April is finally here, which means the growing season is upon us. April is National Garden Month, a time to celebrate the fact that your garden is an integral part of the entire natural world.
As a gardener, there are many things you can do to help keep the environment healthy and mitigate the effects of severe storms and weather patterns. Penn State Extension notes that gardeners can create landscapes that sequester more carbon than they release, show kindness and provide habitats for struggling wildlife, and reduce energy use.
Penn State has a number of suggestions, including planting trees that absorb carbon until they decompose. Trees are a great addition to your landscape as they cool both your outdoor and indoor spaces in the summer. Trees also create windbreaks, especially evergreens, which can help lower heating costs and protect your landscape in the winter. Wildlife are dependent on trees for sustenance and habitat. Trees clean the air and reduce pollution.
Create layers in your garden and landscape, Penn State suggests. Utilize both large and understory trees, as well as shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers. This creates interest and beauty in your landscape as well as additional habitat. Hedgerows help wildlife and protect your home and landscape from severe storms. Focus on planting locally-grown plants that require less energy than those transported over long distances. Native plants are typically easier to grow and help local fauna, such as insects, birds, and mammals. Think about trees and other plants that will provide you with edibles, such as fruits and nuts, berry bushes, and perennial vegetables like rhubarb and asparagus. Check out self-sustaining landscaping systems such as permaculture and forest gardens.
Lawns require a large amount of inputs – water, fertilizer, herbicides, repeated mowing. Consider a polyculture lawn with a mix of clover, violets, plantain, dandelions, and other wild plants to help wildlife. Bees, rabbits, and birds will thank you. Leave small portions of your lawn unmowed to encourage and support even more wildlife and reduce inputs into landscape upkeep.
Make natives a priority, but also take note of what grows well in your landscape. Focusing on what plants naturally thrive in your yard also reduces inputs such as water and fertilizer. Think about collecting rainwater in rain barrels.
Penn State advises purchasing quality tools that will last a lifetime and learning how to sharpen and maintain them yourself. Focus on hand tools for the majority of your gardening chores.
Best of all, take a break from perfection. Environmentally friendly and sustainable gardening practices will naturally make your garden and landscape more resilient. Don’t worry if your garden appears “untidy” at times. Pollinators and beneficial insects need leaf litter and herbaceous perennial stubble to survive the winter. Seedpods help feed birds and leaves left to decompose in place enrich the soil.
Celebrate the fact that you and your landscape are creating positive change and contributing to a better world for nature and for people.
