The ethical gardeners tips to keep your garden climate friendly

· It is much easier and more energy efficient to mow your lawn regularly rather than let it become overgrown and cut it in a marathon afternoon session. This way your Lawnmower is also less likely to suffer damage or corrosion (naturally or due to your own frustrations!) Your mower will last much longer without it succumbing to the rubbish pile in favour of a new one!

PS: if it’s diesel then try running it on waste vegetable oil. (But don’t blame it on me if it all goes wrong).

· Don’t use plastic pots because they are the gardener’s version of plastic bags! If you absolutely must use plastic pots then make sure you use, re-use and then recycle them. Many people do reuse their pots for their cuttings and seeds but thousands are also slung away every year, killing the very plants we are so enthusiastic about cultivating.

· Use cordless equipment. This way you are not using the amount of energy that is coming from your plug socket but just what you need to operate your tool until the battery runs out and you can re-charge it.

· Even better than using a lawnmower, buy a sheep or some rabbits to eat the grass. That way you will never have to ruin a nice sunny half hour at the weekend. Just make sure you build yourself a nice secure wooden fence to go around your garden so the blighters don’t try to escape.