Often times, garden is green but not that green. you should know what i mean, we buy the most expensive plantation from the other part of the world. invest a lot of time and money to take care of them, not to mention the watering everyday. Cleaning them up and making sure that they are sufficiently manured.
Why the hassle and the carbon expense? We should realize that garden is not a show off, well it might be for some person, but we also need to consider the total value and cost it bring to the environment, we don’t want to add pressure to the environment just because of a garden! Now, what can possibly done with it?
While native gardens are all the go because of their low water use, it’s not just a matter of grabbing a bunch of native plants and sticking them in the ground. It’s important to buy them from local sources so they haven’t racked up carbon miles and choose plants suitable for your type of soil.
But native gardens aren’t the only sustainable option and in some cases, edible plants can be a better use of garden space. While it’s not realistic to think we can all become self sustaining, the more we grow in our yards the more we take the pressure off the broader infrastructure.
And what about introducing some chickens! They’re the cornerstone of recycling and self sufficiency in the backyard. It’s a great cycle. You eat the vegetables, give the leftovers to the chickens, the manure from the chickens goes into compost and the compost goes back into the veggie garden.
But whatever you’re planting, the key to success and sustainability is the soil, which needs to be rich in organic matter to retain moisture for plants. Soil improvers, soil wetting agents and mulches can be added to increase water and nutrient holding capabilities.
And when choosing materials for your outdoor space, look for local or recycled products. Locally sourced materials not only have low carbon miles, they also look authentic in our environment. For example, limestone looks and feels right in suburban while laterite looks and feels right in the hills.
So, what are you waiting for? In the midst of the housing crunch, you want to make sure that your garden is crunched too. I mean we don’t want to waste tooo much on the garden itself. We want to make them more sustainable. Greener than ever before. By making the garden to become a true ecosystem we let it naturally take care of itself.