Green, sustainable, eco-friendly. These terms accompany stunning images of home improvement projects in magazines and on TV. But don’t be fooled, Eco-Chic gardens are for everyone, even those of us with modest means. It’s actually quite easy to make your garden the sustainable star of the neighborhood.

Stair rail built with tree branches

Green landscapes are a combination of the Three M’s: Materials, Methods and Maintenance. An ideally sustainable garden is made up of all eco-friendly materials, was installed using low-impact methods and is entirely maintained in a way that conserves resources. However, we can all achieve a green garden if we simply chose a few of the right materials build them thoughtfully and strive to maintain the garden with less water and chemicals. Green gardens are flexible, unique and tailored to a specific site. A green garden can be built in any style and on any budget.

Eco-friendly materials are reused, sustainable or recycled.  Used for what they were originally intended or reincarnated, reusing materials saves money and fuels creativity. Ideas: Use an old headboard to train sweet peas. An iron bathtub sunk in the ground is ideal for growing water irises. Reclaimed lumber from a salvaged barn makes a practical and funky garden shed.

Potting shed built with windows reclaimed from house in Chehalis

There is a whole new generation of innovative green building materials to try when its time to renovate your garden. Ideas: A pergola constructed of bamboo poles. Build a deck with easy care, recycled plastic lumber or patio with interlocking pavers that allow water to percolate through to the soil.

Green gardens use construction methods that conserve soil quality, existing plants and protect water sources nearby.    Ideas: Protect the tree on the south side of the house that makes it possible to go without air conditioning by building a short temporary fence out 10’ from the trunk so the dump truck doesn’t get parked on its sensitive roots. A sign reading "Do Not Walk Here" protects soil from 3 weeks of work boots and having the cement mixer washed out into it. When there’s no way to avoid high traffic, lay a sheet of plywood over the soil so that the load is distributed across the whole area.  

Retaining wall built with recycled concrete (rip-rap) and local stone

You can make your existing garden green by changing a few maintenance techniques. Sustainable gardens require fewer resources - less water, electricity, gasoline and less of your own labor. Ideas: Use leaves from the Big leaf Maple to mulch your flower beds. Replace lawn with an evergreen groundcover and say goodbye to buying and using gas powered mowers, string trimmers, fertilizer and lime. Convert that very dry spot into a rock garden.

Anyone can have an eco-friendly garden. So you can’t afford the recycled plastic lumber, use what’s affordable and forgo the needy patch of lawn for the existing Salal and sword fern. With the money saved from not buying a mower and paying high summer water bills, buy a colorful Adirondack chair made of recycled plastic. Or simply sweep your front walk rather than use your leaf blower. Then, the next time you see the glossy spread in House & Landscape, you won’t just be reading about Eco-Chic, you’ll be living it.

By Colleen Miko, CPH
Colleens, A Landscape Company
www.colleenmiko.com