How can I make my landscape more sustainable?

Sustainability in the landscape is a must. We live in a world of finite resources.

 Reflect Do you really need this? How often am I going to have 80 people on my deck? Could I go without or could I use a substitute.

 Refuse If it is a bad idea say no. you may not need it or there may be a suitable substitute.

 Reuse - Is this material really at the end of its useable life? Can I find another use for it? Can I find someone else who has a use for it?

 Reduce - Can I reduce the size of my deck? Can I set my area up to use less energy?

 Recycle Can this material be precessed to have a new life? This is the next alternative to reusing. Can I use a recycled product instead?

Top 5 Sustainability Tips for the Garden

Sustainability in the landscape is a must. We live in a world of finite resources.

 Mulch and Compost your garden - Go to a local landscape supplies centre and use their courtesy trailer or get it deliverd. The mulch will mean less watering, better soil structure and helathier plants while limiting the amount of weeds that pop up in your garden and spread throughout your neighbourhood. Depending on the style of mulch you choose you could spend as little as $30 per 10m2 if ou use your local council mulch or around $60 for decorative mulches. Compost will create healthy soil that needs much less additives.

 Choose sustainable materials - If you must put in hard surfaces like decking, paving, pergolas etc. Choose materials that have low embodied energies(This is the energy needed to extract, manufacture, transport and install your product). Not only should materials you use in the landscape be low embodied they should have a reasonable longevity. Fantastic choices for low to medium use paths are local toppings.

 Limit the use of hardscapes - How often will you actually have 80people in your backyard to fill a massive deck. Is this something that I could do with plants instead.

 Line your fences with Fruit Trees - Fruit trees keeping on giving with low maintenance. If you don't have the time to be putting in vegetables every 12 weeks and mainaing a vegetable garden maybe fruit trees are for you. They require limited maintenance and you do not have to replant every season. Each year more dwarf varieties come out that take up less space which is fantastic for the small garden. Generally in the Melbourne garden fruit trees require sun for most of the day to provide fruit that is plentiful and tastes good. A fence line is a great spot to find this sun.

 Can I fix it? - Your deck might be looking a little ragged at the momement but perhaps all it needs is a smarter choice of decking boards. Perhaps it just needs a fresh coat of oil. Maybe a coat of paint on the back fence will revitalise the plantings that you have in front of them.

Top 5 Water Saving Tips for the Garden

Water is a commodity, it costs money and environments and most noteably for the average person it takes time to apply.

 Choose water efficient plants - If the plants do not need any extra watering then you do not need to come up with provisions

 Mulch and compost your plants - This will limit the evaporation of water due to sun and wind as well as reduce water run off. The compost will improve the structure and water holding capability of your soil.

 Install a Raingarden - Divert the water that falls on your site in to a garden bed instead of the stormwater.

 Install drip irrigation - If you must irrigate your garden beds use drip irrigation. It can be installed underneath mulch and deliver water directly to the root zone eliminating evaporation.

 Water in the morning Water first thing in the morning before the sun is out and while it is still. This will make will get your plants turgid and ready for the day while reducing evaporation.