11 sustainable gardening tips for Ealing homes this summer

From saving rainwater to growing food among flowers, these are practical ways to make gardens, balconies and window boxes work a little harder.

Ealing has every kind of outdoor space. There are long family gardens, paved courtyards, balconies, front gardens, allotments and school plots. Outdoor space is one of the things many people value about living in Ealing, whether they have a large lawn or a few pots outside the kitchen door.

Sustainable gardening usually starts with paying attention to what is already there. How quickly does the soil dry out? Where does rainwater go? Which flowers are insects visiting? What could be reused rather than bought again?

We asked Glendra Read, Secretary of Cultivating Ealing, for her advice on helping local gardens cope with warmer summers while making more room for wildlife.

1. Turn kitchen and garden waste into compost

A compost heap is one of the few places where neglect can be useful. Leave the right mixture of material long enough, and it becomes something the garden needs.

Fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, grass cuttings, soft prunings, fallen leaves and torn cardboard can all go into a home compost bin. The mix matters. Too much wet material can become heavy and unpleasant, while too much dry material will take longer to break down.

In a larger garden, a traditional bin or open heap can sit in a quiet corner. Smaller composters and wormeries suit courtyards and balconies. Even a modest amount of homemade compost can be used around shrubs, added to containers or spread over a vegetable bed.

It also makes garden waste feel less like waste. Leaves become mulch. Prunings become compost. Kitchen scraps return to the soil instead of leaving the house in a bin bag.

2. Choose plants that feed pollinators

A garden can look full of flowers and still offer little to bees, butterflies and hoverflies. Some plants are far more useful to insects than others.

Glendra recommends perennial shrubs such as lavender, hebe and buddleia. They come back each year and can provide plenty of nectar when in flower. Sunflowers, asters and cosmos are useful annuals for summer colour.

Smaller spaces still have a role to play.

“If you have a small space like a balcony or a window box, then you can grow small plants such as spring bulbs, aubretia, thyme or marigolds.”

The best gardens offer flowers over a long season. Bulbs provide an early source of food, followed by summer perennials and later-flowering plants in autumn. Herbs such as thyme and rosemary can also be left to flower.

The Royal Horticultural Society’s Plants for Pollinators guide is a useful place to check varieties before buying.

3. Grow food among the flowers

Vegetables do not need to live in neat rows at the end of the garden. Plenty of edible plants sit happily among flowers and shrubs.

Glendra suggests spring onions, salad leaves, herbs, tomatoes and radishes. These are manageable for beginners and can be grown in pots, troughs and gaps in borders.

“You can grow veg amongst other plants. A packet of seeds doesn’t cost too much.”

A pot of parsley can sit beside geraniums. Chard adds large, colourful leaves to a border. Runner beans can climb a sunny fence. Tomatoes work well in deep containers near the kitchen.

There is also something satisfying about stepping outside for a handful of herbs or a few salad leaves. You begin to notice the garden differently. Weather matters more. Slugs become personal. A warm week can suddenly turn a few green tomatoes red.

Start with something you already eat. One successful pot is more useful than six neglected seed trays.

4. Grow a few flowers for cutting

Many shop-bought flowers have travelled a long way before reaching a vase. Growing even a small number at home gives you seasonal flowers without the packaging or transport.

Sweet peas, cosmos, calendula and snapdragons can be grown from seed. Dahlias return each year if the tubers are stored or protected. Spring bulbs provide earlier flowers, while herbs and garden foliage can fill out a small arrangement.

You do not need enough flowers for large bouquets. A few stems in a jam jar can be more appealing than something formal.

Regular cutting often encourages plants to produce more flowers. Leave some blooms in the garden for insects and allow a few to go to seed.

5. Check that compost is peat-free

Peat-free compost has become easier to find and much better to use. It is now available for seeds, containers, houseplants and general garden work.

Check the wording on the bag rather than assuming a product is peat-free. “Organic” and “natural” do not always mean the same thing.

Different peat-free mixes behave differently. Some dry out quickly at the surface while remaining damp underneath. Push a finger into the compost before watering rather than judging by appearance alone.

When buying plants, ask whether they were grown in peat-free compost. Garden centres respond to what customers request, so the question itself is useful.

Homemade compost can also reduce the amount of bagged material needed each year.

6. Keep garden plastic in use for longer

Gardening produces an extraordinary amount of plastic. Pots, trays, labels, compost bags, ties and netting soon accumulate in sheds and cupboards.

The most sensible starting point is to reuse what is already there. Plastic pots can last for years when cleaned and stored out of direct sunlight. Seed trays can be used repeatedly. Larger containers can be passed to neighbours, schools or community gardening groups.

Wooden labels, cardboard tubes and natural twine can replace some single-use items. Old buckets and household containers can become planters once drainage holes are added.

There is little value in throwing away usable plastic simply to replace it with a greener-looking product. Keep it working for as long as possible.

7. Build the garden around water

Water is likely to become one of the main pressures on London gardens as summers get warmer. Glendra sees water-saving as the most useful change an Ealing resident can make.

“With our changing and warming climate, it will be vital in the future to use water very wisely.”

A water butt can collect rain from the roof of a house, garage or shed. Even a small shed roof can provide a useful supply after a downpour. Keep the container covered and check that the overflow drains somewhere sensible.

Glendra also suggests reusing cooled grey water from a washing bowl where appropriate. Mulch helps the water already in the soil stay there. Bark, straw, fallen leaves, gravel and peat-free compost can all be used around plants. Glendra also recommends Strulch, a mineralised straw mulch available online and from some garden centres.

“A cover of mulch protects your soil and helps keep the moisture in.”

Water in the morning or evening, when evaporation is lower. Aim for the soil around the roots. A slow soak is usually more useful than a quick spray across the leaves. Pots need closer attention than established beds. Terracotta containers dry particularly quickly, while large pots hold moisture for longer.

8. Make space for insects to shelter

Pollinators need food, though that is only part of the picture. They also need places to hide, nest and spend winter.

A bug hotel can be made from hollow stems, bamboo canes, bark, dry leaves and untreated wood. It does not need to be large or decorative. A bundle of hollow stems fixed in a sheltered place can be useful.

A less tidy corner often does more for wildlife than a shop-bought insect house. Leave some seed heads standing through winter. Allow leaves to gather under a hedge. Keep a few hollow stems until spring.

Constant tidying removes many of the places insects use.

Gardens can still feel cared for while leaving room for wildlife. Choose one area where nature is allowed to linger.

9. Use quieter tools where they make sense

Many garden jobs can be done without petrol-powered equipment.

Hand shears are often enough for a small hedge. A push mower can work well on a modest lawn. Secateurs, loppers and pruning saws are quiet and easy to maintain.

For larger jobs, battery-powered tools are widely available and produce less noise at the point of use. A shared battery system can reduce the number of chargers and batteries needed.

There is no need to replace working equipment for the sake of it. The greener choice is often to keep a reliable tool in use, repair it when possible and choose carefully when it eventually needs replacing.

Smaller gardens rarely need as much machinery as people think.

10. Find out what kind of soil you have

Plants are easier to look after when they suit the ground they are growing in.

A basic soil test can show whether the soil is acidic, neutral or alkaline. Texture is just as useful. Heavy clay holds water and nutrients but can become compacted. Sandy soil drains quickly. Chalky soil tends to be alkaline.

Before buying plants, look at what already thrives in nearby gardens. Established plants often provide a better clue than a generic label at a garden centre.

If hydrangeas, roses or lavender grow well along the street, similar plants may be worth considering. The exact conditions in your garden will still depend on shade, drainage and exposure.

Container gardeners have more control because they choose the compost. Group plants with similar water and light needs together. It makes daily care much easier.

11. Add a small pond

Water attracts wildlife quickly. Birds drink from it, insects visit it and amphibians may find it if the setting is suitable.

A pond does not need to involve digging up half the lawn. A watertight container, old sink or large bowl can create a small habitat. Add stones or a gently sloping edge so creatures can get in and out.

Position it somewhere that receives some light without sitting in intense sun all day. A few suitable aquatic plants will provide cover and help the water settle.

Avoid filling it with fish if the main purpose is wildlife. Keep an eye on water levels during hot spells.

Glendra also recommends leaving out a shallow dish of water for birds and pollinators in warm weather. Add stones for insects to land on and change the water regularly.

Gardening beyond your own fence

There are plenty of ways to get involved with local community projects in Ealing. ActForEaling, the borough’s climate action hub, lists community groups and projects through its partners section. Ealing Transition also runs and supports local environmental initiatives.

Cultivating Ealing’s annual competition includes categories for allotments, schools, community spaces and front gardens. They offer guidance on biodiversity, water management and front garden planting.

Leslie & Co is proud to sponsor the Schools Gardening Competition 2026. School gardens give children a direct way to understand food, seasons, insects and soil. They also show what can be achieved in a shared space with limited time and resources.

A more sustainable garden rarely comes from doing everything at once. It develops through small decisions made over several seasons. A water butt goes in one year. A few pollinator plants follow. Then perhaps a compost bin, a vegetable pot or a small pond.

That is usually how good gardens grow.

Looking for more outdoor space?

Gardens, balconies and courtyards can shape the way a home is used throughout the year. Browse our latest properties for sale in Ealing, including homes with private gardens and outdoor entertaining space.

Planning to sell? You can also book a property valuation with Leslie & Co to discuss your home and its outdoor space.

With thanks to Glendra Read, Secretary of Cultivating Ealing, for her local advice and recommendations.