World Environment Day is observed every year on June 5. It has a long history, going back to 1973. It was started to bring awareness to pressing environmental problems and create action to address them. You can read more about the history of it here.
There’s a lot we can do to support Mother Earth and her beings through the choices we make around how we manage our homes, gardens, and yards. Whether you’re a witch or not, by choosing sustainable practices, it’s possible to live more in harmony with nature and be green in your witchy home and garden.
I’ve been a gardener for years, since I was born into a family that always kept a garden. We grew fruits, vegetables, and flowers. My mother canned and preserved what we grew, and it kept us fed all winter long. She was raised on a farm and brought that practical wisdom that is earned from living close to the land into her gardening practices.
We were doing sustainable and green things long before we knew they had a name.
Living green isn’t easy. There’s a lot of structure built into our society that makes it tough to choose things like composting since it will probably be against homeowner association rules or town ordinances. But, even if there’s something you can’t do today, you might be able to help create the changes needed to make these things a normal part of our everyday lives.
With World Environment Day in mind, in this post, we’ll look at three different categories of ways that you can be green in your witchy home and garden.
Plant for the Pollinators
This might be the most fun way to be green in your witchy home and garden. With careful selections of plants and garden areas, this isn’t a lot of extra work for you either.
- Creating pollinator-friendly habitat around your yard is probably one of the easiest ideas to implement. Visit the local greenhouse and select a mix of plants that bloom at different times of the year so the pollinators have a food source throughout the seasons. You can choose perennials, annuals, shrubs and trees to provide variety.
Here’s a few you might consider: Lavender, Bee Balm and Echinacea. Not only are these beautiful, but they’re also allies you can use in your home apothecary or magickal workings.
Tip: Always buy plants by their Latin names since, many times, common names vary from region to region. Plant and flower guides can be helpful with this if you don’t have access to a knowledgeable person.
- For the bees, you can install bee hotels or just don’t remove the dead plant stems from your garden. Both of these things will give bees nesting sites.
- Water sources are beneficial for pollinators too. Select shallow containers or pile stones in them to give them a place to land when getting a drink. Be sure to maintain these with clean water.
- Ban all pesticides and herbicides from your home and yard. Go with natural, organic pest control methods.
- Native plants are perfect choices for your local area. They’re good for pollinators and other local wildlife, too. If you don’t know what’s native to your area, check with your local extension office for guidance and plant suggestions.
Tips to Be Green in Your Yard & Garden
- Create a compost pile. Composting is beneficial on many levels. You’re reducing landfill waste, creating nutrient-rich organic fertilizer for your garden and in turn, you’re able to feed the pollinators and yourself through the plants you’re growing.
- Use organic mulches to help retain moisture, eliminate weeds and improve your soil as it breaks down.
- Use permaculture ideas to create your landscaping. Plant perennials, use companion planting and place plants together that support each other.
- Reduce lawns by replacing parts of them with wildflower gardens. You can also try native grasses or ground covers. You can also leave parts of your yard go “wild”. These undisturbed areas provide habitat for small animals, birds and pollinators.
- Water-conservation ideas like rainwater harvesting systems might be just the thing to cut down on your water needs.
- Birdhouses and bat houses provide nesting sites. This can help control the insect population around your home, and having more birds and bats promotes biodiversity too.
Tips For You:
While there are lots of ways to be green in your witchy home and garden, you can also start living this way by making some mindful choices, so this section is just for you.
- Make reduce, reuse, and recycle your mantra. Reduce consumption, reuse everything you can, recycle everything you can, and become more mindful of the consumer goods you buy, what they’re made from, and how they’re disposed of.
- Consider donating clothing and other goods to charitable organizations, shopping at thrift stores, and recycling clothing that’s too worn out to donate.
- Buy and use recyclable shopping bags. Keep them in the trunk of your car, so you’ll always have them when you need them.
- Look for minimal and recyclable packages when buying food, clothing, or other items.
- Watch out for “greenwashing.” That’s when products are made to seem like they’re green and they’re not. Read the labels.
- Grow your own food by planting a vegetable and/or herb garden. This way, you’re less dependent on commercially grown produce, which is normally grown with a lot of chemicals and trucked for many miles to get to you.
- Do something to support your local ecosystems. You can do something as simple as pick up trash or get involved in conservation efforts in your town. Maybe you want to start a community garden project. Whatever it is that you choose, you’ll be doing good for the environment.
Summary of Ways to Be Green in Your Witchy Home and Garden
There’s no one right way to create a sustainable lifestyle. Of course, there’s many more ways to do it too. This post contains only a few tips. Be open to trying new things.
The key to creating green habits is to begin. Just begin with one thing. You can’t go wrong with supporting local wildlife and pollinators. Then choose another and another, and so on. By starting small, you can make big changes and be green in your witchy home and garden.
Here’s to creating positive change… and making every day World Environment Day.
Blessed be.
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How to Start a Green Witch’s Garden
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Karen
