Saving the planet can start in your garden, backyard or even balcony with just eight simple steps, says the National Trust, whose properties throughout the country are following the guidance rules.
The steps include:
- Buying peat free compost and plants grown in peat free compost
- Ordering bare root shrubs
- Installing the biggest water butts you can collect
- Mulch garden soil
- Try no dig gardening to boost soil health and grow plants which need less water and feed
- Use manual tools as much as possible and when you buy garden machinery look for rechargeable, battery powered equipment
Rebecca Bevan, who advises the charity’s gardens on environmental sustainability said the Trust wants to be carbon net zero by 2030.
“So actually, if domestic gardeners are thinking responsibly about the plants they buy, the water they use, the plastic used in gardens, composting, avoiding herbicides and cutting down on fossil fuel use, that is all collectively going to make quite a difference.”