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Keep garden pests under control naturally. Instead of using expensive chemicals to control bugs in your garden, consider purchasing a bag of ladybugs. They can easily be purchased at garden centers and will eat up aphids and bugs that munch on your plants. Alternatively, you can spray a mixture of soap and water weekly in your garden to help prevent insects in your garden.

Water your garden in the mornings. Collect rain in a rain barrel and lay mulch all around your garden. This will help to reduce the overall amount of water your garden needs and the mulch will also collect and retain much needed moisture from rainfalls.

Fertilize your garden naturally. Take all the kitchen scraps from your green bin (coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels) and mix it with yard waste (leaves and flowers) to make a natural and healthy compost for your soil. Not only are you reducing waste but producing healthy and fertile soil.

Plant only what belongs in its environment. Before you decide you want something exotic and showy in your garden, do some research to see what it needs to survive in your area. If its not native to the area, you will end up using more water and having to care for it more than the other plants in your garden. Stick to what belongs and you will save yourself the frustration of having to replace a plant every year or so because you wanted something different.

Know what plants need shade and what plants need sun and what kind of sun exposure your garden has. No point in planting a shade loving plant in a full sun garden; it will only die from the extreme heat and leave you with a gaping hole in your garden and an empty hole in your pocket.

Swap with your Neighbors. Have too many hostas and want some more variety? Why not ask a neighbor if they would like some, and more than likely they will swap you with something from their garden that you don’t have. It’s fun to do, a great way to get to know your neighbors better and best of all, you get really neat varieties of different plants for free.

Plant a Perennial Garden. Perennials don’t have to be replanted every year like annuals do, which leaves you free to enjoy your garden every year without having the extra cost of buying plants and planting them every year. Or, if you really want to plant something annually, instead of planting flowering annuals, plant herbs and vegetables instead which will provide fresh, organic produce for your table.

Weed the weeds by hand. Yes, I know it’s more work but there is no point in chemically exposing your garden and the air we all breathe to more chemicals.
Weeds that have had boiling water poured over them turn brown within a few hours and die. There is no toxic residue and the area is immediately safe for children to play. Tackling them as they spout is best, just keep you eye on them. It’s all part of the joys of gardening!

So you see, going ‘green’ makes a lot of sense and is a lot of fun. Before you know it, it will all become second nature to you. So get out there and go green.

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