Photo: Sara Mc Key

Your backyard and garden

It´s easy to create a nice yard and garden helping the biodiversity and without damaging the environment or your health.

Help the biodiversity

You who have a garden can make a great contribution to the city's biological diversity.

  • Let part of the lawn grow as it pleases.
  • Plant plants that are appreciated by butterflies, bees and bumblebees.
  • Build a pond with aquatic plants and rocks.
  • Build or buy a bee hotel.
  • Set up nests for birds and bats.

Fertilize with moderation

  • Fertilize a minimum amount and only during growing season. Too much fertilizers are easily transported into lakes and near-by water systems during heavy rain.
  • Use unprocessed manure, grass, or your own compost soil on lawns, flower beds and other plantations.

Fight fungi and insect attacks

Many ways to prevent fungi and insect attacks include using environmentally hazardous substances. By choosing alternative treatments, you prevent the spreading of dangerous substances.

  • Choose resilient plants.
  • Pre-cultivate the soil.
  • Use non-woven fiber fabrics.
  • Use glue traps.
  • Spray plants with water, or water with some soft vegetable soap to get rid of aphids or other insects.
  • Use a weed fork against weeds.
  • Drain the garden.
  • Fertilize, but don’t overdo it.
  • Prune trees and bushes.

Do not burn the garden waste

Small scale burning in densely populated areas leads to emissions of PAH´s, Polyaromatic hydrocarbons, in the air. Newly cut branches and leaves are often moist and therefore emit even more damaging smoke.

  • Compost leaves and branches instead of burning. You are free to compost garden waste, but, if you want to compost food waste in your yard, you need to apply for permission to the City of Stockholm Environment & Health Administration.
  • Take the garden waste to a recycling plant. There, the waste is transformed into energy used for district heating and electricity that we can use in Stockholm. If you need help to transport the waste, you can order a pick up. 

Smart barbecue

  • Don’t use disposable grills/barbecues.
  • Grill without lighter fluid. Instead, use a chimney starter or an electric grill starter.
  • Don’t use non-stick grilling grids, such as Teflon. They may emit Highly fluorinated substances at high temperatures.
  • Stay tuned to current regulations about when it is permitted to make a fire.
  • Be careful when grilling outdoors. The risk of a fire outbreak is greater at high temperatures and can lead to lethal consequences.

Take care of the storm water

Storm water is rain, snow, and hail that runs off from roads, parking lots, roofs, and other sealed surfaces. In the natural environment, a large part of this water runs into the ground where it is filtered before it reaches our watercourses. When much of the ground is covered with asphalt, the water runs via the nearest ditch or storm sewer to the next watercourse or wastewater treatment plant.

Easy measures can reduce the amount of storm water and its pollution, which contribute to sustainable storm water treatment and lessen the risk for floods, both in your neighbourhood, and in other parts of Stockholm. As a landowner, you responsible for the  care of the water on your own land.

  • Lead the water from roofs, walkways, and driveways so that it can sink into the ground. This lessens the stress on the storm water system, cleans the storm water organically, and contributes to natural groundwater recharge.
  • Think creatively and look for a solution to make your storm water treatment not only useful, but also a decorative element in your garden.

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