Eco-friendly ideas for the garden

Prima online 13.02.2007

Worried about hosepipe bans or pesticides? Fear not – you can do your bit to save the planet

Flowers being watered in a garden

Wild weather, ozone depletion, species extinction... the world's environmental problems are so huge, we're left confused as to what positive impact we can make. But the small contributions of many add up to large-scale improvement, and the garden is an ideal place to start.

Water wisely
Garden watering usually uses about six per cent of water supplied by water companies, but on a hot day this can increase to 70 per cent because of sprinklers and hosepipes, which use more than 1000 litres of water an hour. There are lots of ways you can save water in the garden, which will help the environment and save you time and money, too.

Great green idea: Consider installing a water-efficient soaker or drip irrigation system: these direct water slowly to the plants that need it. Fit an automatic timer and you'll be able to adjust the system at home as the weather changes.

Direct rainwater from the roof into a water butt and get a rain barrel for a good supply of natural (chlorine-free) water.
Recycle water from your bathroom and kitchen (known as grey water). You can buy water diverters from garden centres and builders' merchants, which direct bath and shower water from down pipes to a water butt or straight to your hosepipe.
Avoid using wasteful sprinkler systems that throw fine sprays into the air, where much of it simply evaporates.
Reach for the watering can rather than the hose to water thirsty plants, sprinkling the plant's roots, not its foliage.
To reduce evaporation, water your garden early in the morning or in the evening.
Weeds will compete with your plants for water, so eliminate them as you see them.
Grouping plants (or pots) with similar moisture requirements together will ensure that only small areas will need regular watering, rather than the whole garden.
Large pots need less watering than small ones.
Match plants to the conditions in your garden - a shade-loving plant in a sun-baked spot will demand extra water.

Chemical-free gardening
While there's no doubt that garden pesticides and herbicides are effective in killing pests, weeds and diseases, when we eradicate these we also get rid of food for wildlife. If you garden organically, you will be creating a healthy garden ecosystem. It may be harder work, but then what did gardeners do before chemicals were readily available?

Great green idea: There's no such thing as organic weed killer, so organic gardeners need to be prepared to hoe or dig weeds up! A mulch around plants will help keep weed numbers down, as will covering empty patches of soil with a weed-proof membrane or a green manure (available from garden centres) when not in use, to prevent weed seeds becoming established.

Great green idea: Used coffee grounds are great as a soil conditioner or supplement to a mulch. Either use your own to mix in your compost - don't mix more than 25 per cent with one pile of compost, and don't use with acid-loving plants - or ask your local coffee shop or Starbucks for a bag of used grounds.

Although healthy plants and soils attract less pests and diseases, problems are sure to occur at some point. Aphids transmit plant viruses that cause stunting and deformities in a plant's leaves and stems. They also produce ‘honeydew', causing a black mould to form on the leaves, reducing a plant's ability to photosynthesise. Here's how to get rid of them...

Wash them off with a hose - bans permitting.
Spray them with a mixture of liquid soap and water.
If you're not squeamish, you can always squish them with your fingers!

10 drought-resistant plants:

Cistus x purpureus
Crepis incana
Euphorbia x martinii
Nerine bowdenii
Lavandula stoechas
Phlomis fruiticosa
Campsis tagliabuana ‘Madame Galen'
Crinum powellii
Iris unguicularis
Rosmarinus officinalis

6 safe ways to get rid of slugs
Believe it or not, it's little tiny slugs that do the worst damage to your plants, as the large ones tend to live on dead organic matter, such as rotting leaves, rather than plants

You can pick them off by torchlight, as they feed mostly at night.
They can be controlled with microscopic nematodes that you add to water and apply with a watering can. They're effective and environmentally sound.
Use beer traps placed level with the soil, where they can drown in oblivion.
Encourage toads, hedgehogs and ground beetles into your garden. Their favourite snack is a slug or snail.
Upturned grapefruit skins attract slugs and can be emptied each morning.
Protect your plants with adjustable copper rings. Slugs and snails won't climb over them and they're guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Great green idea: www.ecotopia.co.uk has recently launched its ‘Grow-A-Tree' kit. Consisting of a one-year-old 60cm tree, a degradable tree guard, a wooden stake and reusable tie, it makes a great gift (£9.99).

Water evaporates continually from the soil surface, but covering it up with a two to three inch mulch will help retain moisture in the ground. Mulch your plants with decorative materials, such as cobbles, gravel, slate or recycled glass chippings or more organic materials like bark chips, compost, cocoa shells and well-rotted manure, which not only conserve moisture but feed the soil as they break down.

The grass is always greener...
Lawn sprinklers are perhaps the biggest waste of water in the garden in summer. Infrequent, deep watering is not only good for water conservation, but encourages deeper root growth, so is better for your lawn, too. If your lawn looks dry and brown, it will recover with late summer dew and autumn rain.

To help your lawn tolerate dry bouts, keep it healthy by aerating it in autumn with a lawn spiker, then thoroughly raking out dead growth with a spring-tined rake.
Plant drought-resistant varieties of grass, such as smooth stalked meadow grass (Kentucky Blue).
Don't cut your grass too short. Long grass puts down deeper roots and provides more shade for itself. In dry weather, adjust the height of your mower blades up to 4cm, trimming it regularly to encourage bushy growth.

Where to buy green:
www.wigglywigglers.co.uk
www.greengardener.co.uk
www.organiccatalog.com

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