Wildlife Gardening - Green Gardening Guide » Eco friendly gardening

Fencing with bamboo

Alan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:24:30 +0000

One of the increasingly popular types of fencing materials, both in the UK and around the world, is bamboo. The benefits are many and the drawbacks are minimal.

One of the most cited reasons for picking bamboo as a fence material is the fact that it is good for the environment. Being a type of grass rather than a timber it is very quick to grow. When it is harvested, the roots of the plant are not affected, meaning that it can swiftly replenish the shoots.

Despite being a grass, bamboo poles can be incredible strong. Compared with many woods, bamboo is more than capable of holding its own. As a result, a forest of bamboo can produce more than 20 times the material that a forest of hardwood can provide.

Bamboo can provide a very elegant and exotic look to a garden. It has a unique texture, and it can be styled in different ways. If you have a particular colour scheme, you can stain the bamboo to match, or else you can allow it to age naturally whereupon it will gradually turn from tan to grey.

While traditional wooden fences, such as those made from pine, cedar or fir have been popular for generations, people have become more aware of the impact that humans have on the planet, causing bamboo to increase in popularity. As it takes much less time to grow back, a bamboo forest can be used many times compared to a slow-growing hardwood forest.

Minimising the threat to the world’s forests also minimises the threat to the animals that live within these endangered ecosystems. Over-logging is a serious problem, and you can play your part by choosing bamboo for your fencing material. In addition, it can fit into your gardens natural theme, and look wonderful.

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Reclaimed wood fencing

Alan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:22:32 +0000

It might not be something that would spring to your mind when you are designing your garden, but it is something that you will swiftly notice if you have got it wrong. Your fencing should not grab the limelight, but if the fence is wrong it will be one of the first things that come to your attention.

There are so many options available that you will need to spend some serious time looking at the possibilities. Whatever your style or budget there is the perfect fence which will complement your garden. Rather than buying a brand new fence, using reclaimed wood is the environmentally friendly choice. This can also be a very cheap option if you get the wood directly from a salvage yard or similar, and it will be completely unique.

A much quicker and easier alternative is to use ready made wood panels. These come with a range of different finishes depending on the style you are aiming for. These can be cheap, and take no time to install.Metal is a material that will prove to be more durable and more secure than even the hardest woods. These will never rot and can withstand a very strong wind.

If money is no object, then bespoke carpentry can provide you with a very sophisticated style of an incredible quality. If you get it right the first time, these fences can stay with you for as long as the garden does.

Privacy is one reason that many people get fences. If you simply want to increase your privacy, consider getting trellis to attach to existing fences and covering it with climbing plants such as honeysuckle or jasmine. Not only does this protect your garden from prying eyes, but it will provide a fragrant addition on those beautiful summer days.

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Getting rid of slugs and snails

Alan — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:12:04 +0000

One of the least attractive creatures a gardener will ever encounter is a slug, nasty slime-trailing, plant-eating gastropod (belly-footed creature) that it is.

Slugs and snails have their place in Nature’s grand scheme of course, but you don’t need or want them in your garden. They can destroy your favourite plantings overnight with the tooth-like projections on their tongues.

Manufactured snail bait is readily available and it works, but with serious drawbacks in that you risk poisoning plants and other creatures that weren’t targeted. There are other non-poisonous ways to defend your garden against these pests and though they may take a little more effort, they work just as well. Start with clearing off any heavy foliage (weeds) in corners and edges of the garden, as that’s where they shelter during the daytime.

Encourage natural predators that like to eat slugs and snails; frogs and toads can be invited with a small pond and/or piles of leaves and fallen branches, and they can devour dozens of slugs overnight if they invite relatives in for dinner. Some birds such as thrushes also love snails; you can attract them with berry bearing shrubs and trees they like to nest in.

Slugs and snails don’t like to travel on a rough surface, so small plants can be protected with a ring of crushed egg or nut shells or gravel. For larger plants you can use a ridge of rough sand, cinders or crushed oyster shells; belly-crawlers really hate these materials. Copper strips, available from most garden centres, are also excellent deterrents.

Other tried and true methods include snail hunting – simply go searching at dawn or dusk when the snails are out and visible, and whack them in half with a garden shovel or like instrument, a satisfying and effective alternative. Don’t forget the flat beer; snails can’t resist it and if you sink a container to soil level and fill it with any old beer you have a very effective and environmentally friendly snail trap.

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Composting is way more than a place to dump used tea bags

Alan — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:47:22 +0000

Any gardener knows that composting is the best possible way of handling kitchen waste and dead foliage like grass or hedge cuttings, but that recourse is not available only to gardeners. Every year in the UK hundred of tonnes of recyclable waste gets tossed into rubbish bins and ultimately winds up in landfills, adding untold costs for rubbish disposal and further clogging those already overused spaces.

Almost any householder can make compost out of at least 20% of all the rubbish that’s thrown out. Composting is easy to do, costs almost nothing and offers countless returns, both environmental and financial. All you need is a designated area in a corner of yard or garden, as far as possible from walls or windows and enclosed with fencing or one of many options in manufactured bins. The bottom should be right on the soil, so there is access for worms that speed the composting process.

There is a wealth of information on the subject, but some basic knowledge is important, namely what you should and should not put in the compost pile. The list of do-not-compost materials includes meat and dairy products, cooked foods, dog and cat feces and any garden or other waste that has been treated with weed-killer. If in doubt, check with your local organic recycling organisation.

What you can and should recycle to compost includes fruits and vegetables, eggshells, tea bags, coffee grounds, cereals and of course any detritus from plantings, such as trimmings from house plants, dead leaves, grass and hedge clippings, weeds etc. Shredded paper and cardboard can also be composted, as most of them are made of biodegradable materials.

If you frequently turn and shift your compost pile with a stick or gardening fork you increase air circulation and speed the composting process. If the enclosure is adequate you won’t have a problem with scavengers or flying insects. The best part for gardeners is the rich, nutritious mulch that results from this simple operation. Spread on or tilled into the soil, compost is the best (and cheapest) fertiliser you can find.

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Compost made with worms has many benefits

Alan — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:58:00 +0000

Compost that has been made with worms is known for having many benefits, one of these is that it is safe to use as it is non-toxic. Many artificial fertilisers have risks associated with them and these can be avoided if you use organic compost. Compost made from worms is known as vermicompost, and it is made with the excretions of worms. Unlike other compost is that are made with animal faeces it is not smelly and its contents will mean that your garden flourishes in a way you have never seen.

Creating your own compost from worms is not as simple as just getting any worms from the garden and putting them in with your compost. You need to select worms that consume a lot as this will create the compost faster. One of the most popular types of worm to use is the Red Wiggler, which is also known as the Tiger Worm, the European Nightcrawler is another popular option.

These worms are not just taken from the wild and they are specially bred so that they consume more than the regular worm. These worms are not expensive to buy and are required if you wish to make vermicompost. Another benefit of using this type of worm is that they dig much further down than the typical earthworm you would find in the garden.

The special worms have also been bred so that they are happy surviving in a bin rather than in another environment. An internet search will reveal a place where you can buy these locally or you can check your local paper, nurseries are a good place to start as they often supply worms.

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Building a fresh and environmentally friendly garden

Alan — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:15:22 +0000

Many people enjoy working on an eco-friendly garden as a great place to entertain guests or simply relax and unwind at the end of the day. It should be a special place that is filled with warm memories that are shared with friends and families as an outside extension of the friendly essence of your home where you can plan events such as weddings, showers, or just simple barbecues with friends and family members. However, building a garden is not enough because with global warming on everyone’s minds it is important to consciously think about keeping the garden eco-friendly.

To start building a fresh and environmentally friendly garden think about increasing the air quality that surrounds the garden and consider adding grass and trees to your garden to help produce fresh clean air. The reason for this is simple as both of these plant species convert CO2 into oxygen allowing the garden overall to be much cleaner. In fact, just adding one simple patch of grass in the garden can help to prevent and heal soil erosion. Plus, laying lawn is simple if you remove weeds first with eco-friendly pesticides as this will allow the lawn to quickly take off and grow at a healthy pace.

Another thing to consider adding is an organic vegetable patch, fruit trees, herbs, or berry bushes so that you can also get fresh food items out of the garden allowing it to be productive as well as beautiful. In addition, you may want to think about adding some flowering plants to make it more visually appealing complimented by creepers that can cover up any old walls or crumbling areas of the garden instead turning them into natural pieces of beauty that will take your guests breaths away every time they visit.

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Organic means food that is not uniform but tastes so much better

Alan — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:51:38 +0000

Going the organic route may at times mean sacrificing the glossy same size fruits and vegetables with some better tasting crops that may not be the perfect size or shape but there are a number of gardeners that feel the sacrifice is worth it.

The crops will be relatively expensive if purchased in the supermarket or at the farmers stands but by growing your own you save money and there is an enjoyment and pleasure one takes from it as well.

Among the vast variety of things an organic garden can offer are working in the fresh air, sunshine, exercise, additional income, some mental therapy and of course good healthy fresh food that is rich in minerals and loaded with vitamins and harvested at the best stage.

You can easily create a compost with kitchen waste and compost from the garden. Although somewhat time consuming it is cost saving since there will be no expense in pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

Probably the best source for fertilizer is animal manures as well as organic matter from organic gardens. Manure which is at least 30 days old is the best. If you have some pots that you can use or even place in an area of the garden to use at another time.

Over 15% of the people today buy organic food grown locally and that will increase as the number of box schemes, farmers markets and restaurants serving organic food increases. GuideMeGreen is a great way to find food that is locally produced and is healthier, fresher and more economical. Buying locally cuts down on transportation costs and you know it came from the garden just hours ago or less.

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Gardens in London are being concreted over

Alan — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 06:14:01 +0000

Gardens in London are ever changing but today more often than not it is from green to grey as homeowners are covering over beautiful green lawns with pavement to lay decking and build sheds a charity for wildlife says. Each year the capital loses two and a half times the size of greenery at Hyde Park because of design trends in gardening the London Wildlife Trust reported last week.

A vast area is covered by gardens in London but the scale and speed that they are disappearing is alarming said the deputy chief executive of the Trust, Matthew Frith. They detrimentally hurt the wildlife in London and impact the ability for us to cope with climate change. This is the time when it is most important that Londoners realize the value of our gardens in the capital.

On average each year there are over 500 gardens lost to new housing developments. Studies show that 24% of the Greater London area is garden land with an estimated 3.8 million garden plots and over 2.5 million garden tress in the capital.

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Conserving water in the garden

Alan — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:59:12 +0000

To achieve a greener home a few well known solutions are recycling packaging and waste food. Another large untapped source is the run off water from our roofs. To capture this water in an easy fashion you can set up a water butt or rainwater tank in the garden. This water will help to lower your water bill and add to your water supply when there are drought restrictions and dry summers.

Even though the UK is notorious for wet weather there seems to be the beginnings of water shortages with the lowest groundwater, reservoir and rainfall levels in decades. Water Wise says that each person in the UK on average uses 150 litres of water daily with that figure rising annually at the rate of 1% since the 1930s.

About 7% of the average household’s water is used outdoors and using the greywater captured in a water butt will save using valuable tap water for car washing, gardening or any other use that does not require the water to be drinkable. The fact is that plants seem to thrive better on rain water than tap water.

A hosepipe can use more than 18 litres of water per minute therefore can use in just 30 minutes more water than on average family will use daily. The average roof will collect close to 85,000 litres of rain annually and it just flows into the sewers making for a terrible waste for the environment and especially if you happen to have a water meter. The amount of water lost could fill plenty of water butts and lower your water bill significantly.

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The biggest flower in the world is blooming

Alan — Mon, 30 May 2011 16:01:54 +0000

The biggest flower in the world is blooming

The possibility of having grown the biggest indoor flower ever has got the gardeners at Cornwall’s Eden Project waiting with baited breath. The plant is a giant plant typically found in the rainforest and going by the name of Titan Arum, Amorphophallus titanum. It has taken 9 years so far to get to its current height of 8ft 2in and its flower is growing by a whopping 5 inches per day.

When it flowers it will only last for 2-3 days before dying. Up until now, the biggest Titan Arum that has ever flowered in captivity was in New Hampshire, USA, and it reached the heady height of 3.1m. Tim Gregg, a resident expert at the Eden Project has used all his skills and knowledge to nurture this Titan Arum and to time its flowering to coincide with the ‘Freaky Natures’ activities which begin on May the 28^th, and predicts that it will flower sometime next week.

The tuber which has sprouted from this mighty plant weigh in at a mind boggling 120kg, the biggest that Tim has ever had to harvest.

The Titan will be just one exhibit in an amazing showcase of the weird and wonderful world of plants. Visitors to Freaky Nature can check out interactive exhibits and discover the ingenious tricks plants have come up with to help them survive.

There will be poisonous plants, spiky plants, sticky plants, carnivorous plants, exploding plants and – in the case of the Titan arum – giant smelly plants. The Titan will feature in the event’s freaky tours of the rainforest.

The giant plant will be the fifth example that has flowered at Eden and, for the first time ever, will be joined in the Biome by another specimen which is due to flower shortly after. Tim hopes to be able to use pollen from the first plant to pollinate the second and thereby breed many more seeds.

Tim said: “This beautiful plant is already bigger than any other Titan Arum flower I’ve ever grown and I’m getting very excited to see what the final height will be – here’s hoping for a new world record!

“This is the first time that I have ever had two Titan flowers blooming at the same time and I’m really proud, especially considering how rare they are.”

Tim, who is based at the Eden Project’s Watering Lane Nursery, has established himself as one of the world’s top experts on the plants, having successfully pollinated and propagated Titans since he nurtured Eden’s first specimen to flower in 2005. He currently has just under a hundred examples of the plant in various stages of development.

The plant hails from Sumatra and is a distant relative of the ‘lords and ladies’, a British lily. The plant is distinguished by its yellowy, fleshy spike known as a spadix. This is wrapped in a single cream leaf which, when opened, reveals a rich crimson inside.

When the plant is ready to attract pollinators, the spike heats up and gives off the smell which disgusts humans but is very attractive to insects. It then develops the fruit which attracts birds.

This year, Freaky Nature comes with an intriguing extra feature – added poo. Freaky Nature with Poo! delves deep into the science of dirt, poo and the magic of manure, looking at what it’s made of, why it smells, how it is treated and the weird and wonderful things it’s used for. The event has been developed with the Wellcome Trust as part of their Dirt season.

Freaky Nature with Poo! takes place across the Eden site from May 28 until June 5. All Freaky Nature activities are included in the price of Eden admission except the Sticky Survival event in the Arena which is £2.50 per person, with tickets available at the Freaky Nature shop.

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