My Blog

September 8th, 2024
Posted In: Wildlife & eco

Eco-friendly garden design can save you money on landscaping.

It can also make your garden look more individual, reflecting your personal style.

And if you want to be more sustainable or encourage wildlife and biodiversity, then the design of your garden is an essential starting point. So I visited the Walworth Garden to find out more about eco-friendly garden design.

The Walworth Garden is a community garden with a School of Horticulture, a Gardening Therapy Centre, an Environmental Landscaping Company and a Plant Centre that propagates the majority of its plants on site in organic and peat free compost. Their aim is to make sure ‘your garden is a contribution to the environment rather than a drain on its resources.’

And being an award-winning charity and an organic community garden, they’re well versed in finding money-saving ways to design small or larger gardens. The Walworth Garden is an oasis near central London, just a few hundred yards from the bustling Elephant & Castle roundabout and the River Thames.

I asked Oli Haden, the Head Gardener and CEO for his money-saving, eco-friendly garden design tips.

What do you want to use your garden for?

Start with what you’re going to use your garden for, says Oli. This applies to all garden design, whatever your garden’s size and whichever style you like.

‘Most people want some kind of a seating area, a patio or a terrace. They may want a lawn or a place for children to play. Most people don’t immediately think of a garden pond, but I always introduce the idea.’

Once he’s established what clients are going to use the garden for, then he starts to suggest eco-friendly alternatives to the obvious options.

Which is the most eco-friendly hard landscaping – stone, brick or decking?

Oli firstly suggests you consider whether you need the place where you have tables and chairs to have a hard surface at all.

Could you have a couple of chairs on grass or wood chip, for example? Many garden chair legs sink into a soft surface, but some recliners have a broad enough base.

Lawns are not environmentally friendly in some climates, but they are a wildlife friendly option in others. There are no ‘one size fits all’ solutions. See  Do I Need A Perfect Lawn and Is It Sustainable and should I do No Mow May.

If there is already a terrace, patio or path, the next question to ask is ‘can you recycle all or part of it?’ If you’re using recycled anything’, he says, ‘you’re already ahead.’

This not only means buying recycled but also looking at whether you can re-use what is already in your garden.

It will cost you to have a discarded paving taken away and disposed of, so this is another way that eco-friendly garden design can save you money.

Ask two important questions before deciding on hard landscaping

There are two less obvious factors that impact how sustainable your terrace or patio is.

Firstly, how are you going to fix the hard landscaping? If you’re going to set it in with new concrete, then that has a higher carbon cost than if you use a material set into the earth without using concrete.

Secondly, find out how long it will last. A material that lasts for ten years or less will need to be replaced soon. That’s wasteful in terms of resources – especially your budget! You – or someone else – will have to replace it. That is not environmentally sustainable. And it will cost you double in the long run!

The two garden materials with the shortest life are artificial grass and softwood decking. Even without considering other environmental factors, this makes both a poor choice.

The most sustainable material for a terrace or patio

Oli considers recycled stone to be the best option for a terrace or patio. ‘Recycled stone has more character and may be cheaper too.’

If you have large, heavy slabs of recycled stone, then you can often fit them without using concrete.

Set them between sleepers or a wall – any kind of frame that will hold them in place. Oli says that the time you would have spent in having concrete mixed can be spent in sorting out the shapes of pavers so they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. This would be very unlikely to move with normal wear. Walworth Garden also use steel bands to hold stone or hardwood in place without using concrete.

Our front path was created by simply setting large stone pavers onto the earth in 1781. It’s fine today. There is a long history of creating terraces, patios and paths without concrete!

The same factors apply to recycled concrete pavers. If the concrete paver has already been created, then re-using it is much better than sending it to landfill. But look at ways of setting it without using new concrete.

What is the most eco-friendly material for paths?

Wood chip or bark chip is the most eco-friendly material for paths, says Oli.

Second best is recycled stone or concrete pavers. If the concrete is already made, then re-using it is better than sending it to landfill.

Wood chip paths at Walworth Garden.

Can you use decking in eco-friendly garden design?

Oli says that softwood decking is the least environmentally friendly option for any use in the garden. It’s not a cheap option because it will usually need replacing in 10 years.

The supporting joists will also have to be fixed in with concrete.

Softwood decking also needs to be treated with chemicals.

Think again about hardwood

We have all been told – quite rightly – that hardwood trees take a long time to grow and that felling them has seriously damaged the eco-systems in some parts of the world.

However, hardwood lasts a lifetime and can therefore be a better choice than softwood. Of course, if you’re buying new hardwood, it’s essential that it’s from responsible sources. Look for the Forestry Stewardship Council label (FSC).

Hardwood can also be set in place without using concrete. Oli says that they bind it together with steel bands.

And above all, try to use recycled hardwood. It’s a brilliant option for eco-friendly garden design. It’s more hard-wearing and needs less maintenance.

Walworth Garden are now using recycled hardwood sleepers as edging. And they’ve also got a mix of recycled hardwood and recycled softwood in the area in front of their shed. The recycled softwood needs to be protected by chicken wire and needs more maintenance. The recycled hardwood is no trouble.

A mix of recycled hardwood and softwood decking at Walworth Garden. Oli says that the hardwood requires virtually no work, but the softwood needs the protection of the chicken wire and isn’t as long lasting.

My brother and his family put down a deck with recycled hardwood sleepers when they moved into their home thirty years ago. It is still going strong, with absolutely no need to replace it.

There are brands of composite decking which are made with recycled materials and which last much longer than softwood decking. In this video interview on garden design, top international designer Paul Bangay says that he doesn’t normally like ‘fake’ materials, but that he thinks that composite decking is a better choice than softwood decking.

Is brick an eco-friendly option for paths and terraces?

Bricks may fit into eco-friendly garden design or they may not. Oli explains that it’s harder to keep them in place without using concrete.

He has experimented with different ways of securing them. If you can set the bricks very deep by putting them in upright rather than on their sides, then that holds them in place better, he says.

However, that will mean using more bricks per square metre, so it is more expensive.

Recycled or locally-made bricks would be better than bricks that have been transported long distances.

And ordinary ‘house’ wall bricks aren’t always suitable for paths and terraces as they may break up. You will see posts and videos suggesting that any old bricks can be used to make a path, but unless you can find bricks that are called ‘paver bricks’, proceed with caution.

Sheds and greenhouses – “buy cheap and buy twice”?

‘Buy second-hand!’ says Oli. ‘I’m not saying that it will be easy. And you will probably need a builder to help you move and install a second-hand shed or greenhouse.’

If you or a family member are good at DIY, you could also build a shed or greenhouse from recycled or partially recycled elements. See how Posy Gentles built her unique shed here.

The other option, he says, is to make sure that your greenhouse or shed will last a long time. ‘We’ve got into the habit of buying the cheapest,’ he says. ‘But “buy cheap and buy twice” has become a saying for a reason.’

You can see the city reflected in the glass of the Walworth Garden greenhouses!

A greenhouse or shed is a big investment. It may be difficult to find the budget to buy a more expensive one that will really last. However, it is worth thinking about how you might manage it.

The same principle applies to garden tools. Oli warns against buying cheap, mass-market tools which will buckle or break within the year.

You can do most of your gardening with quite a small number of tools. So buy fewer garden tools, but buy well known tool brands with guarantees. In this post, Dan Cooper of Dan Cooper Garden lists the most useful garden tools.

Ponds are important for wildlife

When Oli is talking to clients about how they want their garden landscaped, he always suggests a wildlife pond.

It doesn’t have to be big. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. There are six ponds around the Walworth Garden. Some are made from butyl liners or plastic pond moulds.

The plastic used to make a pond mould is exceptionally hard-wearing, explains Oli. Although single use plastics are very damaging to the environment, plastic itself is a ‘highly engineered, valuable material,’ he says. So while it’s generally sensible to minimise the use of plastics in your home, ‘everything we do has an impact,’ he says. A really long lasting plastic pond is much better than no pond at all!

Old bath recycled as a garden pond. Oli says they use old sinks, buckets – anything that holds water and can be sunk into the ground can make a garden pond, he says.

There’s advice on making a pond from a barrel or a bucket here. And here’s how to reuse an agricultural water trough to make a container pond.

Plants and eco-friendly garden design

‘It’s time that we thought about where our plants come from,’ says Oli. Many plants for sale today are shipped across continents and forced to flower out of season so that they look attractive in garden centres.’

Buy plants that grown locally, propagate them yourself or grow from seed. That is more eco-friendly than buying plants that have been grown in another country.

Look for nurseries that grow their own plants. If they’re close to you, the plants will already be used to your soil and climate, so they will probably grow better.

Walworth Garden is an oasis of plants in the middle of London. It looks quite tropical. Oli says that every plant is here because it contributes something to wildlife or the environment. Many non-native plants also contribute to local wildlife.

In the UK, there are groups of independent nurseries. Visit them – they sometimes have gardens attached – or find them at plant fairs. See this post on the Plant Fairs Roadshow. 

At Walworth Garden, they do workshops on propagating plants. Essentially this is cutting a section of stem off your plants and planting it in growing compost. You will get a completely new plant free! Many plants can be propagated and it’s not difficult.

There are more sustainable gardening tips here.

Another way of supporting wildlife in your garden is to consider re-wilding or some re-wilding – see this post here.

Are native plants more eco-friendly than imported plants?

There’s a growing focus on native plants in many countries around the world.

The definition varies, however. In the UK, a ‘native plant’ is a plant that has been here since before the last Ice Age. That was 33,000 years ago.

In the United States, Australia and other countries, a ‘native plant’ is one that was there before European settlers arrived. That’s roughly 500 years ago.

And the UK and Europe is connected by land or short stretches of sea to Africa and Asia. Traders and raiders have been bringing plant material here for thousands of years. Many plants have become ‘naturalised’, which  means they spread in the wild. A plant that has been naturalised here for thousands of years is virtually considered a UK native.

Some plants which spread in the wild cause environmental damage. These are called ‘invasive’. Invasive non-native plants have caused environmental problems in many parts of the world, but not all plants which spread in the wild are invasive. Some have a benefit to local wildlife.

Oli thinks that we need to be wary of the current focus on native plants. ‘There are specific plants that are needed by a specific butterfly, for example, and if we don’t grow that plant, the butterfly won’t have anywhere to lay its eggs.’

But beyond that, he says that unusual weather or global warming can mean that our native wildlife may need food from plants outside the usual flowering season. Many non-native plants are valuable to native wildlife because they flower and fruit at different times or for longer. In the UK, this includes some roses, salvias and dahlias.

In most places it is generally more eco-friendly to grow or source plants locally than it is to grow only native plants.

The balance is different around the world, so consider this aspect with your own countryside in mind. It is not a simple issue, so beware of simplistic solutions, such as ‘only plant native plants.’

See more of the Walworth Garden in video

You can hear more of Oli’s advice and see around the Walworth Garden in this video.

How to find recycled materials

When I talk about using recycled materials, some people say that it can be difficult to find them or that it has now become expensive.

And they are right! Using recycled isn’t the same as seeing something in a magazine and then going to the shop to buy it.

If you see a post about something recycled, it may be very difficult to find exactly the same thing. Check out garage sales, charity shops, junk yards, architectural salvage yards and online exchange resources such as Freecycle or Facebook Marketplace.

Recycled garden chairs used as pot stands at Walworth Garden

Sometimes the recycled options will be as expensive as buying new, but they will have more character.

But if you keep looking, you will find things you can use at a price you can afford

And if you keeping reading posts and seeing videos about recycled items, then you will get ideas on how to recycle things – even things you already own. You will ‘get your eye in.’

I’d recommend reading Recycled garden ideas from RHS Chelsea.  Also Kathy’s rustic cottage garden was created on a shoestring budget. It is very eco-friendly with lots of recycling (see her garden on video here).  There are more ideas in 15 ways to transform your garden with upcycled junk.

Look out for local sales or even people discarding things. However, even if something seems to have been discarded in a skip, always check before taking it.

Pin to remember eco-friendly garden design tips from Walworth Garden

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