Sustainable, Low-Maintenance Gardens: A Guide for Homeowners
Given the growing awareness of eco-friendly lifestyles, it's time for homeowners to start practicing sustainability in their homes, especially outdoors. Creating a low-maintenance, sustainable garden requires careful consideration of each element of the garden. This includes landscaping, plant selection, soil care, watering and feeding, and general upkeep. For those new to gardening, our guide will help you create the perfect garden that suits your needs and is safe for the environment.
What is a Green Landscape?
The general need for landscaping is to improve the land to increase its functionality and make it aesthetically pleasing for daily use. Common tasks include planting, maintenance, pruning, paving, etc.
Green landscaping or eco-landscaping is exactly what it sounds like: it focuses on sustainable practices that benefit the environment. There are three main principles upon which sustainable landscaping and gardening is based:
Conserve resources: Energy, water, plants, and gardening materials are essential resources for your garden. Energy-efficient gardening methods, upcycled or recycled materials, and climate-friendly plants are essential for sustainable practices. Protect the soil: Soil nutrients and microorganisms are important for your garden's plants and wildlife. Protecting the soil from degradation, compaction, and erosion helps ensure it is healthy and can support life. Integrate biodiversity: A mix of native plants increases climate resilience and naturally creates habitat for local wildlife. A budding ecosystem also aids pollination and provides natural pest control.
The benefits of a sustainable, low-maintenance garden
Now that you know the basics of sustainable gardening and landscaping, you may be wondering how it benefits homeowners. Let's take a look at why sustainable, low-maintenance gardening is not only better for the environment, but also a smart choice for homeowners.
Increase Exterior Appeal: The residential real estate market values sustainable homes. Eco-friendly landscaping helps increase exterior appeal, a key factor that influences many home buyers' decisions. Additionally, studies have shown that sustainable homes that are low in maintenance can sell for more and fall off the market faster than non-sustainable homes. Reduce Utility Bills: Strategic landscaping design and water conservation measures, such as xeriscaping, planting drought-tolerant plants, solar power for gardening, and composting, can help minimize the cost of water, electricity, and gardening supplies. Pest Management: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques naturally control pests and pathogens, keeping your garden lush and healthy while reducing the need for chemical treatments and extensive maintenance. Self-Sufficiency: A sustainable garden allows you to grow your own crops and fertilize your plants with homemade compost. This not only helps manage waste but also reduces your reliance on store-bought goods. According to the president of Burpee Seeds, planting $1 seeds can save you up to $25 on your grocery bill. Beautiful Garden: In addition to the ethical and economic benefits, a simple and sustainable garden creates a calming outdoor atmosphere that blends seamlessly with nature. With the right plants and the right design, your garden can be transformed into an eye-catching landscape that is home to wildlife and pollinators. Resistant to Harsh Weather: With hardy plants in your garden, you don't have to worry about overwatering or weak plants that will die quickly. As a result, you save water, time, and effort during times of low rainfall or harsh weather. Additionally, these plants are resistant to pest damage, eliminating the need for unnecessary treatments. Improved Health: Well-maintained outdoor spaces and gardening improve mental and overall health. Additionally, they suppress allergens such as mold and pollen, which are common causes of respiratory and allergy problems. Similarly, plants absorb carbon dioxide, improving the air quality around you. Sustainable Low Maintenance Gardens: A Homeowners Guide | Check out these helpful tips for creating an eco-friendly, low maintenance garden. Practice sustainability today! #ecofriendly #lowmaintenancegardens
Eco-friendly gardening tips
If you're new to sustainable gardening practices, it can be confusing at the beginning, especially since there are so many different opinions. Here are some basic practices from gardening experts to help get you started on your journey.
Use water wisely
Don't just grab a hose and head to your garden. Instead, install an efficient irrigation system, such as a drip or garden hose, that applies water directly to the roots. This will reduce water waste and plant diseases, such as fungal infections on wet leaves. You can also group plants based on their watering needs to know the right amount and simplify the irrigation process. When watering your plants, choose the coolest time of the day to reduce evaporation and allow the water to penetrate deeper.
Avoid chemical additives
Standard, outdated gardening techniques involve dumping tons of chemicals on your plants in the name of caring for them. But these chemicals strip the soil of essential nutrients and upset the delicate balance of your garden's ecosystem. Some can even damage your plants, especially if used in inappropriate amounts. Luckily, there are plenty of eco-friendly alternatives. You can use neem oil or diatomaceous earth as natural pesticides, weed by hand with tools instead of herbicides, or use natural fertilizers.
Know your soil
It is common to plant gardens without assessing the soil's properties. Furthermore, if any construction work is carried out in the garden, the soil quality can be compromised as heavy machinery compacts the soil and causes topsoil loss.
So prepare your soil by keeping it aerated and nutrient rich. If you have problems with waterlogging, install drainage fabric to prevent erosion and provide proper drainage and filtration to maintain soil stability.
Organic mulching
Mulching is a time-honored method of keeping plants healthy by retaining moisture and reducing temperatures. It also prevents weed growth and, when spread across your lawn, helps to reduce water-hungry grass spread. Mulching materials such as bark, leaves, pine needles, wood chips and hay help break down organic compounds, adding extra nutrients to the soil.
Cultivate native plants
Planting native species helps keep your garden lush and healthy because they thrive in our climate. Plus, native plants attract natural wildlife and ward off invasive plants, pests, and diseases, benefiting overall biodiversity. Plus, these plants require little maintenance and are a great way to conserve water.
Ground Cover Plants
Traditional lawns use up a lot of water and require regular care, while providing minimal benefits to soil and wildlife. Instead, switch to cover crops that protect the soil instead of taking it away. Cover crops suppress weed growth and improve soil tillability, aeration and moisture. Aboveground crops sit close to the ground, requiring little or no mowing, watering or chemical use. This makes them low maintenance and perfect for home gardens.
Composting
If you use your kitchen a lot and have a well-kept garden, organic waste is inevitable. Instead of throwing this in the garbage disposal, turn your kitchen leftovers, garden clippings or trimmings into nutrient-rich compost. This way, you reduce your contribution to endless landfills and produce natural fertilizer at no extra cost. You can compost any organic material, from eggshells, vegetable scraps and dead leaves to wood chips, newspapers and cardboard.
Rainwater harvesting
If you are lucky enough to live in an area that receives ample rainfall, rainwater collection is one of the easiest ways to be environmentally friendly. You can choose a basic collection system such as a rainwater tank, chain, or cistern that has the ability to capture the rainwater that runs off your roof or gutters. Using the collected rainwater to water your garden can significantly reduce outdoor water usage.
How to make gardening easier
The four main benefits of a low-maintenance garden are time efficiency, cost-effectiveness, aesthetics, and environmental friendliness. If you're looking for ways to make your gardening schedule easier, the following tips can help.
Choose the Right Plants: Drought-tolerant, native, and perennial plants are low-maintenance. Choose plants such as succulents, woody herbs, cornflowers, poppies, and hostas to add low-maintenance color to your garden. Simple Garden Layout: Choosing clear borders, wide planting zones, and clean lines will greatly reduce the complexity of maintenance, unlike complex designs that require a lot of upkeep and constant attention to keep in shape. Hardscape Options: Incorporating hardscape elements such as paved or gravel paths, raised and lowered planting beds, and building patios, decks, and porches will reduce the amount of space that needs maintenance and increase the aesthetics and value of your home. Work with the Seasons: As a rule of thumb, always remember that each season has specific requirements. Spring is the time for pruning, fertilizing, and planting. Summer is the time for watering, weeding, and mulching. Fall calls for cleanup, pre-spring planting, and irrigation. Winter requires plant protection, further pruning and planning for next year. Automate tasks: Automate everyday tasks like watering and lighting to keep your garden vibrant and healthy. Install a smart irrigation system and solar-powered garden lights to save time in an environmentally friendly way.
Join the community
Once you have created an eco-friendly, low-maintenance garden, make sure you keep it that way by staying up to date with the latest sustainability advancements. Find like-minded people in your area and exchange ideas about sustainable gardening practices. This way, you can share ideas with others while learning new techniques to reduce your carbon footprint.
Please spread the word and share. Sustainable, Low-Maintenance Gardens: A Homeowners' Guide Sustainable, Low-Maintenance Gardens: A Homeowners' Guide | Check out these helpful tips for creating an eco-friendly, low-maintenance garden. Practice sustainability today! #ecofriendly #lowmaintenancegardens
About the Author
Wellington's top real estate agent, Michelle Gibson, writes: “Sustainable, low maintenance gardens: a guide for homeowners.”
Michelle has specialized in residential real estate in Wellington, Florida and the surrounding areas since 2001. Whether you are looking to buy, sell, or rent, Michelle can assist you throughout the entire real estate transaction. If you would like to benefit from Michelle's knowledge and expertise, please call or email us today.
Service areas include Wellington, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Greenacres and more.
Sustainable, Low-Maintenance Gardens: A Guide for Homeowners
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