Replacing tiles with greenery

When rainwater falls on plants, it usually sinks into the soil. Gardens often contain too much stone. By replacing stone with plants, you can easily collect rainwater and allow it to sink into the soil. This can be done by creating a vegetable garden or planting beds. Create planting beds that are lower than the surrounding ground so that you can collect rainwater in them. Choose the right plants to prevent weed growth, diseases, and pests. If weeds do grow, control them without using pesticides.

A green garden is ideal for cooling and you can contribute to biodiversity. It looks nice and in many cases you can get a subsidy from the municipality for greening your garden. Check the subsidy scheme(s) of your municipality for disconnecting the downspout and/or greening your garden.

Costs

The costs depend, among other things, on the size of the planting areas, the amount of sand to be removed, and the reuse of existing pavements.

Use of space

Not applicable. You are going to use the garden differently.

Difficulty

Removing stones, the underlying layer of sand, filling with topsoil, and planting are not difficult. The most difficult part is installing edging around the remaining paving. Edging is a hard or flexible material used as a barrier between plants and paving.

Earthmoving

The amount of groundwork depends on the size of the new planting areas and the depth of the sand layer under the stones.

Maintenance

A common misconception is that a stone garden requires less maintenance. A stone garden must be swept clean, weeds between the tiles must be removed, and many people do not want algae growth. A well-designed garden with plants does not necessarily take more time to maintain.

Climate goals

A green garden is good for combating heat stress and allows rainwater to sink into the ground.

Water quality

Weeds grow more quickly in areas that are not walked on often. By replacing tiles in these areas with greenery, you will have fewer weeds to remove and will not need to use harmful chemicals.

Biodiversity

Contribution to improving biodiversity

On the websitemaakgrijsgroener.nl, you will find more information about protecting and restoring biodiversity and tips on how to make grey greener.