Helpful Tips for Designing an Eco-Friendly Landscape
Redesigning your outdoor landscape is exciting, but it requires strategic plans and research. It is important to design a landscape that is functional, yet still attractive and affordable. In addition, it’s becoming more and more important to design a yard that is also environmentally friendly.
With pollution, climate change, and the presence of greenhouse gases, becoming environmentally savvy is more important than ever. This importance also carries over to designing and maintaining your landscape. Landscape design and maintenance can easily become environmentally detrimental because of the use of water, pesticides, and energy used in construction and upkeep. An expert from Goldleaf Designs, custom home builders in Cherry Hill New Jersey pointed out, “When designing their landscape layout, people rarely even consider how to make it eco-friendly; however, this isn’t always their fault. A lot of the time customers aren’t aware of the options they have to make their yard more environmentally savvy.”
Spreading awareness of how to make yard redesigns more environment-focused could be an important breakthrough in landscaping. Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when designing your new landscape that will protect and conserve the environment:
Use Smart Irrigation
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Irrigation systems are great for any landscape, especially landscapes that are prone to dry climates and flooding.
Though certain irrigation systems can be detrimental to the environment because of the use of vast amounts of water, irrigation systems that use rainwater and natural groundwater are a positive way to keep your landscape healthy. Using natural water, by manipulating it to filter into pumps and wells, is a great way to make sure your landscape is getting the right amount. This ensures your landscaping isn’t using unnecessary amounts of water the way one may do so using a sprinkler system.
It’s important to keep your landscape healthy with proper watering; however, landscapes that flood easily will turn muddy and plants can drown. Flood irrigation is an easy and eco-friendly way to avoid this issue. Flood irrigation is simply redirecting water through a ditch or pipe so that it flows throughout the ground to the vegetation in the designated area, rather than flooding the landscape all at once.
Start a Compost Pile
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Starting a compost pile is an easy and free way to add to your landscape. A compost pile’s purpose is to convert your waste into nutrients for your yard; this not only will eliminate waste in your home which is helpful for the environment but it also naturally enhances the health of your outdoor landscape.
Here are some of the major benefits of creating a compost pile in your yard.
Enhances soil that is able to retain moisture and suppress disease and pests
Reduces need for chemical fertilizers
Beneficial bacteria and fungi are created
Helps control erosion
Almost any kind of food can be added to a compost pile as long as it isn’t meat, a dairy product, or processed greasy food. A large bin can be used for your compost pile, and because a compost pile is leftover food, it can give off an odor, so keeping this bin away from your home is ideal. A commonplace for a compost pile is in the corners of your backyard.
Your yard will benefit from the nutrients that come with a compost pile by looking lush, healthy, and abundant without the use of harsh and unnatural chemicals and additives.
Create Habitats for Wildlife
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Planting flowers, trees, shrubs, and different kinds of grasses is an easy way to make your yard redesign superior while also providing a home and food for insects and small animals. Providing a habitat for wildlife is a simple and easy way to consider the environment during your redesign. Oftentimes, insects and small animals lose their homes to landscape redesign, but incorporating a home for them can ensure that they will still have a place to go, increasing their lifespan and livelihood.
Not only does this tip benefit the wildlife living in your yard, but it adds to the aesthetic aspect. If you are looking to create an eco-friendly area to attract other living organisms, you will have to plant a variety of different kinds of plants. Your landscape redesign will have a plethora of colors and plants that will make your yard welcoming to wildlife and visually pleasing to humans.
“Plant” Artificial Grass
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At first, this tip may seem counterproductive to an eco-friendly landscape. Here’s the truth, sometimes it is; however, artificial grass is convenient for places that do not grow grass easily and do not require copious amounts of watering and fertilizer treatments. Too much water and the use of harsh chemicals often is more detrimental than the one time impact of installing artificial grass.
Artificial grass is always vibrant green which makes your yard look great all year around. Artificial grass also requires very low maintenance and is extremely durable so will save you money in addition to all of the environmentally friendly benefits it has to offer.
Reduce Pesticides
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Pesticides are one of the most damaging things to the environment. Pesticides contaminate soil, water, and other types of vegetation found throughout landscapes. Pesticides also are harmful to wildlife and other living organisms in the environment.
Unfortunately, there are some pesticides that are helpful in some ways, like keeping insects off of crops. The key to this is to only use pesticides when totally necessary and to use pesticides that come from natural sources and are not synthetic. Here are some eco-friendly pesticides that can be used if the use of a pesticide is absolutely necessary:
Neem Oil
Insecticidal Oils
Botanical Insecticides
Garlic Insecticide Spray
Soap Spray Insecticide
These pesticides will do the job of keeping pests away from crops and from damaging plants, and other areas of your landscape but will not kill/harm any wildlife and other organisms.
Using natural pesticides is crucial for human well-being as well, if not washed properly, ingesting pesticides can be detrimental to human health as well.
Increase Hardscapes
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Incorporating hardscapes in your landscape offers the benefit of an attractive and welcoming yard, but also prevents erosion. Erosion is a natural process that happens when rock and soil are loosened and are moved to another. Erosion can be detrimental to the environment because it can wear down natural landscapes and vegetation.
Strategically placing hardscapes in your landscape will help the landscape stay intact for much longer, despite the weather and other natural occurrences outdoors.
Improve the Quality of Your Landscape and the Environment
Landscape architecture is important to the environment for a number of reasons and it’s especially important to know how to use your new, attractive landscape as a means to help and preserve the environment. Consulting an expert could make this process easy and will give you more eco-friendly ideas. With proper research and planning, your dream landscape will look outstanding and will be environmentally savvy.
Author: Jennifer Bell is a freelance writer, blogger, dog-enthusiast and avid beach-goer operating out of Southern New Jersey.
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