For a long time, homeowners wanted expansive, time-consuming, and resource-heavy lawns and garden scapes. While aesthetically pleasing, these types of landscapes require more fertilizers, chemicals, water, and equipment to maintain.

Unfortunately, all of this creates more pollution and damage to surrounding ecosystems. It also poses long-term health risks to children and pets.

Fortunately, there are plenty of eco-friendly landscaping solutions that make for a healthy outdoor space with no adverse environmental impacts. You can read all about eco-friendly landscaping and the seven best ideas to transform your yard below.

What Is Eco-Friendly Landscaping?

Eco-friendly landscaping, also known as sustainable landscaping, essentially refers to the minimal use of resources and hazardous chemicals to maintain a lawn that’s beneficial to its surrounding environment. For example, a sustainable landscape will require very little water, pesticides, fertilizer, equipment for maintenance, materials, and overall labor.

The goal is to mitigate the need for high water consumption, resource-consuming non-native plant species, and landscaping practices that are otherwise detrimental to the environment and possibly your and your family’s health.

While all of this may sound overwhelming, you’ll find that sustainable landscapes are much easier to achieve than you previously thought. Of course, it does take a considerable amount of learning and planning, but there are plenty of simple ways to get started.

Here are the seven best eco-friendly landscaping solutions to try:

1. Use Native Plant Species

Native plants are the plants that can grow and thrive naturally within the natural climate of your location. This means they’ll require less maintenance, plus:

• They’ll excel in the local soil, so they won’t need fertilizer.
• They’re not invasive, so they won’t erode the soil or negatively impact surrounding plant and animal resources.
• They likely won’t require supplemental watering.
• They’re excellent for preserving biodiversity.

Native plant species are always the best way to get started with an eco-friendly landscape, as they benefit everything from surrounding ecosystems to your savings regarding water consumption and maintenance.

2. Create a Rain Garden

An excellent way to achieve sustainability in your landscaping is to create a rain garden or bioswale. Rain gardens and bioswales make efficient use of rainwater and stormwater runoff by utilizing slops and level spaces (berms) to direct water flow.

This method substantially conserves water. It also provides a biological filter that helps to clean dirtied water before seeping back into the ground or returning to nearby watersheds, lakes, or rivers.

Rain gardens and bioswales are especially beneficial if you plan to start a vegetable or herb garden!

3. Opt for Permeable Hardscapes

Permeable hardscapes are the alternative to traditional concrete and other materials used to create walkways, patios, and other hard spaces in your yard. Permeable hardscapes allow water to filter through naturally, so it may enter the ground.

Not only does this limit water consumption, but it also lessens the burden on the surrounding storm train systems by decreasing stormwater runoff. Permeable pavement is durable and more cost-effective to install. It also reduces the need for expensive drainage systems.

4. Wildlife Habitat Preservation Elements

Plants and rainwater aren’t the only way to create an eco-friendly landscape. Adding essential elements like nesting boxes, bird baths, feeders, and shaded green spaces can help support and sustain an even more healthy ecosystem.

While you may not be a fan of having a bunch of unwanted visitors in your backyard, keep in mind that your yard was once their natural habitat. They’re also naturally beneficial to yards and gardens.

For example, bees pollinate and contribute to edible crops. Sparrows and Finches consume large quantities of weed seeds, which will keep weeds from overtaking your yard. Blue Jays feed on snails, worms, and other insects. Owls hunt rodents and roaches. The Praying Mantis and certain types of lizards eat Black Widow spiders.

The list goes on!

Welcoming a variety of native species to your yard will drastically reduce the need for toxic pesticides and herbicides. It also encourages plants to produce growth.

5. Use Electric Landscaping Equipment

You may not think that the gas emissions that come from landscaping mowers, blowers, and other equipment make much of a difference. Of course, neither do the other millions of homeowners using gas-powered lawn equipment around the world. What’s more, you’re also breathing in the fumes created by gas-powered — which are carcinogenic.

So, if you prefer to maintain the landscaping on your own, the most eco-friendly landscaping solution is to use electric-powered equipment.

6. Try Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping may sound intimidating, but it’s just drought-tolerant landscaping!

Creating a drought-tolerant landscape is fairly simple, as it revolves around creating rock and mulch gardens and using native species that will thrive with very little water. Of course, the exception is that you’ll also have to remove a significant portion of your lawn, as grass requires a substantial amount of water to survive. Fortunately, there are several types of drought-tolerant grasses out there you can use to complement the rocks, mulch, and native plant species you use.

In addition to saving water, xeriscaping also stifles weed growth and mitigates soil erosion.

7. Use Energy-Efficient Lighting

Investing in solar-powered LED light fixtures for your yard is the most sustainable way to brighten your outdoor environment when the sun goes down.

Solar-powered lighting is much more economical and sustainable compared to traditional outdoor lighting as it doesn’t require a steady flow of electricity or complex cabling. It also doesn’t require surge protection or light bulb changes.

Most solar-powered LED light fixtures automatically come on when the sun goes down and stay lit for several hours. However, there are many options that integrate with a timer, allowing for more control and flexibility in how the lights are used — making them that much more versatile!

Ready to Make the Switch to Eco-Friendly Landscaping?

When you’re ready to transition to a sustainable landscape, there’s one more thing you’ll need to consider: What you’re going to do with all of your old landscaping materials!

That’s where we come in.

Earthwise Hauling specializes in eco-friendly renovation debris removal and eco-friendly junk removal. We’ll recycle, reuse, and repurpose everything we haul away for you so you can start your sustainable journey off the right way.

Learn more about our services and give us a call when you’re ready to schedule your junk removal.