Unlike most new year’s resolutions, these four garden resolution ideas are not only easy, but fun and rewarding!
1 Welcome more winged friends
Bees, butterflies and birds are assets to your garden and important to our planet. In addition to their helpful benefits pollinating plants and dispersing seeds, they add color and beauty everywhere they go. Help to protect our delicate ecosystem by welcoming more to your garden!
Start small. Attract a butterfly species by planting its host plant. Monarch butterflies love milkweed. Resolve to plant a small patch this year and help protect the species. Here is more info about butterflies.
Bees are in decline as well. By planting any variety of flowers or flowering trees and avoiding the use of harmful pesticides, you can provide a safe haven. Here are more ideas to help bees.
With Austin’s urban growth reducing green space and trees, birds will be grateful for your addition of a feeder or bird house in which to nest. Visit the Texas Audubon to learn more about why birds matter and how you can help.
2 Play in the garden with the kids
Recent studies revealed that many children in our modern world do not know where food comes from. Make sure the children or grandchildren in your life are not a part of this statistic. Plant the seed now to make them life-long gardeners, nature lovers or simply smart about their food. Getting them in the garden is also a great way to spend quality time together.
It can be as simple as giving each child a pot and letting them select the seeds to grow or giving them a small plot of the garden to plant. Another option, take them to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It has many great programs for children. If you haven’t explored it with the children in your life, resolve to do it this year.
3 Use more organics
Using some chemicals in the garden isn’t always bad, but continual use or overuse pollutes the soil, the water and eventually us. Choosing to switch even one of your lawn products to an organic will help both your lawn and our world. There are great sources in Austin for more tips on going organic, like Natural Gardener and Copper Rock Nursery
4 Take a gardening class
On our events page we showcase a number of the wonderful, mostly free gardening related events in and around Austin. Pick one this year and learn a new skill or simply a deeper appreciation for nature.
Whether you select one of these garden resolution ideas or create your own, we hope 2019 is a year in which you get more enjoyment from your lawn and garden.
