Beautiful yet gentle: Green landscaping done right

You don't need to ruin the Earth in order to get a beautiful garden that visitors can admire. You'll find that you can maintain your garden for years to come without having to add chemicals like pesticides and herbicides to the soil. You can also keep your carbon footprint small and avoid emitting greenhouse gases if you know what you're doing. Here are some tips to get green landscaping the right way.

Grow fruits and vegetables when you can.

You might not be able to grow an entire garden full of fruits and vegetables, but by growing your own fruits and vegetables wherever possible, you are automatically reducing your carbon footprint. You aren't contributing to the production and shipping of fruits and veggies for thousands of miles until they reach your local grocery store. Producing food in your own yard is also a great way to ensure it is tasty and fresh!

Compost, don't throw out.

Kitchen scraps and plant cuttings can be added to a compost heap rather than being thrown and hauled miles away to your nearest garbage dump where they might never properly decompose. Dairy products, meat, and processed foods shouldn't be added to the heap, but any natural clippings, the ends of veggies you're chopping, scraps, paper towels, shredded newspaper, grass clippings, and lots of other materials can be composted to reduce your carbon footprint.

Reduce your lawn size.

The carbon footprint of having to mow and tend to your lawn can be enormous, if you have to mow it all! Try reducing the size of your lawn instead by planting trees (which absorb carbon) and shrubs, new planters and flower beds, patios, rock gardens, or wildflower meadow space. No matter how you reduce lawn size, you will reduce your carbon footprint if you use the space for natural purposes instead.

Use hand tools and minimize energy use.

One of the most popular energy topics is how you can save energy in the backyard. Most of us know about switching our light bulbs to LEDs indoors, but how are we supposed to minimize energy use outside? Using hand tools rather than electricity- or gas-powered ones is a great start, as is using a hand mower if it's practical now that you have a smaller lawn.

Use less water when you're landscaping.

Rather than guzzling water to water everything, try switching to plants that need less water, collect rainwater in a barrel to water your garden, use soaker hoses to use less water, and only water when your lawn needs it. (This will also reduce your chance of accidentally drowning your plants!) Monitor your water usage and don't let sprinklers run too long.

Beautiful landscaping is just a few short steps away. If you're wondering how you can reduce your impact on the Earth while keeping a beautiful yard, this is the answer! Gentle and natural techniques for landscaping will have a great effect on your overall carbon footprint.