The Climate Garden – Part 1

Sustainable and climate-friendly garden?

A beautiful garden full of life, with lots of flowers, insects and able to absorb CO² and large amounts of rainwater. Is that even possible?

Yes it’s possible, but your garden is not going to look like anything from a garden magazine. Rethinking garden design and having other  expectations to our gardens is the answer.

Climate-friendly – how?

I might as well acknowledge that I’m never going to get a 100% climate-friendly garden. As I’ve told you before, Sigurd wants to have lawn all over the garden. No praying, only grass and tiles. If it was up to me, half of the garden would be laid out to the “forest” and the rest would be divided between perennial, vegetable garden, terrace and a bit of lawn.

For us, the garden is an eternal source of discussion and compromise. I think that applies to the vast majority of gardeners. One party would like one, the other something else. I have my beds and at the back of the garden, we have down to the creek a small piece with “forest floor” where there also grows ramsons. I soon have no more space in my beds for more perennials and roses, so I wonder how I can annex a little more of the lawn. However, it is a little difficult as we have a lawn robot and there is a cable dug down all the way around with the lawn. So I’ll have to see if I can persuade the gemal to voluntarily give up a little of the lawn this year.

First of all, you need to be clear about what you want.

Therefore, consider the following things:

• Child friendliness – there must be room for playground, swing rack w.m.
• Insect friendliness – would you like to help the insects
• Flowers versus trees and shrubs
• Sun and shade
• Garden parties – space for tent m.m.
• Greenhouse / Orangeri
• Drying area

Last but not least:

• How much work do you put into the garden, every week, every season, every year?

Draw the garden design

Once you’ve considered what is important in the garden’s design, it’s time to start drawing the garden. Why is it important? You have to find trees and shrubs that have the right height compared to what you are allowed to plant. It’s no use you plant lovely trees that get so tall they overshadow the neighbour’s premises or lose a ton of leaves in his garden in autumn. Keeping the neighbour happy, is always an absolute must!

You also need to find the perennials and shrubs that can fit you garden. Some grow quickly and become wide and either kill the other plants or become crooked and ugly if there’s not enough space. If you choose perennials, expect some types must be dug up and thinned approximately every 5 years. Apart from that, a perennial bed is almost maintenance free.

Where do you want your compost the be? It is quite important to have it a the right spot. You should be able to empty kitchen waste on the compost all year round, but at the same time the compost should not be as close to the terrace as it can be seen – it is just evenly boring to look at. Also remember that you must never put leftovers on the compost, it attracts rats and it smells. If necessary, put a fence in front of the compost and let an ivy or clematis grow there.

Read more about choosing the right climate garden design in my next post