Being eco-aware extends beyond the house, so make your green space even greener this spring

Going green is the only way forward in this uncertain period of climate change. Most of us recycle our rubbish and use energy saving lightbulbs, but what can we do with our gardens and drives?

Here are ways of ensuring you’re as green outside your home as you are in it… 

Water ways Even though there seems to be an excess of water endlessly falling from our skies in the UK, it is still a precious commodity. Conserving water is easy – use water butts to collect run-off rainwater throughout the year and recycle household ‘grey’ water from baths, and so on, ideally using biodegradable detergents and soap.

When it comes to watering your plants, being generous is best, as it encourages deep rooting rather than shallow surface roots, enabling plants to search more effectively for water in dry weather. Water plants in the evening or early morning to minimise evaporation, and direct the water at the soil. For driveways, it’s a good idea to consider a permeable paving system that not only reduces the risk of flooding, but also harvests rainwater for later use.

Go wild
Encourage beasties and bugs in your garden by having a pile of logs in one corner or creating a patch of long grass and putting your fallen leaves in one pile as these will become an ideal habitat for useful creatures, providing shelter, a place to hibernate and reproduce. Hedgehogs, frogs, toads, birds and insects like ladybirds, lacewings, hoverflies and bumblebees will all help to keep out the pests you don’t want, such as snails, slugs and green and blackfly.

Reuse and recycle
Rather than resorting to using concrete (it stops natural irrigation and also prevents plant growth), try to find local or recycled materials for your hard landscaping – anything that will let water through. Use local stone for paving and find out whether your furniture is made from a sustainable source of wood.

Don’t waste electricity by hooking up lights in your garden – use solar lights or a few romantic candles and a brazier (a container for a fire) rather than a patio heater, which is shockingly bad for the natural environment, to keep you warm on cool nights.

For peat’s sake
Our supply of peat is being decimated primarily because of domestic garden use. About 60% of this type of peat comes from peatland habitats in the UK and years of commercial ‘mining’ has meant that lowland peat bogs are becoming increasingly reduced. This in turn means that certain species of wildlife are becoming more and more endangered. Do your bit to protect them by using soil-based mixes or peat-free composts.

Waste not, want not
If you want to be a true eco gardener, composting is the key to successful garden management. Just establish a corner in your garden and chuck all your unwanted vegetation on to the heap. Once you start turning kitchen waste, grass cuttings, annual weeds and ripped-up newspaper into black gold, fallen leaves into flaky leaf-mould and shredded sticks and prunings into valuable mulch, you’ll never burn or chuck out garden rubbish again.

Mulch ado about nothing
Keep your garden moisture in place by applying a mulch (a layer of material such as decaying leaves, bark or compost) laid on the surface of the soil. This will stop water evaporation by wind or by sun and helps prevent weeds and improves soil condition. Gravel or pebbles can be used to mulch plants in pots. It looks good and keeps the plants’ roots cool. In borders and beds, use a good depth (5-10cm) of composted or chipped bark. Always mulch after a decent spell of rain.

Don’t forget the furniture…
If you care about the great outdoors, you’re sure to want to spend time in it, so make sure that what you sit on and eat around is good for the environment, too.

Reclaimed wood A lot of wooden garden furniture is made from reclaimed teak, recovered from neglected, old buildings. Such ancient teak timbers tend to have a very high concentration of oils, which make the wood dense and strong, so it’s perfect for garden furniture as it can cope with changes in temperature and damage from the elements.

Recycled metal There are some beautiful 19th century-style metal tables available. Made from 100% recycled aluminium they are great for the planet, because they consume just 5% of the energy needed to produce aluminium from ore. They’re rust-proof, too, so there’s no need to treat them with dangerous chemicals.

Pictues: getty images & shutterstock