9 Ways to Create a More Sustainable Garden
Simple, effective ideas for reducing your environmental footprint and creating a beautiful garden
From retaining existing trees to collecting rainwater and nurturing a mini meadow, these garden designs are packed with clever ideas for creating a more sustainable outdoor space. If you’re thinking of redesigning your patch of land, take a look at these clever ideas from our Garden Tours first.
2. Leave some long grass
Allowing an area of grass to grow can increase biodiversity and support a wide range of insects, as well as bringing visual interest to a small space. In this garden, the owners have allowed an area of grass underneath an apple tree to grow long while keeping the rest of the lawn neatly mown.
“I kept on poking my eye out when I was mowing the lawn underneath [the tree],” garden designer and homeowner Nigel Philips says, “so I turned it into long grass and then planted it up with a succession of bulbs – crocus, snowdrops, then three different types of narcissi, one after the other, then Camassia, iris, and finally ox-eye daisies, which come out at the end of June.”
Take a tour of this idyllic garden.
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Allowing an area of grass to grow can increase biodiversity and support a wide range of insects, as well as bringing visual interest to a small space. In this garden, the owners have allowed an area of grass underneath an apple tree to grow long while keeping the rest of the lawn neatly mown.
“I kept on poking my eye out when I was mowing the lawn underneath [the tree],” garden designer and homeowner Nigel Philips says, “so I turned it into long grass and then planted it up with a succession of bulbs – crocus, snowdrops, then three different types of narcissi, one after the other, then Camassia, iris, and finally ox-eye daisies, which come out at the end of June.”
Take a tour of this idyllic garden.
Finding and hiring reviewed garden designers is easy on Houzz.
3. Design around existing trees
If an existing tree is in the wrong place, it can be tempting to remove it and plant a new one, but the environmental benefit of a mature tree easily outstrips that of a newly planted sapling, so finding a way to design around one should always be the first choice.
In this garden, designer Lucy Willcox thought hard about whether to keep the original weeping cherry (seen here in front of the lounger). “It’s a really 1960s tree, and it’s kind of in an awkward space, but we wanted to keep it and actually, it’s come into its own,” she says.
She’s made a feature of the tree by giving the area its own identity. “It needed to feel like a contrast to the wild planting near the bedrooms, so we have shingle under the tree and hebes around it,” she says.
There were also a few existing shrubs, including a large-leafed Fatsia japonica and two apple trees, which Lucy kept and worked into the new design.
Tour the rest of this colourful bungalow garden.
If an existing tree is in the wrong place, it can be tempting to remove it and plant a new one, but the environmental benefit of a mature tree easily outstrips that of a newly planted sapling, so finding a way to design around one should always be the first choice.
In this garden, designer Lucy Willcox thought hard about whether to keep the original weeping cherry (seen here in front of the lounger). “It’s a really 1960s tree, and it’s kind of in an awkward space, but we wanted to keep it and actually, it’s come into its own,” she says.
She’s made a feature of the tree by giving the area its own identity. “It needed to feel like a contrast to the wild planting near the bedrooms, so we have shingle under the tree and hebes around it,” she says.
There were also a few existing shrubs, including a large-leafed Fatsia japonica and two apple trees, which Lucy kept and worked into the new design.
Tour the rest of this colourful bungalow garden.
4. Grow your own food
Edibles are a growing trend in garden design, and making space for a small vegetable patch, fruit tree or soft fruit bush in your garden can help you to cut down on food miles.
This beautiful garden by Oxford Garden Design features raised vegetable beds as well as espaliered fruit trees along a sun-warmed fence. But you don’t need lots of space to start growing your own – even a windowsill or balcony can support small crops of microgreens, salad leaves or tomatoes.
Tour this country garden.
Edibles are a growing trend in garden design, and making space for a small vegetable patch, fruit tree or soft fruit bush in your garden can help you to cut down on food miles.
This beautiful garden by Oxford Garden Design features raised vegetable beds as well as espaliered fruit trees along a sun-warmed fence. But you don’t need lots of space to start growing your own – even a windowsill or balcony can support small crops of microgreens, salad leaves or tomatoes.
Tour this country garden.
5. Refresh existing furniture
A simple and cost-effective way to make your garden redesign more sustainable is to refresh and repurpose any furniture you already have before thinking about buying new.
The owner of this courtyard already had the table and chairs, but they were rather tatty, so designer Pippa Schofield revived them with the same paint she used on the decking to create a smart dining spot that looks brand new. “They looked dreadful [before] – it’s amazing what a coat of paint can do,” she says.
Look around the rest of this small courtyard garden.
A simple and cost-effective way to make your garden redesign more sustainable is to refresh and repurpose any furniture you already have before thinking about buying new.
The owner of this courtyard already had the table and chairs, but they were rather tatty, so designer Pippa Schofield revived them with the same paint she used on the decking to create a smart dining spot that looks brand new. “They looked dreadful [before] – it’s amazing what a coat of paint can do,” she says.
Look around the rest of this small courtyard garden.
6. Minimise paving slabs
Minimising the use of paving slabs in a garden and planting shrubs or trees instead can have a hugely positive impact on the environment.
Reducing the use of concrete and hard landscaping elements allows for greater rainwater absorption and less runoff, while planting native trees helps with carbon storage as well as increasing biodiversity, resulting in a double-win.
This wild front garden by GRDN is a perfect example of how prioritising planting over paving can result in a beautiful, biodiverse space.
Take a look at this small but beautiful front garden.
Minimising the use of paving slabs in a garden and planting shrubs or trees instead can have a hugely positive impact on the environment.
Reducing the use of concrete and hard landscaping elements allows for greater rainwater absorption and less runoff, while planting native trees helps with carbon storage as well as increasing biodiversity, resulting in a double-win.
This wild front garden by GRDN is a perfect example of how prioritising planting over paving can result in a beautiful, biodiverse space.
Take a look at this small but beautiful front garden.
7. Grow your own cut flowers
Growing your own cut flowers is not only satisfying and fun, it can also help to reduce your carbon footprint by lessening the amount of energy used to import or transport cut flowers.
The owners of this garden grow their own vegetables, soft fruit trees, herbs and cut flowers, and with the help of designer Sue Hayward have created a space that is attractive to walk around and sit in, as well as being practical.
Shown here are Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ and Cosmos Bipinnatus ‘Double Click’, which have been grown underneath fruit trees. “These perennial wallflowers are good for filling in gaps and also for flower arranging,” Sue says.
Take a tour of this pretty and practical kitchen garden.
Growing your own cut flowers is not only satisfying and fun, it can also help to reduce your carbon footprint by lessening the amount of energy used to import or transport cut flowers.
The owners of this garden grow their own vegetables, soft fruit trees, herbs and cut flowers, and with the help of designer Sue Hayward have created a space that is attractive to walk around and sit in, as well as being practical.
Shown here are Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ and Cosmos Bipinnatus ‘Double Click’, which have been grown underneath fruit trees. “These perennial wallflowers are good for filling in gaps and also for flower arranging,” Sue says.
Take a tour of this pretty and practical kitchen garden.
8. Attract insects with meadow planting
Attracting pollinators with native wildflower planting is a quick and eye-catching way to increase the sustainable credentials of your garden.
Having made the decision to remove the lawn in this small garden, designer Amanda Shipman’s goal was to ensure biodiversity wasn’t compromised. As such, meadow planting, seen here, is a key feature of the design.
“I used a wildflower border turf … It’s great for bees and butterflies, which, in turn, bring in birds, so I have tiny birds hopping about among the flowers, too,” she says. “Spiders love it as well. It brings life and movement to my small garden.”
Take a look around this wildlife-friendly urban garden.
Attracting pollinators with native wildflower planting is a quick and eye-catching way to increase the sustainable credentials of your garden.
Having made the decision to remove the lawn in this small garden, designer Amanda Shipman’s goal was to ensure biodiversity wasn’t compromised. As such, meadow planting, seen here, is a key feature of the design.
“I used a wildflower border turf … It’s great for bees and butterflies, which, in turn, bring in birds, so I have tiny birds hopping about among the flowers, too,” she says. “Spiders love it as well. It brings life and movement to my small garden.”
Take a look around this wildlife-friendly urban garden.
9. Harvest rainwater
Collecting rainwater to use in the garden instead of relying on tap water is a simple way to lower energy consumption and save money.
This small garden has a large-capacity water butt installed by the back door to allow for easy watering. Rainwater can also be collected from shed roofs and any outbuildings, so, depending on how your garden is set up, you could have multiple water butts collecting rain at various points around the garden to maximise water storage.
Take a closer look at this wildlife-friendly garden.
Tell us…
How do you garden sustainably? Share your ideas in the Comments.
Collecting rainwater to use in the garden instead of relying on tap water is a simple way to lower energy consumption and save money.
This small garden has a large-capacity water butt installed by the back door to allow for easy watering. Rainwater can also be collected from shed roofs and any outbuildings, so, depending on how your garden is set up, you could have multiple water butts collecting rain at various points around the garden to maximise water storage.
Take a closer look at this wildlife-friendly garden.
Tell us…
How do you garden sustainably? Share your ideas in the Comments.
The first step to a sustainable garden is to think about what you already have that can be reused. In this beautiful space, designer Jilayne Rickards reused all the owners’ original pots and sourced lots more, along with other features for the garden, from antiques markets. “We bought nothing new,” she says. “All the artefacts were reclaimed or repurposed.”
As many of the owners’ existing plants as possible were retained and built into the design. Here you can see a neatly clipped bay tree on the right. “It was a bit of a hefty lump and [the owner] wondered if we should take it out, but I suggested we could clip it and cut off the lower branches,” Jilayne says. “It’s a nicer thing to do than just ripping something out. I like to work with what we’ve got wherever possible.”
Tour the rest of this cleverly redesigned garden.