SMART STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE A SUSTAINABLE GARDEN The selection of materials for your new garden is difficult and time consuming. There are so many products out there to choose from. And what do we do with the existing materials? Nadia Pomare from Stylish Gardens shares her tips for purchasing new materials and products for your garden, and offers solutions for recycling existing materials. Recycle what you already have • Bricks and Pavers: These can be
reclaimed from elsewhere.
• Concrete, Bricks, and other
aggregates: These can be crushed and used as back fill on the same site, or for drainage purposes. They can also be sent to a recycler and turned into crushed rock to make an interesting mulch or pathway.
• Tiles and Glass: Both can be crushed
into smooth pieces for interesting garden mulch or broken into pieces to create artistic mosaic landscape elements, including pathways.
• Topsoil: So often this is lifted along
with the rubble when clearing the site, and disposed of. A common mistake. This should be piled up onsite ready for reuse. Treat it like gold, as there is nothing you can buy which will be as good for your plants as natural topsoil.
• Soil: Using the original soil found
beneath your topsoil will assist when selecting suitable plants for this environment. Improving the soil with organic matter and sand can be a more sustainable option than simply replacing all the soil.
• Large rocks: Re-use as seating,
features, retaining soil on slopes, building retaining walls.
• Gravels and small stones:
Re-use in drainage, water features, as mulch for garden beds and pots, and in paving details.
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Choices towards a more Sustainable Garden • Choose local products from a controlled
source, which have travelled minimal distance and therefore have less impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
• Timbers should be local and purpose
grown timbers (from local plantations).
• Aged and recycled timbers are a good
What to Avoid • Choosing products that have been
imported from overseas or have travelled long distances.
• Using stones and pebbles, which
have been removed from natural living landscapes such as rivers and natural bush land. This can result in unnecessary erosion and loss of habitat.
choice as carbon is stored for a longer period of time.
• Petroleum-based products.
• Large Rocks and Stone should be
• Using high processed materials.
sourced locally from licensed quarries. Sometimes a surplus results as a by product of the quarrying process.
• Rocks are often removed in
redevelopment and road construction. A good use of the land development by-product.
• Products (such as furniture), which are
transported over minimal distances and are made from local products.
• Item existing on-site, and are being
• Toxic materials and products.
This usually means high-energy consumption during the manufacture of the product.
• Using rainforest timber, or timber
from old trees.
• Processed, chemically treated timber
or kiln-dried boards. Choose air-dried, rough sawn instead.
• Over ordering of materials as this
results in excess waste.
re-used or transformed and recycled. • Composite products that incorporate recycled plastic waste.
• Reclaiming re-cycled materials. • Made artificially but from recycled
materials such as plastics or tires.
• Use durable materials. • Act energy-wise. • Act water-wise. • Use materials that are not toxic
or harmful to the environment.
WWW.THEDESIGNERCHICKS.COM.AU
Nadia Pomare
www.stylishgardens.com.au
