Make a Green Garden Part of Your Green House

However, is it possible that you have spent so long thinking about your home that you have forgotten about your garden? More and more homeowners are starting to see their garden as being the weak link in their green strategy. Thankfully this oversight is relatively easy to sort out once you put your mind to it. A good garden not only improves the image of your house but also can make it more environmentally friendly.

Add Native Plants

One of the most important principles of green gardening is a preference for native plants. These are the plants to which the local wildlife are accustomed and which are already integrated into local the environment. No one can deny that exotic plants look great, but they simply aren’t as environmentally friendly as local ones.

Encourage Animals to Visit

When you add more native plants, then you will be taking the first step to encouraging more wildlife visitors. However, you can do plenty of other things as well. For example, adding a pond to your garden is a wonderful way of giving the creatures a reason to go to your garden. You should make sure that wildlife enjoy safe access to the garden and that it is a place where they can stay out of harm’s way. If you have children, they will enjoy feeding and watching birds and other wildlife.

Use Less Water

If you have a big expanse of lawn and some thirsty plants, you probably use a lot of water to keep them happy. This is something we only tend to really think about during a long, hot summer when the traditional hose pipe ban kicks in. However, what about all those other times when you use a lot of water in your garden? The best way to cut down on your water consumption is to lose the lawn and use a surface that doesn’t need watering. You can also look for plants that don’t need so much watering as well. This doesn’t mean that you need to stick to cacti, but you should check out the likes of the butterfly weed, geraniums, and even aloe vera plants.

Plant Vegetables

We all worry now about food miles, and it takes a lot of the pleasure out of eating vegetables when you know that they have travelled hundreds of miles to reach you. Well, what about thinking in terms of food meters instead? If you have room to plant some vegetable in the garden, raising your own food is another great way to get the kids involved. Adding a conservatory to your home can give you room to grow food all year long.