Turf And Wild Flowers Help The Natural World And Prevent Flooding

For many gardeners in the UK there has been an open-handed acceptance of the trend in recent times to replace lawn turf with a different and less care intensive solution to managing their gardens.

Instead of using a traditional garden solution such as turf, it has been taken up across Britain and replaced with stone paving, decking and concrete. Whilst this may have its benefits for the less enthusiastic gardener on a micro-level – there is less weeding, mowing and fertilising to be done – there are two significant side-effects that are unwanted to this ‘policy of gardening fashion’.

Across many parts of urban Britain, there has been an enormous increase in localised flooding which has partly been explained by the reduction of natural areas of land where rainwater is able to drain away whilst reducing the risk of water collecting above the natural watertable – replacement materials that have been used across the UK have not had the ability to do this. Where the water table is already at dangerously high levels, it only takes something to tip the balance, and the removal of turf and other natural water absorbing areas only serves to exacerbate the situation further.Rising water levels and the reduction of the ability of urban areas to absorb and dispose of rainwater and river waters in a natural way has been a serious problem and one which many commentators would like to be corrected by encouraging turf and plant growth .

Turf and wildflower meadows for example are also an excellent way to encourage wildlife such as bees as well as increasing the chance of pollination and the survival of other species. It also removes a vital source of fresh oxygen and carbon dioxide removal.

In parts of the United States, the preference has been to remove some turf from what can be seen as endless landscapes of flat manicured green, and convert it to wild meadows to further enhance the biodiversity in any given area. This practice is highly favourable to removing lawn turf completely for a preference to concrete for example.

Using garden turf can help meet the responsibilities of those gardeners who feel that the environment and its protection is as much their responsibility as it is for anyone else – turf is a great natural product that really can make a huge difference.