WHAT IS ECO-FRIENDLY LANDSCAPE DESIGN?

1. Eco-Friendly Design Minimizes Harmful Inputs

First and foremost, eco-friendly design minimizes inputs such as water, fertilizers and pesticides. Anytime a homeowner needs to water or spray their trees property, they are putting an additional strain upon the environment (as well as their wallet) and potentially harming the ecosystem and earth's creatures, including ourselves. How do you minimize the inputs? You choose the right plants. This is the most important requirement of eco-friendly design. First make sure to choose plants that will thrive in the location taking into consideration the soil moisture and composition and the amount of sunlight. Doing so will minimize the use of water. Also, make sure the plant is the right size and won't outgrow the space. Every time you have to use machinery to keep a shrub or tree looking good within the design, you are using the unnecessary inputs of gasoline and energy. Finally, a plant in its right environment will simply be healthier and thus require less fertilizer and pesticides.

2. Eco-Friendly Design Fosters Plant and Animal Biodiversity

One of the chief aims of eco-friendly landscape design is to foster plant and animal diversity. The most important means of doing so is to incorporate plants, mostly native, that attract and nurture the bird, pollinator and animal populations. Eco-friendly design focuses not only on aesthetics, but on making plant choices that are better for the environment and Earth's creatures.

3. Eco-Friendly Design Includes Elements That Have a Positive Impact on the Environment

In addition to including the right plants, eco-friendly design also incorporates other elements that have a positive impact on the environment. For example, you can use local hardscape materials or minimize the amount of lawn in the design. Also, what about decreasing water runoff - put in a rain garden? Other elements to include may be fruit and vegetable gardens or backyard poultry to reduce your reliance on the undeniably harmful commercial food industry. How about bee, bat and pollinator hotels and water features to attract more birds and pollinators? There are many different ways to design and utilize your backyard that will have a positive impact on the environment and eco-friendly landscape design takes them all into consideration.