Getting greener in the garden
Aside from the fantastic wellbeing benefits being outdoors brings, being greener in your garden helps fight climate change too. Protecting local biodiversity and wildlife everywhere is essential in preventing irreversible damage. Inspired by Charles Darwin, The Friends Forum of Bromley Parks and Green Spaces has some great tips for getting started with biodiversity.
Encourage bees and pollinators
Wildflowers and plants that attract bees and butterflies are essential for a healthy garden or even your window box. Consider throwing a few bee bombs around!
Bees are small but critical in pollinating vegetation and crops. Without bees, the world would be hungry. Read our top tips on what to plant and how to encourage bees in your garden.
Leave the grass to grow
No Mow May is a month-long initiative to allow early flowering weeds to flourish and feed pollinators after the winter. Leave lawn areas and grass to grow for the month of May – even better, start earlier than May!
The Soil Association offers a free guide to nature-friendly gardening too. You can also consider which products you are using in your garden. Many weed killers contain Glyphosate. This is highly toxic causing harm to pollinators as well as short-term and long-term health effects in humans. You can find out more with this guide.
Grow your own and start composting
There are many benefits to growing your own food and composting food waste. These include:
- Physical and mental health benefits,
- reduced garden and food waste,
- improving soil health,
- saving money and reducing food miles.
If you’d like more tips on growing your own and composting, have a look at The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) website to get started as well as local groups. Allotment holders are great for tips and advice!
Rethink the layout of lawns and flowerbeds. Adding a log pile is great for minibeasts (ideally don’t use pine or conifer to do this). Consider re-wilding part of your garden and adding “nature corridors” for hedgehogs.
Reporting sightings of endangered species, such as stag beetles, is also helpful.
Dispose of garden waste responsibly
Just when you thought your green fingers deserved a rest, you need to tidy up too. Getting greener in the garden means it’s important to dispose of garden waste in a responsible manner. If you’re based in the borough of Bromley have a look at the information about garden waste, which you can find in our recycling section here. Other councils will have information about green waste collections on their websites too.
