Dealing with the Eco Cost of Neglected Backyard Growth

Neglected backyard growth is more than unsightly, as it comes with hidden dangers for your family and attracts harmful plant infestations. However, there are some highly effective ways you can deal with a backyard that has been left to the elements and to fester, which promote healthy regrowth. From no-dig restorations to dead hedge wildlife sanctuaries, here are some tips.

Remove Potential Dangers

Before doing anything, it is vital that you check for dangers in the backyard. If there has been long-term neglect, there could be overgrown trees that need to be cut back, or you may even need a tree removal service if there is hazardous growth. It is also common to find rubbish in backyards that have been left for a while, either from your own bins or from fly-tippers. Getting rid of hazards is an ideal first step to ensure your restoration goes without serious issues.

Try No-Dig Restoration

For most backyard regrowth projects, the initial reaction is to just dig up an overgrown space and turn over the soil. However, this can be harmful to the many microorganisms that live in the soil, and can trigger the rapid growth of dormant weeds. In essence, it will have the opposite effect of what you want. So what can you do? A no-dig restoration can build soil health, and all you need to do is layer cardboard over the weeds after cutting back any tall growth in the yard.

Use Pollinators for Neglected Backyard Growth

A UK survey found that 20% of homeowners with backyards don’t take care of them. Of course, there might be medical reasons you can’t keep your backyard in good shape. However, there are some things you can do, such as planting trees that can transform any size garden, and using local pollinators. Neglected backyards can become infested by invasive plants that don’t support the local ecosystem, but native pollinators will provide food and shelter for wildlife.

Create Dead Hedge Wildlife Habitats

Further to wildlife, your backyard restoration can become a haven for the local birds, bugs and mammals that roam the area. Rather than cutting off branches and sending them to landfills, how about using them to promote biodiversity? You can build a hedge with the dead cuttings from trees, shrubs and bushes. This creates a natural environment where insects such as beetles, local birds and critters such as hedgehogs can live, eat and take shelter.

Harvest Rainwater for Irrigation

Rainwater harvesting is a wonderful way to irrigate the garden without using extra resources such as water from the tap or money from your wallet. There are tons of DIY garden irrigation solutions you can try that will work to provide the water the backyard needs. This is essential since neglected yards usually have poor absorption, which leads to high water runoff. However, something as simple as water butts connected to downspouts can help permeate the ground.

Summary

Removing any hazards is a great start to dealing with neglected backyard growth before getting stuck in. It is always a good idea to plant native species to attract local pollinators, and you can help any plant life by adding some DIY rainwater collection and irrigation systems into the yard.