Tips for Creating an Eco-Friendly Garden

It seems that your garden should be eco-friendly, after all it is part of the great outdoors. But, if your garden is not carefully planed, you are not getting the best benefits. An eco-friendly garden can accomplish many things, including saving you money on your home energy costs and by using the right plants, you can eliminate or cut back on the amount of fertilizer, pesticides and water that you need to use.

Trees are nature's air conditioners. They can keep your house cool and they can also keep your house warm, if you plant the right trees in the right places. Of course, what you plant and where you plant it depends on what part of the country you live in. Trees such as maples and elms that loose their leaves in the fall - making a great all natural much for the rest of your garden - will shade the house in the summer and let in sunlight in the winter and are great for eco-friendly landscaping. Plant them on the east to protect from the rising sun and on the west to protect from the setting sun . If you live in the cold north, pine trees make great wind breaks.

Using plants that are indigenous to your area will cut back on the need for a lot of extra watering as well as fertilizers and insecticides because these plants have evolved over the generations to adapt to the conditions native to the area. They are used to the amount of rainfall that is normal for the area, so you will only need to give them a lot of water in drought situations. As matter of fact, the latest thing it so collect rain water and use that. The water that comes out of your house has chemicals added to it. Rain water does not. Strategically place rain barrels throughout the garden. They will look like part of decor. If possible, position them at a higher elevation than the rest of the garden. Have a trench or indentation in the soil running from the barrel to the plants. It is important to get water to the roots of the plants, not the leaves. When you need to water your eco garden, release water from the barrels. If you have a tap or valve at the bottom - and that is easy to do, the water will flow down the trenches and get to the roots where they are needed.

The nutrients they need are plenty full in the soil and you only need to fertilize lightly. And they have adapted to the local insects. You will not need to use a huge amount of dangerous insecticides in your eco garden.

Your eco-friendly garden will blend with your house and together they can be your own personal eco-friendly neighborhood. Eco-friendly landscaping means low cost, low maintenance, energy efficient and beautiful.