Eco Friendly Gardening
How much time do you spend relaxing in the garden as opposed to working in it? Or maybe you find gardening a relaxing and rewarding hobby.
Do you have a garden full of exotic plants, shrubs or trees? Did you know that the planting of native shrubs and trees require less water? There is also another benefit although you may not have thought of it.
Our native birds and wildlife are attracted by the flowering of native shrubs and trees and you can contribute to the welfare of your local wildlife by planting native food trees as a food source for them.
Visit your local Garden Centre and make sure it is local because they will know what flowering shrubs and trees do well in your locale.
You can also put out bird feeders containing Wild Bird Mix or just plain budgerigar mix. Please ensure in the drier months that you put out birdbaths or ceramic pot plant trays containing water for the birds to drink.
Do you use fertilizer on your garden or lawn? Be careful to ensure that anything in your garden that requires fertilizing or requires that you use pesticides or weed control is environmentally friendly. Not just for the birds and animals that may visit your yard but for the safety of you, your family as well as your pets.
Maybe you would like to build a frog pond which would be great to include the children initially and to later educate them about how frogs are initially tadpoles.
There are various fertilizers available that are environmentally safe eg: seaweed emulsion, fish emulsion, blood and bone, horse manure, cow manure (for digging in to garden beds) Garden-Ville Soil Food, CG40 Bradfield ìLuscious Lawn.î And of course, last but not least, chook manure which is best soaked in water to dilute it before applying it to anything. There are also ìorganicî garden pesticides available on the market.
Let me share this homemade totally organic fertilizer recipe with you,:- 3 parts seed meal and 1 part blood meal. This fertilizer mix is particularly beneficial at the start of Spring. Otherwise you can try:- 4 parts seed meal, 1 part Dolomite Lime, ? part bone meal and ? kelp meal.
Do you enjoy garden barbeques? If you do then having a garden that attracts birds and other wildlife is going to be a bonus for you.
Do you have garden lighting to highlight particular area of your garden as night? If not, you should look into it. There are now solar powered garden lights available, that can be used to great effect ñwithout being detrimental to the environment. You can have the garden you have always wanted if you have the space for trees and shrubs to provide you with shade and privacy.
Make your garden a place where you retreat to sit, watch and ponder.
