Climate change affects so many things on a large scale, what more on the little things. Backyard plants are also at risk as the weather becomes less predictable.
Experts are urging gardeners to reexamine their landscapes and select plants that could handle irregular rain, brave warmer temperatures, and support local pollinators.
Plants to withstand and combat climate change
According to The National Wildlife Federation, trees can absorb and store approximately a ton of carbon pollution from the atmosphere. If American households planted one tree in their backyard, those trees would absorb more than 2 million tons of CO2 each year.
Moreover, shade trees planted near your home can also lessen the energy used for cooling during the summer.
Richie Steffen, the executive director and curator of the Elizabeth Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, says that summers have become hotter and winters have been all over the place. Additionally, wet spells have also been pretty bizarre lately.
He says that the average home gardener should consider water use and estimate how much of the resource is necessary and available in the future.
Furthermore, Jessi Bloom, the owner of NW Bloom EcoLogical Services in Redmond, Washington, says that the most trustworthy plants are those that regenerate quickly and can handle extremes.
So, what exactly are these recommended and trustworthy plants to grow in the backyard? Here's a list of some of them.
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1. Edibles
According to the Victoria State Government's Better Health Channel, growing your own garden can be a form of relaxation, as well as exercise. Furthermore, it would also provide you with a healthy source of inexpensive fresh food without having to go to the market.
When setting up an edible garden, it doesn't automatically need to be on a wide scale. Start small by planting on pots and put them in balconies and porches.
A quite popular edible plant would be that of herbs. Rosemary, sage, basil, mint, oregano, and parsley are just some examples you might want to go with. It would be perfect, especially when preparing meals. How delightful it would be to simply pick herbs from your own garden.
Other options would be edible flowers such as carnation, lavender, pandy, marigold, and honeysuckle.
2. Heat tolerant trees
Sara Tangren, an invasive species foreman for Empire Landscape in Silver Springs, Maryland, recommends planting trees that could take the heat. As summer days grow hotter, some plants are easy to wither and experience drought.
Some examples of trees that can take on the heat are acacia, ash, buckeye, catalpa, cedar, eucalyptus, oak, and pine.
Acacia is broadly adaptable to nearly any landscape. However, they especially thrive in the heat. In the springtime, they give off small blooms, while in the fall, they boast colorful foliage. Acacia trees grow quickly as they soak up the sun, and give you cool shade in return.
Another speedy grower, eucalyptus, will grow and thrive through the heat and drought. It shoots up at as much as six feet per year. Furthermore, even trimmed smaller branches grow back as well.
By planting this in your home, you can enjoy fragrant leaves without damaging the tree at all.
3. Shrubs
In a BBC report, Kathleen Smart, from Rhodes University, praised spekboom as she said it could survive through drought and other extreme measures. Spekboom is a small-leaved succulent plant usually found in South Africa.
In a 2014 thesis on the properties of spekboom, author Sarah-Jane Paviour wrote that due to spekboom's remarkable growth rate, its amount of carbon capture could challenge that of tropical forests.
Moreover, the result is that a tonne of carbon dioxide can be captured for less than a tenth of the cost of sinking the equivalent carbon by planting trees in tropical forests.
According to Fine Gardening, other shrubs that could withstand drought are Panicle hydrangea, Flowering quince, Winterberry, 'Anthony Waterer' spirea, Chaste tree, and American beautyberry.
So if you've got a knack for gardening and wish to help with climate change in your own little ways, consider planting the herbs, flowers, and trees mentioned above. Help make the Earth a better place for the children of the future.
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