Article
Green Solutions for Sustainable Grounds Maintenance: Environmentally Friendly Practices
26 January 2024
In a bid to create greener and more environmentally beneficial outside spaces, many clients come to us seeking landscaping and other work which enhances their garden’s biodiversity and encourages pollinators and other critical wildlife. In this blog, we’re bridging the services we offer with the green solutions which ensure that everything we do is conducted with the environment in mind – minimising carbon emissions, recycling where possible, and making small changes which enables both commercial and domestic outside spaces to become more self-sufficient.
What is Sustainable Grounds Maintenance?
Sustainable ground maintenance means adapting your maintenance tasks to promote and work alongside nature in its many forms. For example, rather than killing weeds and using insecticides, a sustainable approach would be to explore new additions to the garden which naturally control these pests.
Promoting a cohesive and harmonious approach to grounds maintenance involves the consideration of environmental health in everything you do – from regular tasks to seasonal projects.
The green solutions we recommend to all our clients:
The following tips have been compiled by our team, to help you understand not only what sustainable ground maintenance means but how you can maintain a greener and more environmentally friendly garden on your own property.
1. Recycle as much green waste as possible
If you are managing a garden or lawn which needs to be mowed on a regular basis then you’re in luck – because those clippings can save you both time and money on mulch.
If you decide to invest in an automatic or robotic mower, you will find that some of the leading models mulch the clippings directly back into the lawn during the mowing process – another example of green recycling which helps the grass to benefit from an extra hit of nutrients.
Green waste, such as grass clippings and pruned waste from across your garden, can all be piled up into a compost heap and left to break down until it forms a mulch – perfect for lining your flower beds and planting areas in advance of the upcoming planting season. This natural compost is a great way of enhancing the nutrient density of your soil and keeps it healthy and moist, ready for growth.
Composting food waste from your property also has great sustainbile benefits. An amazing example of this is the 50,000 strong wormery at Chiswick park which processes 50kg of food waste on a daily basis. One common ingredient used in this wormery is waste coffee grounds which, once used as compost, improves drainage, water retention, and aeration.
2. Choose native plants with a purpose
Consider and research the best native plants for your area which will thrive in the setting your space has to offer. What’s more, planting with purpose enables you to really maximise the use of space outside, creating shaded spots and planting flowers which you know will provide lots of sustenance for pollinators.
3. Invest in good maintenance support
Grounds maintenance isn’t just about keeping the grass mowed and the pathways clear for good access. It is also about checking on the health of the various trees and plants throughout the grounds, to ensure that they are getting all the nutrients and water they need in order to thrive.
Protecting what is already established in your garden is far more sustainable than opting to replace and plant a whole set of new trees. That’s why we recommend working alongside a team of experts (like those at Nurture) that can offer tree surgery advice and pruning – even moving trees and shrubs if they are not getting enough direct sunlight or water.
4. Create a calendar of maintenance tasks
This isn’t just so that you can stay on top of the tasks ahead – it also allows you to plan certain tasks around the different seasons, so that you can protect and nurture the wildlife and biodiversity in your garden.
One of the most obvious examples is to save tree pruning and hedgerow work until the end of the nesting season, to avoid disturbing or damaging nests. Similarly, it means checking any bonfire piles for hedgehogs and other wildlife before lighting and ensuring that lawnmowing does not disturb ground nesting birds and wildlife.
5. Adopt sustainable watering techniques
Finally, one of the easiest changes you can make to your grounds maintenance is through your approach to watering – adopting irrigation systems which reuse and recycle water and collecting rainwater to use for watering where possible.
By minimising water waste, you can have a huge impact on the local and global environment.
For tailored advice on which of these tips to adopt as part of your grounds maintenance routine, and for information on the services we provide and how we can help you to establish a greener garden space, get in touch with the team today!