The change in climate that is the result of the warming planet will create more severe storms and weather patterns in the future.

Forecast are heavier rainfalls, stronger winds and longer periods of drought. These weather events will, in many ways, affect the flora and fauna.

There are positive steps you can take that will not only help mitigate the effects that climate change will have on gardens, but can also reduce the contribution that our own gardens are having on climate change.

With Earth Day, April 22, in mind, pick one or two of these suggestions and start your journey to a more sustainable and resilient garden and perhaps even a better future.

Plant trees:

Trees absorb carbon and store it until they decompose. Trees cool our landscapes and homes in the summer. Trees create windbreaks, especially evergreens, in the winter. Trees provide sustenance and habitat for wildlife. Trees help cleanse the air and reduce pollution.

Create layers in your garden with large trees, understory trees, shrubs, perennials and groundcovers. Plant a hedgerow for wildlife and as a windbreak for more severe storms. Planting on the vertical surfaces of your house living walls, trellised vines or espaliered trees will help cool it in the heat of the summer. Create green landscapes on hard horizontal surfaces with containers or green roofs.

What you plant is also important. Plants grown locally require less energy than those that are transported across the country. Native plants are generally better adapted to your garden’s location and the insects, birds, and mammals that have evolved alongside them.

Consider that your garden is an area that is integral to the greater natural world. Tend to the plants, but also the wildlife. Make your garden friendly to birds by planting for their food and shelter needs. Think about a variety of plants that will give sustenance through a succession of food and flowers throughout the entire year. Plant areas specifically for pollinators.

Reduce inputs:

Take care of your landscape. Keeping your trees, shrubs, and perennials healthy will allow them to be able to withstand weather extremes and invasive pests better. Keep your existing trees healthy, as a lot of carbon is stored within. Apply organic mulch to retain water, cool the soil, reduce runoff and eliminate the germination of weeds, especially invasive ones.

Reduce lawn area because lawns, especially pristine monoculture lawns, require a lot of inputs: water, fertilizer, herbicides, mowing, repeated over and over. Consider turning some or most of your lawn into productive garden beds.

Harvest water with rain barrels to use during times of drought. This will reduce your consumption of water from the hose. Research other methods of reducing stormwater runoff by creating rain gardens or bioswales.

Follow the gardening adage of the right plant in the right place. Established plants, including native plants, should require fewer inputs like water and fertilizer. Plants that are in the wrong place will require greater expenditure of effort and resources.

Avoid synthetic fertilizers as they are energy-intensive to create.

Look for invasive weeds and eliminate them as soon as possible. Use the least toxic method available. Hand-pull or cut off weeds at the soil surface. Avoid planting and remove existing invasive shrubs such as burning bush, Japanese barberry and butterfly bush.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle:

This mantra can be applied to plants, soil amendments, equipment, as well as hardscape materials. Buy good quality tools that can last a lifetime.

It goes without saying that hand tools are better for the environment than electric ones. Electric tools are better than gas-powered tools. When creating new patio areas or paths, use locally-sourced materials, even recycled or reused ones, and make the areas permeable to reduce runoff from storms.

Compost garden and kitchen waste instead of trucking in bagged sources of compost. Leave the leaves. Composted leaves are wonderful mulch and break down to improve the soil.

Every positive change we make contributes to a better world! Make every day Earth Day.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Diane Dorn, Lehigh County Extension Office Staff, and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613