By Vanessa Berridge

Pictured: plants and trees from The QVC Garden, designed by Sarah Price for Chelsea 2008, will be replanted in Battersea Park, London, after the show

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL GARDENING?
Environmental gardening is a return to time-honoured methods. It conserves water, avoids indiscriminate use of chemicals, and works with natural cycles in the garden. Recycling household and garden waste is also crucial. In these ways, it helps to combat the effects of climate change and encourages biodiversity.

THE RHS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
How we care for our natural environment is the major theme of this year's Chelsea Flower Show. The organiser of the show, the Royal Horticultural Society, is leading the way, according to show organiser Bob Sweet. “There is much more emphasis this year on environmental issues than ever before,” he says, “and everything we are doing reflects greater awareness of global warming.”

So, from now on, all exhibitors must use sustainable timber and products such as gas patio heaters, fossil stones and petrified wood are banned. Nurseries are encouraged to reduce if not eliminate their use of peat and the waste that arises during build-up and break-down of the show is to be kept to a genuine minimum. All plastics will be separated and recycled.

HOW ARE EXHIBITORS PLAYING THEIR PART?
Show gardens, floral exhibitors and trade stands, in their different ways, will also support environmentally friendly and sustainable gardening. As ever at Chelsea, the sound of water will be heard constantly, but it will be used responsibly, as it should be in every garden.

Water and irrigation
Avoiding water wastage is key, especially with current predictions for hotter, drier summers on this side of the world. As it has done for the last two years, the RHS will drill a bore hole at the Royal Hospital site, which will be used to its maximum legal capacity, for watering the plants and for loos.

The Home Group's Northeast@Home garden, The Cadogan Garden and the Tokyo City urban garden will all show how harvested and run-off water from roof and paving can be used for irrigating the garden. Other ideas for harvesting rainwater and using it for watering will be displayed in show gardens and by exhibitors such as ISS Solutions for Water (www.solutionsforwater.co.uk) and Garden Irrigation Supplies (www.garden-irrigation.co.uk).

Water and wildlife
As Guy Barter, Head of the RHS Advisory Service, says, a pond is one of the quickest ways to change the ecology of a garden. “It will not only provide a habitat and refuge for wildlife, but will also provide water, food and even mud for nest building.” Daylesford Organic's Summer Solstice reflects another current problem - unseasonal flooding - and is bordered by flood ditching which offers a habitat for amphibians and wetland floral species. Ratty's Refuge, by the River & Rowing Museum, highlights the plight of the water vole, the fastest declining species of mammal in the UK. The garden will feature a wildlife pond and a natural bank to create an ideal water vole habitat.

Minimising waste
Several of the gardens will live on after this year's show. The BUPA garden, for example, designed by Cleve West, features environmentally friendly raised beds made from the waste from kitchen surfaces and these will be rebuilt after the show at a care home in Battersea. Plants and trees from the QVC garden will be replanted within Battersea Park, with the help of the gardening charity, Thrive. The Thompson & Morgan's carbon footprint-reducing garden – “Our Food, Miles or Metres” – shows how you can grow a wide range of healthy fruit and vegetables in a space just five metres square. Recycled materials are used in the garden, solar panels and wind turbines heat the greenhouse, and rain and grey water provide irrigation. Hillier's “Set Sail for Gold” exhibit in the Great Pavilion will feature a Tiocerm path from Organicstone (www.organicstone.com). This new cement, made from 100% recycled products, decomposes air pollutants, thereby contributing to improved air quality.

Practical advice from Chelsea
In the Continuous Learning area within the Great Pavilion, organisations will provide practical advice on environmentally-friendly gardening. Capel Manor College (www.capel.ac.uk), for example, will show how, by getting to know our soil and choosing the right plants for it, we can reduce the need for excessive watering or cultivation. The British Mycological Society (www.britmycolsoc.org.uk) will illustrate the effect of fungi in natural eco-system while the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (www.tyndall.ac.uk) will explore plants and gardening practices in our changing climate. The RSPB (www.rspb.org.uk) and the Wildlife Trusts (www.wildlifetrusts.org) will also have information stands on encouraging biodiversity in your garden.

So what can you do?
Creating and maintaining an environmentally-friendly garden takes time and requires a holistic approach. But here are a few suggestions for quick action inspired by this year's Chelsea Flower Show:

• Make a pond
• Buy a rainwater butt
• Install an irrigation system that uses harvested water
• Get a composter and a wormery (both are often available from local councils)
• Recycle all waste, especially household green waste on your compost heat
• Stop using chemicals
• Do not use peat-based composts
• Check the provenance of any plants you buy
• Install birdboxes/beeholes/insect feeders/ladybird houses

FURTHER INFORMATION
Useful websites
The Royal Horticultural Society - www.rhs.org.uk
Soil Association - www.soilassociation.org.uk
The Invertebrate Conservation Trust - www.buglife.org.uk
Plantlife International - www.plantlife.org.uk

Further reading
How to 'Cook' Compost (National Trust Books, £4.99)
How to make a Wildlife Garden by Chris Baines (Frances Lincoln, £14.99)
New Gardening: How to Garden in a Changing Climate by Matthew Wilson (Mitchell Beazley, £18.99)
Sharp Gardening by Christopher Holliday (Frances Lincoln, £25)

Places to visit
The RHS Gardens: Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire; Hyde Hall, Essex; Rosemoor, Devon; Wisley, Surrey (Details of all gardens on the RHS website)
The Beth Chatto Garden, Elmstead Market, Colchester, Essex CO7 7DB (01206 822007 or www.bethchatto.co.uk)

Read more about the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2008.