Create a More Environmentally Friendly Landscape

More and more homeowners in Columbia and the surrounding areas are becoming more interested in creating an environmentally friendly landscape, and it’s not difficult to see why. Environmentally friendly homes benefit the environment as well as your community, and you’ll see direct benefits as well.

Green practices are more than just a trend. They’ll help you increase your home’s energy efficiency, and they can save you a significant amount of money on resources. No matter how you look at it, going green is smart, and finding ways to be more environmentally friendly inside your home isn’t very difficult—but it can more difficult to find tips on what you can do with your landscape.

Thankfully, going green isn’t really very complicated. It often just comes down to conserving resources.

Here are a few ways that you can make your landscape more environmentally friendly while keeping it attractive, comfortable, and enjoyable:

1: Choose Water-Wise Plants

Water-wise plants are a great way to control the amount of water that you use in your Columbia home’s landscape or garden. They’re known for their ability to thrive even in desert conditions, and they don’t require nearly as much water as other plants. They are, however, just as attractive, and often more distinctive, than more common plants.

You may not feel like you use an extreme amount of water for your landscape, but you can easily use more than is necessary, and water is a limited resource. The more you can do to conserve it, the better off everyone will be.

There’s no way to get around using water, but including water-wise plants in your landscape design can help limit the amount you waste. Consider using:

• Sage

• Yucca

• Sunflowers

• Purple Coneflowers

2: Use Mulch in Your Garden

Mulch can help you conserve a surprising amount of water in your garden.

The first reason is that it keeps out weeds that can suck up a good amount of the water you’re using for your garden. Secondly, mulch will retain water for your plants, so you won’t have to water them as frequently. Plus, organic mulch can come from almost anywhere.

Some of the things you can use as alternatives to expensive, chemical-rich store-bought mulches include:

• Compost

• Chopped Leaves

• Shredded Newspaper

3: Base Your Landscape Design on a Mediterranean Layout

Traditionally, the Mediterranean people spend lots of time outdoors dining, socializing, cooking, and gardening. Mediterranean landscape designs reflect that lifestyle.

Mediterranean landscape designs often feature open courtyards that are easily maintained and which do not require much water. Concrete walls and gravel beds are also prevalent and are often decorated with topiary trees, vines, and other water-wise plants.

At Niedergeses Landscape, our Columbia Landscape Design services can help you create this type of environment, and our Columbia Landscaping Company can add any other features you’d like to include.