In 2021 we all need to do our part in helping the planet in whatever way we can. Whether you’re an avid gardener or have just started tending to your garden during the pandemic, now is better than ever to begin adapting your garden to become more eco-friendly. Gardening is already rather good for the environment but little changes in how you approach cultivating your home landscape can have benefits to the environment.

Get Planting

The obvious place to start when making your garden an eco paradise is to get planting. When you may have an idea of a design or colour scheme, think about what will be native to your area. This will attract and preserve local wildlife to your garden. Native flowers tend to require less maintenance and are more resistant to pests than other types of plants. These particular types of plants will help insects such as bees and butterflies, who’s numbers are on a rapid decline in recent years.

If you have space in your garden, plant a tree. Gardens with trees attract wildlife more than ones without, and absorb pollution in the air. This will also benefit the garden as a whole, providing shade and reducing noise pollution. Additionally, it will make your garden look a lot more attractive, especially using it as a centrepiece of the garden or maybe near the back to create a shaded area.

Supporting Wildlife

The best way to show that your garden is becoming eco-friendly is by the amount of animals and wildlife you will be attracting.

It’s great to see lots of colourful creatures enter your garden, but while they are visiting you could provide them with a lot more. Installing bird boxes and hedgehog homes will help protect the local wildlife. You can buy these out right away and you could look into making your own with things laying around the house.

Anyone looking to draw more interesting animals to their garden, and create more of an ecosystem should invest in a water feature. If you are able to have a large feature in your garden, a pond will be the most impactful. Not only will this be able to support animals such as amphibians and fish, but it will also become a source of water for birds and mammals. If you don’t have the room to accommodate a pond but are looking for small features to help the wildlife, a birdbath can be just as effective for providing a water source for mammals.

What’s more, it’s a good idea to allow access to the small critters. As with large fences a lot of animals like hedgehogs may be left out in the cold. The ground dwellers can face a lot of problems, so try and help them survive. If you are spending all this time making your garden equipped for all this wildlife, leave a small hole in the bottom of your fence for them to enter your garden.

Nature needs everyone to work together to help keep the planet alive. Adapting your garden to help support the local wildlife and local ecosystems helps to do your part for the environment. Gardening can benefit more than just the homeowners and is in the best interest of the environment. Looking into what plants will thrive in your garden, helps to retain your garden’s beauty whilst also aiding the environment. To conclude:

• Keep the garden natural and allowing things to become overgrown in a controlled manner will give an authentic wild look.
• Install equipment to help give to the animals in your area such as; bug hotels and bird baths will allow nature to take back from your garden.
• Consider plants native to your area.
• Consider planting trees to support wildlife and reduce pollution.