Sustainable garden ideas: 10 of the best by Pippa Greenwood

Pippa Greenwood’s Sustainable Gardening Tips to Minimize Your Environmental Impact

Pippa Greenwood, my favorite panellist on Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time, is also the friend who can send me into fits of giggles with just a glance. We share a similar sense of humor, and it doesn’t take much for us to set each other off. Recently, during a gathering, someone expressed her apprehension about an upcoming hen weekend in Dublin that involved heavy drinking and an ill-advised Irish dancing lesson. One look at Pippa, and we both lost it.

However, our laughter soon turned to a serious discussion about the future of our planet. As an avid gardener, I’ve been eager to adopt more sustainable practices, and who better to ask than a world-renowned gardening expert like Pippa? Besides enjoying a great evening with friends, I came away with some valuable tips for eco-friendly gardening.

Knowing that many of you are passionate about gardening, I wanted to share Pippa’s top 10 tips for sustainable and organic gardening. As they say on Gardener’s Question Time: Good Gardening!

With spring upon us, it’s the perfect time to enhance your gardening practices to be even more sustainable. Gardening is already one of the most eco-friendly activities, but with a few adjustments, you can make your green space even greener!

Whether you use a traditional bin system or a simple hole in the ground like my mother did, fruit and vegetable scraps, annual weeds that haven’t gone to seed, and small garden clippings can all be transformed into excellent compost. This not only enriches your soil and provides mulch but also eliminates the need for garden center trips to purchase plastic-bagged products.

Repurpose plastic trays and punnets from the supermarket by turning them into seed trays and mini-propagators. Ensure they have drainage holes at the bottom (most do), and use the clear plastic lids to create propagator tops and mini cloches.

When it’s necessary to purchase flower pots, opt for the innovative compostable options made primarily from pulped bamboo and rice. They resemble plastic pots but have a lifespan of about five years before they can be composted. These eco-friendly pots are becoming more widely available, and you can find a selection in the Good Growing section of my online shop.