When you add an eco-friendly design to your residential landscaping, it offers so many benefits. It helps you save money, protects the environment, and creates a beautiful landscape that lasts longer.
Importance of Eco-Friendly Landscaping
Going green with your landscaping is not just a fad. With changes in climate and limitation in available resource, following eco-friendly practices is nothing less than a necessity. This includes everything from green water features to roofs to green plants. An increasing number of homeowners and business owners now value green landscaping more than ever.
Here are some valuable ideas for green landscaping.
Add Layers of Mulch
There are many benefits of adding layers of mulch around plants. To name a few, it helps:
- Prevent weeds from growing
- Cool the roots
- Preserve moisture
You can make mulch from different types of environment-friendly materials. This can include the following:
- Mats of coconut fiber
- Shredded bark
- Shredded paper
It will decompose and help enrich the soil.
Select the Right Plants
When it comes to choosing plants for your green landscape, the selection should be made based on the soil’s pH level. There are many more factors, including the amount of light received and the water required by the plant. The lesser the water required, the better it will be.
It is recommended to select both woody and herbaceous plants. Examples of the two types include:
- Woody Plants – Shrubs, trees and ground cover
- Herbaceous Plants – Annuals & perennials, wildflowers, flowering plants, ferns, grass, and bulbs
Native plants are better options because they have the ability to survive the local conditions. They will also require lesser amount of maintenance and water.
Another advantage of choosing native plants is that they provide shelter and food to good insects, butterflies, birds, and ladybugs. Such plants also help enrich the soil.
Xeriscaping
Xeriscaping is the type of landscaping in which the goal is to reduce the need for more water for your landscape. The first rule is to select native plants. Another rule is to choose plants which are highly tolerant to the local conditions and low rainfall.
This, xeriscaping allows you to have a green and thriving garden that requires minimal watering. This also turns into lower water bills and reduced maintenance. Although more preparation is required initially, once set the landscape continuous to flourish on its own with just little effort from your side.
Eco-friendly Irrigation System
Choosing a timer-based built-in sprinkling system can help in saving water and time. You will not have to drag a house around to water the yard.
Drip irrigation can be a good option for garden spots and planting beds. It will help in keeping the roots saturated and prevent water wastage. Water will directly reach the roots and will not be wasted on the leaves.
Thus, there are many things you can do to create a green landscape. It helps save valuable time, money and effort. If your yard is too large for you to manage on your own, it is recommended to get the help of professionals who are specialists in eco-friendly landscaping.