5 tips to make your naperville summer garden more eco friendly

5 Tips to Make Your
Naperville Summer
Garden More Eco-
Friendly

5 Tips to Make Your Naperville Summer Garden More Eco-Friendly
• May is planting season in Naperville, which means it’s time for
planning your summer garden. There is nothing better than locally
grown fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and caring for them yourself
can provide you with immense satisfaction for having done so! Plus,
gardening beautifies the landscape of your home. The best part is,
gardening is a source of physical exercise and stress relief, making it
an ideal hobby for women and children of any age.

• Planting a Better Garden
A responsible gardener helps prevent harm and pollution to the land,
the animals, and your health. You can maintain an earth-friendly
Naperville garden at home or at a community garden plot by reducing
your carbon footprint through these energy conservation measures:

1. Rather than litter or add more waste to landfills, find ways to
reduce, reuse, and recycle your discarded items. Save leftover coffee
grounds and vegetable peels, and use them as compost for your garden
beds, or create lawn ornaments and planter markers out of wood or
metal scraps. Recycle bottles, plastic, and paper with Naperville’s
curbside recycling program.

2. Garden with less water. Group your plants according to how much
water they require. By using fewer annuals and more perennials and
shrubs, the plants with larger roots will balance out the ones that need
to be watered more frequently. Collect rainwater in a barrel to use for
watering your plants, and water them early in the morning, making
sure to get as close to their roots as you can. Use 1-3 inches of mulch to
keep the soil cooler, and know what type of soil you are working with
and which plants grow best with it. While you’re at it, mulch the beds
with shredded wood chips, clipped grass, and leaves.

3. Install solar garden lights. Path lighting, accent lights, task lights, and
spotlights can all be solar powered, saving you on electrical costs.

4. Natural pesticides and weed control. Rather than resorting to
chemical sprays, let your garden fight off invaders nature’s way. Plant
chives, cosmos, nasturtium, or marigolds to attract ladybugs, so that
they will in turn eat unwanted pests; plant more cover plants like Greek
yarrow or creeping juniper to choke out weeds. As one of our
wonderful readers pointed out, commercial weed killers are often
poisonous - when used, they are soaked up by the soil and enter our
waterways. The most natural methods you use, the better for you, your
pets, and the community.

5. Join eco-friendly groups and programs. In Naperville, garden care is
highly celebrated. The Naperville Park District’s many parks have
classes for plant and nature education; there is also the Ron Ory
Community Garden Plots where members of the community may
register for a plot to cultivate during the growing months each year.
Participating in causes alongside your family will help reinforce eco-
friendly practices in the way you live and garden.

• Eco-Friendly Naperville
• Visit these green spots in Naperville to connect with fellow gardeners
and get ideas on what to plant in your garden this summer:
• · Naperville Farmers Market
• · The Naperville Garden Club
• · Naperville Community Gardeners
• · Morton Arboretum
• · Cantigny Park

Proudly presented to you by
Teresa Ryan of
Ryan Hill Realty
• Call 630-276-7575 for a FREE consultation

5 tips to make your naperville summer garden more eco friendly

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5 tips to make your naperville summer garden more eco friendly