Nearly everyone strives to be sustainable, but avoiding chemical cleaners in your home and recycling plastic bottles isn’t nearly enough to call yourself green. In particular, you should look to how you treat your outdoor spaces: If you are pouring oceans-worth of water on your lawn every day, and if you must replace the dead greenery in your garden every few weeks regardless of how well you maintain it, you can’t conscionably call yourself eco-friendly.
Fortunately, it is possible to have a beautiful yard that is as green as you are ― you just have to be more careful with your methods and materials. Ecoscaping is a relatively new style of landscaping that works to create a beautiful outdoor space that doesn’t tax the environment and waste precious resources. Here are a few ways you can ecoscape your backyard so your yard is as sustainable as you are.
Limit the Size of Your Lawn
Lawn grass is rarely a native plant. If you take a stroll in the untouched natural spaces near your home, you are unlikely to find lush, naturally growing lawns in the woods or even in the fields. This is because the species of grass planted in backyards of residential spaces are incredibly resource-hungry: They require abundant water, food, and attention to survive.
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For one, grass is a safe, comfortable place to play and entertain guests. For another, green, healthy lawns are quite beautiful. Fortunately, tearing up your lawn and replacing it with wood chips or rock isn’t the only solution; instead, you can opt to maintain a smaller lawn so you reap the benefits while cutting down your use of resources. By confining the grass in your yard to a particular space ― perhaps attractively shaped to balance the look of your home and yard ― you can save money, save the environment, and save the charm of your outdoor