Being a great gardener is about being green fingered. Literally! So why not try our great top tips for making the most of your outdoor space. Whether it’s big or small, there is always something you can do to make your garden a “greener” experience.

1. Recycling for your garden. Home composting can help with recycling and save you money by providing free compost. Depositing organic waste from your kitchen into a compost bin or wormery can cut back on waste going unnecessarily to landfill and ensure your plants are given all the right nutrients all year round. It can also help to save water as it helps to retain moisture.
2. Save water – get a butt! Make the most of the weather! A water butt is a simple way to collect rainwater to use on your garden. Rainwater is so much better than tap water for plants and wildlife and it will save you money on your water bill. Who can ask for better than that?
3. Plant for wildlife. Even if you only have small garden, or you don’t want to install a water butt or diverter you can plant a selection of suitable plants that attract wildlife but require little or no watering. These include: lavender, rock rose, rosemary, pinks and barberry.
4. Look after your lawn. We all like to look out onto a lush green lawn – the key to conserving water and still maintaining healthy grass is not to cut too severely – cut to about 2 inches and this helps prevent the sun and wind drying it out so you won’t need to water it quite as much.

You can purchase home compost bins, wormeries and water butts through the Isle of Wight Council. For further information cal 0844 571 4444 or see www.iow.getcomposting.com

Now is the time of year that gardeners are starting to benefit from their worthwhile hobby. Cucumbers, potatoes, courgettes and lettuces are all being picked at the moment. The gardeners are saving their households money and allowing their families to eat really fresh produce, straight from the ground and free of chemicals.  If you’re feeling envious and wished that you too could grow your own – then help might be on its way.

The Footprint Trust’s Adopt-A-Garden scheme, based on the Isle of Wight, is offering free training to would-be gardeners, thanks to funding received from the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food programme. The ‘Can You Dig It’ training scheme will give new gardeners the ability to grow vegetables and compost waste. The charity will then try to match up the new gardeners with a nearby garden for them to ‘Adopt.’ Those taking part will be helping the environment too by reducing their ‘food miles’.

 Places on the free training scheme are limited to the first 20 people. Preference will be given to those without gardens who are willing to ‘Adopt’ one in their neighbourhood.

 For more details contact Don on 01983 82 22 82, or email don@footprint-trust.co.uk