Wait, what? Doesn’t the fact that your landscape is all about grass, flowers, shrubs and trees make it sort of the poster child for eco-friendliness?
Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make your lawns and gardens healthier for the environment. One way that we have done so in recent years is by regulating the use of harmful chemicals in herbicides and pesticides, including for professional landscaping services.
Fortunately, there are other steps you can take to make your landscape even “greener”.
How to Make Your Landscape Better for the Environment
Plant a Tree
After reducing, reusing and recycling, planting a tree is one of the most environmentally responsible things you can do. How so? In a way, it does more reducing, reusing and recycling for you.
First, trees reduce the energy you use to heat and cool your home. In winter, they protect your home against sharp, cold winds that can suck the heat right out of it. And, in summer, they provide shade that can lower your need for air conditioners.
They also reuse rainwater that you collect in a rain barrel, so you never need to use water from the tap to keep them healthy, and they recycle air pollutants, especially CO2, into fresh, clean oxygen.
Build a Pergola or Gazebo
Pergolas and gazebos aren’t just stylish backyard features where you can relax, work out and entertain. By giving you a place to sit outside, protected from wind, rain and sun, you will spend more time there. And less time inside depending on your AC to keep you cool.
Install an Irrigation System
Compared to watering by hand, lawn irrigation systems help the environment in many ways. First, by automatically regulating how much water is delivered to your lawn, an irrigation system can reduce over-watering. Second, by regularly and more evenly watering your lawn, your lawn is generally healthier, able to produce more oxygen and keep your home cooler.
If you found this post helpful, check out our article “How to Properly Maintain Your Hedges”.
