way to further conserve water usage. However, the benefits can be even more plentiful — artificial lawns require a low level of maintenance (which can be done by simply raking and bruising debris from the turf) when compared to the equipment and machinery used to maintain natural lawns, allowing you to trade a lawn mower for a simple push broom. Eco-friendly products are also available to help clean the turf (if you choose to use such products), and artificial turf companies and producers are working to create planet-friendly solutions for turf once its lifespan is up — for instance, some companies accept old turf, which is then recycled so the product can be reused.
Creating a garden that’s as beneficial for the environment as possible can sound like a challenging and time-consuming task, especially when aiming to do so in time for Arbor Day. However, by mapping out an irrigation system for more efficient watering, optimizing your outdoor space to cut down on resources, and even simply planting a tree, you can honor the holiday in several easy ways.
