Skipping over conventional landscaping practices and moving to sustainable techniques will help the environment, save you money, and still deliver beautiful landscaping results. Try these alternatives for sustainable landscaping methods:
Alternatives to Power Equipment
| Power Tool |
Sustainable Alternatives |
| Gas lawn mower |
Push mower, electric mower, sheep, alternative lawn such as a
meadow |
| String weed and grass trimmer |
Hand shears, scythe, hoe, goat, mulching, knee-high plants to
suppress weeds |
| Gas hedge trimmer |
Hand or electric hedge shears, natural unclipped hedges |
| Chain saw |
Hand pruning saw, lopping shears |
| Rototiller |
None (tilling isn’t recommended; use a spading fork only
when starting new beds) |
| Gas blower |
Rake, broom, allowing leaves to remain in place as mulch |
| Lawn tractor |
Hand cart, wheelbarrow |
Alternatives to Harsh Chemicals
| Harsh Chemical |
Sustainable Alternatives |
| Fertilizers |
Installing low-demand plants, composting, applying green
manures, planting cover crops, allowing leaf litter to remain in
place, practicing chop and drop pruning, applying organic
fertilizers |
| Pesticides |
Selecting pest-resistant plants, improving growing conditions
to make plants less susceptible, washing the pests off with a jet
of water, releasing beneficial insects that feed on harmful
insects, using the least-toxic pesticides such as insecticidal
soaps and oil sprays |
| Herbicides |
Blocking out weeds with tall dense plantings, sheet mulching,
applying organic herbicides such as corn gluten meal or vinegar,
using a drip system to reduce wetting of soil, pulling weeds before
they set seed |
