IN DECIDING TO CREATE a wonderful garden you are of course making a positive contribution to the environment. Adding as many trees, plants and flowers to the world as we can is always a good thing.

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We all want to do better for our planet but building for durability outdoors can often require a fair amount of concrete, it can mean felling trees for timber or indeed space, and it always generates a good deal of rubbish.

 

Yet there are sustainable alternatives to almost every design choice in your garden project - and often they that can be cheaper too, such as buying compost in bulk not plastic bags or reusing existing materials.

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Our aim for the ethical design of your garden is to keep you informed about the available options and help you make choices that are right for you and the environment.

 

Here are just some of the things you can make sustainable choices in when planning your garden project:

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• Plants: using UK-grown plants to help minimise haulage miles and support local nursery growers. Opt for smaller size plants - they take longer to grow-in but are cheaper to transport and deliver.

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• Paving: select UK or EU-produced materials and stone rather than those frequently imported from India, China or Brazil. Seek options that will also be better for rain-water mitigation.

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• Timber: opt for sustainably grown species like Cedar, Oak or Chestnut rather than tropical hardwoods such as Iroko and Ipe. Consider recycled timber - there's much more variety than you might think.

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• Furniture: look for responsibly-sourced outdoor tables and chairs. Many suppliers now offer FSC-accredited options.

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• Landscape firms: find a company you know will be a responsible and an ethical employer. Support smaller, local business when you can. Landscaping requires specialist skills - remember, if you pay peanuts you often get monkeys!

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• Choose garden plants help mitigate climate change, trap pollution and encourage and support pollinators.

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• Ensure that as much waste as possible is recycled. Consider where you can re-use materials to save money and avoid landfill. Old deck-boards can become veg beds and old paving can be re-used as hardcore.

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• Discuss how we can design-in climate-change resilient planting. Be open to compromise when considering inclusion of some of your favourite plants in order to reduce demand for water.

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Plus - for every project we donate 10% of profits to environmental-enrichment and education activities run by UK charities including the Woodland Trust, BugLife, Wildlife Trusts and The Garden Classroom.