Choosing to foster a yard of native flowers and plants creates a ripple effect in regional food chains: plants provide food for the bugs and bees that depend on it, which in turn provide food for mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, restoring the biodiversity that has been lost. Creating a deliberate landscaping plan to replace grass with low-maintenance plants will attract wildlife and bring some beauty to your backyard.
Groundcover plants provide an alternative to turf, but eliminate the need for mowing and still deliver that traditional verdant green.
Flowering perennial groundcover species bring a dash of color to your yard and often do well in shaded areas, as do many kinds of moss. Growing a natural lawn also eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers, improves soil quality, and prevents erosion – all while creating a native habitat for the birds and the bees. Once you begin to populate your yard with native plants and bid the turf adieu, the insects should start crawling, flying, and buzzing back. Learn what beneficial bugs live in your area so you can identify the signs of a healthy, bio-diverse lawn.
Typical fertilizers emit harmful greenhouse gases – 1.5% of global emissions – and fertilized lawns are no exception. A standard lawn emits up to 6 times more CO2 than what can be absorbed during photosynthesis through mowing, irrigating, and fertilizing, including the production and transportation of the fertilizer. Try adding organic nutrients to your eco-friendly lawn by spreading compost. "Topdressing" your yard with compost supplies nutrients and keeps the soil healthy without depleting it, allowing you to maintain a healthy ecosystem for the diverse plant and animal life thriving in your eco-oasis.
Scientists have directly linked pesticides to the demise of frog, bat, and bee populations, throwing delicately balanced ecosystems and food chains into disorder. 90% of flowering plants depend on bees and other pollinators to survive. Luckily, saving the bees can start in your own backyard: lawn-owners can make a tangible difference by cutting pesticides from their lawn-care regimen. Allowing native plants and weeds to grow freely and bugs to crawl amongst them will save the lives of your local bees, providing them a sanctuary to live, eat, and thrive in.
Gas-powered lawn mowers produce about 11 times more pollution than a new car: running a single gas-powered mower for an hour is nearly equivalent in emissions to a 100-mile car trip. Mowing lawns is also extremely time-consuming. Think of the time saved by going no-mow! The No-Mow Movement encourages lawn-owners to leave native grasses to their own devices, growing tall and wild to eliminate the environmental cost of watering and mowing, and allowing a more natural landscape to take over unimpeded.
While recovering global biodiversity may seem like a daunting goal, cutting down your environmental impact and saving native ecosystems can all begin in your own yard! (source: ecowatch.com)
We help you take care of your garden or your flowering balcony or terrace: try our wooden pencils with seeds to be planted when the pencil is exhausted, and our stainless steel compost bin with coal filter to help you recycle your food waste into natural fertilizer for your garden!
Help the bees, try our natural reusable beeswax food wraps. Plant a tree today!
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