CONSERVATION LANDSCAPING FEATURES AND TRENDS
With conservation landscaping, every little step counts! Make your yard eco-friendly without sacrificing style and design trends. You can have a trendy, beautiful yard and still contribute to a happy planet! Conservation landscaping and environmentalism are overwhelming if you jump in the deep end; however, we can make a massive difference if we all take responsibility for our yards!
If you want to make your landscape into a sanctuary that is not only good for your health and wellness but is also beneficial to the local ecosystem and environment, we’ve got some tips to get you started!
Mulch
Using mulch in your landscaping has many benefits beyond adding color and texture to your space! A hearty layer of mulch in your garden beds is a great way to prevent weeds without toxic herbicides. Mulch also increases water retention in soil and can improve your soil quality.
As a thick, insulating barrier from weed pollen and the heat of the sun, mulch is a cozy, protective blanket that keeps the bad stuff out of your soil and the good stuff close to the roots. Besides the benefits for your plants, mulch means you’ll spend a little less time watering, too!
Lights
Lights in landscaping are one of the most significant contributors to declining insect populations. As the keepers of our ecosystems and pollinators of our gardens, insects deserve some protection!
When you keep garden lights on at night, the bugs get confused and overworked, stimulated by the lights all night. They, in turn, become exhausted and are more likely to be preyed upon by birds and bats.
By removing your landscaping lights, changing them to motion sensor lights, or even changing the bulbs to yellow LED, you can save half a dozen bugs a night! That adds up pretty quickly, and if you spread the word and get your neighbors on board, you can start saving thousands of bugs a year with a simple change.
Compost
We all love a good fertilizer, but the chemical compounds in many fertilizers have damaging effects and are not good for the environment in the long term. Compost is perhaps not the most pleasant thing to make in your backyard, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make it an intentional, stylized part of your landscaping!
Compost bins can be housed in decorative gated pens or sectioned off somewhere in your yard where they are inconspicuous. Don’t be afraid to integrate your compost right into your hardscaping! With a bit of design and container plants surrounding your bins, you can hide them right in the open!
Long-Term, Native Planting
Landscape design is often a long-term project that takes years to realize fully, but planting native plants to your area that will be hardy to the seasonal changes is a great way to make your landscaping eco-friendly.
Native plants contribute to the local ecosystem, supporting wildlife and insect populations. Hardy, native perennials will prevent erosion with robust root systems that grow strong year after year. You can also intentionally plant in natural slopes to prevent runoff and movement of the soil. There are too many benefits to omit native plants from your landscaping!
Preserve Big Trees
If you have trees that are growing happily and not detrimentally disrupting your home, we recommend giving them a lot of care and attention! Not only are they fantastic statement pieces that can pull your landscaping together, but they have a lot of excellent benefits for you and the critters in your area!
Trees naturally cool the area that they grow in, reducing sun damage on your plants and providing a comfortable space for wildlife to live. They are, of course, a natural apartment complex for squirrels and birds alike. You’ll benefit too with increased cooling efficiency in your home!
Conservation landscaping does not need to be intimidating! If you want to explore more features and trends for your 2022 landscaping, visit Dammann's Garden Company! We’d love to help get you started with the tools you need.