Your eco garden

Our gardens can be part of the solution to the climate and biodiversity crises by storing carbon, supporting wildlife and often overlooked, caring for the soil. Soil is under threat, but is a massive potential resource, UK soil is currently storing an estimated 10 billion tonnes of CO2 (Defra, Department of the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs) . Strategies for looking after the environment include:

• Using planting and environments to promote wildlife from microorganisms to birds - different lengths of grass, including wild plants, nectar and pollen throughout the year, pond or other water where appropriate
• Using resilient plants which will not need masses of watering and feeding
• Managing problems without insecticides and avoiding herbicides
• Looking after the soil by composting, using natural mulch and mycorrhizae
• Collecting and watering with rainwater
• Only using carbon heavy hardscape (patios, steps, etc) where needed
• Using lower carbon materials where possible (e.g. reclaimed, wood rather than concrete)
• Sourcing plants and materials locally where possible
• Reduce materials moved - reusing materials on site
• Recycling where possible

The Society of Garden Designers has a manifesto on sustainability which I aim to follow: Further information