Eco-Friendly Garden Products

Even a green fingered hobby like gardening can be wasteful and environmentally damaging. Plants are shipped from around the world, pesticides and fertilisers contain chemicals, and concrete is used in garden landscaping. If you’d like your garden to be truly green and eco friendly it is important you buy your garden products carefully. This article outlines some of the eco friendly gardening products currently available to help you choose gardening products which are environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Lawn Mowers

There are lots of eco friendly alternatives to standard petrol and electric lawnmowers. If you don’t have much lawn to mow it is worth considering a push lawn mower as this type of lawn mower requires no fuel. By pushing the lawn mower the blades are turned and the grass is cut so it’s completely self powered with no emissions. If you have a large garden with a lot of grass to cut a low emission petrol mower may be a suitable alternative. There are several petrol lawn mowers available which have low emission 4 stroke engines and are of a high quality that ensures they last a long time before needing replacing. Whilst not eco friendly in itself, a mulching lawn mower shreds and lays grass clippings back into your lawn which not only cuts down on the need for lawn fertilisers, but also makes mowing the lawn quicker and therefore more energy efficient.

Planters

As an alternative to wooden planters, planters created using recycled polystyrene and plastic are widely available. These planters are available on a small or large scale so can be used in domestic gardens or larger spaces such as playgrounds and parks. Fibreclay planters are also available which are made from a mixture of waste material from pulp mills and clay. These planters are moulded in a range of shapes and styles and are light weight and durable. For planting seeds you can buy a paper potter which will enable you to create small seedling pots using scrap newspaper.

Furniture

Garden furniture is now made from a wide range of recycled materials. If it is a relaxing time you’re looking for you could consider a hammock made from recycled soda bottles or polyester fibre. Also available are stunning garden chairs made from recycled wine barrels or garden fires made from recycled copper. Garden furniture is also made from sustainable materials, such as patio sets made from sustainable eucalyptus or deckchairs made in the UK from sustainable beech wood.

About the Author:
Vanessa Barlow works for Artscape garden design in surrey and is passionate about eco gardening.