Transform Your Yard into an Eco-Haven: Green Landscaping Tips

Sustainability is crucial to many Americans. If you care about your environmental impact, you likely look for ways to make your lifestyle sustainable. However, many online tips center around what to change inside of your home – not outside of it.

While energy usage and purchasing habits inside your home are crucial, your landscaping impacts things like water usage and local wildlife. Focusing on making your property more eco-friendly has many benefits for the environment and can be more convenient for the property owner.

So, if you want to make your property more environmentally friendly, it’s vital to think about your yard. You can make your yard more sustainable; plus, many options don’t require much time or money.

Ready to make your property better for the world? Here are some tips to get you started.

Create A More Eco-Friendly Outdoor Kitchen

Do you have an outdoor kitchen space? These dining areas allow you to spend time with family and friends while enjoying nature. However, you want to think about your energy and water usage for this kitchen.

Some simple ideas for improving the sustainability of your outdoor kitchen include:

• Creating a composting bin to recycle food waste: You can use the compost to assist with gardening or landscaping.
• Using sustainable materials in the design: You can get items, such as appliances, from thrift stores or friends and family instead of buying them new.
• Changing outdoor lights: Consider using the same energy-efficient light bulbs for your outdoor dining and entertaining areas as you use inside your home. 

Consider Ditching Traditional Grass

While grass looks uniform, it’s not the only option for crafting a gorgeous landscape. Many homeowners want more eco-friendly methods, and you’d be surprised at the various options and their benefits.

Some of the landscaping methods you can use instead of grass are:

• Native plants: Instead of grasses that aren’t native to your area, try replacing part or all of your yard with native grasses, clovers, or other groundcover options. These plants also attract local wildlife, which is a plus if you want to see birds or other animals.
• Xeriscaping: Live in a hot or dry climate? Xeriscaping is a popular alternative to many plants or groundcovers. With xeriscaping, you’ll still have a yard, but it will use much less water, as most of the area includes rocks or similar items.​​

Rethink Water Usage

As covered briefly, water usage is a significant component of landscaping. So, if you want a more environmentally friendly yard, you need to use less water. While using native plants is a great option for this, not everyone has the time or budget to re-do their entire yard.

Luckily, there are some simpler methods you can try to reduce water usage, such as:

• Using organic mulch: The right organic mulch around your gardens and plants helps retain moisture while preventing weeds.
• Collecting rainwater: All you need to collect rainwater is a big barrel. Then, you can use this water for your plants.

As you use water responsibly, you’ll learn more about the environment and how precipitation cycles impact plant life.

Learn As You Go

Establishing a more eco-friendly yard is rewarding in many ways. You’ll learn more about natural life, including plants and animals. You’ll also learn more about your impact on the environment. Remember, finding a natural landscaping approach that works for you takes time.

Try to enjoy the process!

Article Submitted By Community Writer