Garden Living

Features

How green is your garden?

These days, if you find yourself being asked if you have “green fingers” it could be construed as meaning a lot more than a question regarding your gardening prowess! “Sustainability” is definitely the buzz word for the current generation and nowhere does the quest for sustainability seem more appropriate than in the outdoor room. Today we place increasing importance on issues relating to climate change, ethical and social values and the economic impact of globalization. We all want to do our bit to save the planet for future generations, but it is in the garden that it is relatively easy to adopt sustainable living strategies that will have an immediate impact in helping to protect the environment whilst at the same time assuaging our troubled consciences! Better still, there’s no need to sacrifice style in the pursuit of an environmentally and ethically aware domestic garden and whether your garden comprises acres of land or is of postage stamp proportions there’s plenty you can do to go eco ….

Recycling rules

The recycling bug hit a number of the RHS Flower Shows this year, including the infamous Chelsea Flower Show and since the show represents the designer cat walk of the garden fashion world, it comes as no surprise to note that this trend has already begun to filter down to the “high street” garden – so now it’s officially cool to recycle! One aspect of recycling in the garden relates to the use of recycled materials. These come in a host of different guises and include:

•  earth : earth which has been dug out after building a pond can be neatly recycled to form an “eco mound” to house a garden building (rather than unnecessarily increasing your CO2 footprint by transporting the earth AND adding to the growing landfill mountains )

•  scaffolding boards : redundant scaffolding boards make a great alternative to traditional panel fencing to create striking boundary walls

•  glass : recycled crushed glass can be given a whole new lease of life when moulded into chunky cubes which can be used to form a safe barrier around a pool area. Coloured recycled glass also makes a great t op dressing, mulch, or plant pot dressing and it is can look particularly dramatic when teamed up with a water feature design. Wine connoisseurs can even make good use of their overflowing boxes of used wine bottles as these can be magically transformed to create a unique water feature!

•  rubber chippings : if you’re looking to devote a section of your garden for your kids to let off steam, you might be considering installing some play equipment and you’ll need to put down a safe

•  play surface to cushion the inevitable falls! Recycled aircraft and agriculture tyres (100% wire free) in a rubber chipping format are available in a range of colours and they’re completely non toxic

Be water wise

Everyone knows that water represents one of our most precious natural resources. The Environment Agency recommends a number of simple measures to adopt in the garden to help save water including:

• remembering to water in the cool of the early morning or evening to reduce evaporation losses
• being vigilant with your weeding and hoeing so that any water applied to the garden helps plants -and not weeds - grow
• considering the introduction of decking, gravel, paving and cobbles features as an alternative to water guzzling lawns
• using mulches such as wood chips, bark and gravel to help prevent water evaporation – and fend off feisty weeds - saving both water and time!

Another important water wise initiative is to recycle rainwater collected in a water butt. Child Safe Rain Butts are available which come complete with a tap, child safe lid, stand and diverter which automatically channels the rain water from your down pipe into the water butt and prevents overflow when the water butt is full.

Good wood

Whether you’re building a deck or fitting new fencing, the first rule for sustainable living converts is to stick to a source of wood which carries the Forestry Stewardship label. This identifies products which contain a

minimum of 70% wood from well managed forests certified in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council. On the other hand, you could look for one of the wood alternatives which are manufactured exclusively from recycled wood and plastic.

Ethical sourcing

If you want to be truly responsible then you should ensure that the products / materials you buy for the garden have been ethically sourced. For example, Indian Sandstone is a popular choice for paving in the outdoor room but much of it is imported from highly unethical sources. Quarries in India have been found to use child labour, enforce bonded and migrant labour, operate very poor standards of health and safety and their environmental management is disastrous. Marshalls plc is the only company in the landscaping industry to belong to the Ethical Trading Initiative – which aims to protect the working conditions of workers producing for the UK market - and all their imported natural stone is from strictly audited mines to ensure it is processed and supplied to the highest ethical standard.