With more and more of us becoming increasingly aware of our impact on the environment, it’s only natural to look into the different ways that we can help the planet on an individual level. For those who are passionate about gardening and love to spend their time outdoors, there are lots of things that you can do in your own back garden that will help the environment on a local and global scale.

We’ve put together some top tips to creating an eco friendly garden so that you, your family, and the planet can enjoy your outdoor space.

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Increase Biodiversity

When you start to notice more wildlife in your outdoor space, you’ll know that your eco friendly garden is thriving. Providing nectar rich flowers and berry producing plants is just one of the ways you can attract wildlife and increase biodiversity in your local ecosystem.

If you’re looking for a nectar-rich plant that’s also easy to cultivate, Lavender is a popular plant that looks beautiful, provides plenty of nectar, and is relatively easy to grow and manage. Ivy is a good source of nectar throughout autumn and winter when many other plants are no longer in bloom, meaning your local wildlife can get nectar all year round.

As well as providing plants to feed birds, bees, and butterflies, you can also increase local biodiversity by providing water for wildlife. Installing a pond or birdbath as a source of water will attract lots of wildlife to your garden, especially throughout the warmer months.

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Help Wildlife

Due to the rapid growth of housing in the UK, certain wild animals are losing their habitats – causing a sharp decline in their population.

Some of the animals that have been heavily affected by new housing are swifts and hedgehogs, mostly due to a loss of habitat and nesting sites. Developers have now been encouraged to include ‘hedgehog highways’ and hollow swift bricks on new housing estates to provide routes for hedgehogs to roam and a place for swifts to nest.

Whilst there’s a push for new housing developments to ensure that wildlife is protected as much as possible, there is still a lot that we can do in our own gardens to support the conservation of wildlife.

If you haven’t already joined the hedgehog highway system, it’s an easy and free process. Simply cut out a 13cm by 13cm square at the bottom of your garden fence, this will create a passage for hedgehogs to roam, locate shelter and find food. Encourage your neighbours to take part too in order to give local hedgehogs even more space to explore. If you’d like to go one step further, providing a hedgehog home will be a huge help when they’re in need of shelter and a nesting site.

Swifts are currently amber listed on the Bird of Conservation Concern with a recorded decline since 1994. If you haven’t got a hollow swift brick in your home, you can install a wooden swift box to the outside of your home to provide these birds somewhere to safely nest throughout the year.

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Recycle

Upcycling discarded products by making them into garden furniture and garden accessories is not only great for the environment; it’ll also bring a unique beauty to your outdoor space.

Used pallets are great for building outdoor furniture, bars, planters, and various other structures in your outdoor space. Used wooden cable spools make for great garden tables; larger ones are ideal for creating a social bistro-like area and smaller ones look great as coffee tables. Whether you prefer an unfinished rustic look or something unique to your own style, both wooden pallets and wooden cable reels are ideal for turning a piece of industrial waste into an individual piece for your eco friendly garden.

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Use Natural Materials

For those who have limited DIY skills, buying products made from natural materials is another way you can create an eco friendly garden. Opt for wooden furniture over plastic and metal pieces for renewable and sustainable furniture that will reduce long-term landfill waste.

A wooden chair will take approximately 13 years to decompose in a landfill environment; whilst this may seem like a long time, a plastic bag comparatively takes between 500 to 1,000 years to decompose, and therefore it’s definitely the more eco friendly option for your garden furniture.

All of the wood used to make our products is sustainably sourced and pressure treated for long-lasting durability. By choosing sustainably sourced wood that’s built to last, you’ll not only be helping the planet, you’ll also be saving money in the long run.

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Swap Plastic for Outdoor Play

It’s estimated that 90 percent of toys are made from plastic and with consumers spending £370m a year on the UK toy industry, that’s a lot of plastic that could exist on the earth for up to 1,000 years. Instead of buying endless amounts of plastic toys for your little ones, make the most of what your garden has to offer by making a natural play area. Mud kitchens, sand pits, and bug hotels are great ways of getting your children to enjoy the outdoors whilst also keeping it eco friendly.

As well as making your garden furniture environmentally friendly, swap out plastic for natural materials for outdoor play. If you’re thinking of providing your child with their own personal space in the garden, opt for a wooden playhouse for your little one. Like our furniture, our wooden playhouses are made from sustainably sourced fir wood.

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Grow Your Own

The food industry has a huge impact on the environment for a number of reasons, mostly due to the resources used in the production of food, excess plastic packaging, and the emissions caused from global and national transportation. Most food travels an average of 1,500+ miles before being eaten, so by growing food in your own back garden you can reduce the impact food production is having on the environment.

Growing your own vegetables, fruit, and herbs will not only help you in creating an eco friendly garden, you’ll also be eating fresher and tastier food that hasn’t come into contact with numerous chemicals and pesticides.

Our trellis planter is ideal for growing climbing plants such as peas and beans. For those who like to keep their garden beds dedicated to growing vibrant flowers, our tiered planter is ideal for growing your own herbs to use in the kitchen.

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Make Your Own Compost

Instead of using chemical fertiliser, making your own natural compost is resourceful, good for the environment, and easy to do. Making your own compost can use up to 30% of household waste that would normally end up in a landfill site. By choosing to compost your waste, landfills will take longer to fill, delaying the need to clear more space for new sites.

To make healthy compost, you’ll need about one third of nitrogen rich matter and two thirds of carbon rich matter. Nitrogen rich matter includes food scraps, lawn clippings, and green leaves, whereas carbon rich matter is mostly brown materials such as coffee grounds, dried leaves, branches, and bark dust.

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Remember, every little helps and changing our lifestyle to protect the planet can take time, so don’t feel guilty if you’re not doing everything at once.

If you have any other tips to creating an eco friendly garden, please share them in the comments section as we love to learn new ways of how we can benefit the planet in our favourite place to be!