The Future of Gardens
What can we do now and how can gardens of the future change to become a resource? How can we cope with climate change in our own outdoor spaces? Here is a quick extensive guide on the future of gardens.
Plus, a useful long list about what you can do now to make your garden resilient to the effects of global warming.
The low hanging fruit measures –
Quick tips to future proof your garden.
What simple and quick steps can we take now in our own gardens to make a difference to help us cope with climate change? Try these.
Mulching.
By simply spreading a mulch of your own compost, grass clippings or bark chips you can improve the soil, trap in moisture, and help to lock in CO2.
Bowls of water for wildlife.
An easy one this. Birds, hedgehogs and wildlife need a water source, particularly when we have experienced a hot summer drought like we just have.
Using grey water.
Grey water is from the sink, bath and shower. Use for the ornamental garden to water the plants rather than using precious tap water. It’s best not to use on your vegetables though unless it has been filtered and sterilised.
Eco detergents.
There are some great environmentally friendly eco-detergents that will reduce the pollution in our environment. This is especially applicable if you are using the grey water in your garden but a good habit to get into anyway.
Water Conservation.
Use Water butts and containers of any kind to collect water. Just make sure they are securely covered so young children or wildlife can’t drown in them.
Reduce electricity use.
Why not use a traditional push mower rather than an electric one for smaller gardens? It’s a gentle workout as well to help keep you fit.
Passive cooling of houses.
During hot days, any walls or hard surfaces can heat up and act like radiators and increase the temperature, particularly in urban areas. Reduce the effect by growing climbers up walls and providing shading by trees and other plants. The extra humidity helps to cool the surfaces. It’s great for wildlife habitat as well.
Insulate houses.
Similar to the above, a thick covering of evergreen plant material growing up a wall or green roofs can help to insulate the outside of a house remarkably well. I have Ivy growing on an east facing wall. We used to suffer from condensation and mould on the wall but now the Ivy is dong a great job of trapping air against the wall and moderating moisture levels. It’s also great for the wildlife and looks nicer than a blank wall.
Food for birds and other wildlife.
By planting nectar-rich flowers and plants that bear berries and seeds in the autumn, we can encourage and help our dwindling bird and butterfly population.
Right plants in the right places.
The correct choice of plant for the correct location and soil type can mean that they won’t need watering once they are established, they are less likely to die, and need specialist feeds.
Planting drought-tolerant plants on small mounds of soil.
This is a great simple one since we are likely to be getting wetter winters which is a killer for drought-tolerant plants. This way they are lifted from the wetter ground in the winter but will survive the dry summers.
Improving soil moisture retention.
You might think that this is the opposite to what is needed in wet winters, but soil can only hold so much moisture. The rest drains away. By incorporating more organic matter into your soil such as garden compost and manure, the soil can retain more moisture. This can be done by applying a generous layer of mulch and allowing the worms
Plastic use
Don’t go chucking away all your plastic items in your garden. We all have plastic pots, labels, containers etc in the garden, but if we reuse them multiple times, then this is better than getting rid of them.
Produce more of your food for sustainability.
This is a no-brainer. By growing your own, you have more control of what you eat, you can save money, zero air miles, less water used, better nutritional content and, you get the satisfaction of putting your own food on the table.
Intensive growing ideas.
This helps in several ways. By having better quality soil, you grow plants more healthily which require no fertilizer. Vegetables are grown all year round with no bare soil – by planting veg in triangles rather than rows, you can grow more in a set space. Intercropping is also a great way of getting more produce from your plot as well.
Growing in vertical spaces.
Don’t be limited by the floor area of your garden. By using fences, pergolas, arbours, obelisks, and walls, you can grow a huge amount more. Climbing ornamental plants or wall shrubs or vegetable plants like runner beans, French beans, Squashes, Cucumbers, Melons, and Peas. These can all be grown-up structures without taking up much floor space.
Zero Waste – don’t throw any green waste away.
I am on a mission to compost all my green waste in my own garden as it is a valuable resource. Include kitchen waste, grass clippings, shredded paper, cardboard, leaves, cuttings, tissues, cotton buds, and food waste. Chop everything up and/or shredded and put it in the compost bins to produce lovely homemade compost.
Despite this, I still don’t produce enough compost for my needs! I am even contemplating asking neighbours if I can use their green bin waste instead of the council taking it way.
More habitats for wildlife.
Achieve this by putting up bird boxes, bee hotels, bat boxes, and creating piles of logs and undisturbed areas for creatures to use. It also means trying to have larger shrubs and maybe some trees for birds to shelter and perch on.
What the future holds –
The likely issues and solutions to global warming.
Crops
There will be dryer and hotter summers yet wetter milder winters. This gives exciting opportunities to grow more unusual and varied crops but be mindful of the wet. Better draining soil would be needed but more moisture retention in the summer.
Less viable for existing crops but new opportunities to grow more unusual plants.
Flooding and sea levels
Coping with localised flooding will be more important by using more permeable surfaces and other temporary catchment areas.
Rising sea levels, if the predictions are correct, will see large swathes of the country under water by 2050. Scientists predict sea levels could rise by 35cm which will mean homes, businesses and large growing areas of the country will become flooded. More intensive food production will feed the growing population by using Hydroponic and Aquaponic systems (Growing vegetables, Fish, Crayfish, Freshwater mussels in a symbiotic system) and even growing more Fungi as nutritious food.
Look after the water
There will be fewer resources such as water and some building materials. Storing more water rather than using clean tap water and more use of innovative materials and recycled products are likely to in general use. Grey water will be used more to conserve our water supply.
Rising temperatures globally are likely to cause fewer food production areas due to desertification and soil salinization. Again, Hydroponic and Aquaponic systems are likely to be used on commercial scales and the use of plants to grow up buildings to help cool them will likely be the norm.
Our home gardens
In the UK, we might need to use different grasses to keep our verdant green lawns as rising temperatures kill off our current traditional grass types.
Produce own electricity- ideas from garden.
The ever-rising need for producing more energy will see more of us producing more of us using solar PV panels and wind turbines on our own homes. There is exciting research being undertaken to mimic plant production of starches for energy.
Maybe one day we will be plugging into trees for a power supply?
With talk of settlements on the moon and Mars likely in the future, there are likely to be spin-offs for our homes and gardens. Closed systems where all waste is reused for energy and fertilizer production are likely benefits and clever food production solutions. Watch this space!
Conclusion
The upshot of all this is that gardens are going to be used and thought of as much more important resources in the future. It is essential if we are to deal with the growing global warming consequences.
I will be taking each of the topics mentioned above and writing more detailed blogs in the future. So, if you want to know more then CLICK HERE to sign up to receive regular updates.
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