Cheers to the green!

A  plea for more courage for green spaces and biodiversity

A conscious lifestyle is an important step in counteracting the consequences of global warming. This also includes promoting the diversity of plant life. Plants filter pollutants out of the air – the biomass of a single, mature, medium-sized tree, for example, stores up to 500 kilograms of CO₂! Plants cool down heated large cities and provide food and shelter for numerous animals. In the garden, there is an immense variety of flowering perennials, hedge plants, trees and shrubs. It inspires, makes happy and excites, because plants are caresses for the soul.


The diversity counts
Factors such as the loss of green spaces, monocultures or environmental pollution are putting the diversity of animal and plant life in distress. That's why the topic of biodiversity is more topical than ever. What exactly does the word mean? Simply put, if there are as many different species of plants, animals and organisms as possible in the world, nature is at its most balanced. But natural habitats are fading, and the number of species is declining sharply worldwide. "Up to one million species are threatened with extinction, many of them already in the next decades," informs the World Biodiversity Council IPBES. Species extinction today is at least ten to one hundred times higher than the average over the last ten million years, the organization says. The more species disappear, the more fragile the natural balance becomes. If bees are missing pollinating fruit trees, it directly affects the availability of food for humans. Climate change is accelerating species extinction even more.
 
Every square meter makes a difference
Against this background, it becomes clear why even the smallest planted areas are so important for biodiversity. When millions of large or small balconies, tiny backyards or suburban gardens come together, it has a meaning. A small, naturally landscaped space that bees use to collect nectar or where birds nest is possible anywhere, every green space counts.
 Big ideas for small spaces
Many unused places can be transformed into green islands in the concrete gray. Plants that butterflies feed on can grow on windowsills. Vegetables do not need a large bed. They can also grow in pots or in the so-called "square-foot garden". And why doesn't the mailbox have a green roof? If you're creative and look beyond the edge of your plate, you'll discover places everywhere where plants can flourish. Walls can be planted with climbing plants, in whose tendrils a female blackbird might build her nest. Herbs like the water mint are happy about a place in the mini pond – bees and thirsty birds like to quench their thirst here.
Even small trees can grow on terraces or in the backyard. Small greenhouses are also possible, built tall and narrow, they require little space. Salads and microgreens grow in them, i.e. vegetable and herb seedlings that are ready for harvesting after just a few days. If you want to design your balcony creatively, think about it: Can units be combined? For example, the neighbor's balcony from the first floor with your own and that of the neighbor above? Hops can grow over seven meters high in a year – so they definitely reach the third floor.
More ideas for natural gardening are available in the Gardena eBook "Sustainable gardening. Tips and inspiration for colorful garden ecosystem".

Additional material for the correct selection and care of plants can also be found in the press release "The right choice for long plant happiness" as well as in the corresponding info sheets with creative DIYs, for example a step-by-step guide for the perfect green oasis on the balcony.