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  6. Eco-friendly gardening

A plea for more awareness when gardening:

How green are our fingers really?

It's quite paradoxical! We love nature and we love our garden. By planting new life, we make a strong contribution to protecting the environment. Yet from time to time we still harm it with our gardening work – and are usually completely unaware of this. We garden to the best of our knowledge and belief based on habit and our own sense of what looks good. But of course, potential ecological consequences are not something we always consider. If we really want to have a positive impact on the environment and climate, we cannot get around questioning what we're doing. Greater awareness is the first step toward identifying our own environmental transgressions in the garden. After all, we will only be able to change our behaviour accordingly if we think about our actions. It is with that in mind that this article aims to encourage us to be more aware. And to identify potential areas where a change in approach is worthwhile.

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Give Mother Earth what she needs: Appreciation

The demand for resources has long since been greater than the amount Earth can actually renew. Therefore, an appreciation of our natural resources is the most important principle for anyone who wants to make their everyday life greener. With every action we take, we should be aware of the extent to which resources are being consumed and whether there are more efficient alternatives. And there are many different ways for us to ask this question when we are gardening: Where do I get my plants from? What equipment and products do I use for their care? How much water do I need for them? The options for conserving our resources when gardening are almost infinite. Of course, exactly how far we want to go is entirely up to us. To elaborate on the last example, a rain barrel for collecting water for plants is great but we can go a step further by buying plants that need less water from the outset.

Step by step toward a better ecological balance

Gardening like they did in the good ol' days

How to

Artificial materials?

An absolute no-no!

Keep an eye on the plants you buy

The right choice

Welcoming guests

Protecting beneficial insects

Natural lawn

More life in the garden

Many of us like a tidy garden. Neatly raked beds, meticulously trimmed lawns and a hedge cut with precision are the dream of equally exacting hobby gardeners. Admittedly, beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but we are doing little to protect the environment and biodiversity. Planting colourful variety and often leaving it as it is should be the maxim so as to ensure even greener gardening prevails. Bare surfaces on the ground can also lead to dehydration or erosion of the valuable soil. Accordingly, it is advisable to plant ground cover or spread mulch. This is because a protective layer of mixed lawn cuttings, foliage or harvest residues reduces evaporation, promotes humification and makes it more difficult for weeds to spread. Although in most wild gardens only herbs – and no weeds – appear in any case. At which point we return to awareness and appreciation of our resources.

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