The Society of Garden Designers is calling on Airbnb to help make holiday and long-term rental gardens more sustainable, without losing amenities in the process.

The society is recommending a new Green and Easy Checklist to help guide property hosts to creating a low-maintenance garden that benefits wildlife and the environment, while still incorporating the expected holiday garden rental amenities.

With the number of Airbnb listings in the UK having quadrupled over the last six years and a reported one in four properties in some parts of Britain now listed on the site, the SGD fears that the desire for low-maintenance gardens is leading to a rise in environmentally-damaging materials.

Rental gardens are featuring increasing ‘resort style’ features, such as hot tubs, firepits and outdoor kitchens, the SGD believes that the need for guidance on how to reduce the carbon footprint of outdoor spaces is crucial.

Airbnb already offers advice to hosts on how to make their properties more sustainable, including ways to improve energy, heating and water usage indoors, but gardens remain overlooked.

Garden designer Zoe Claymore, who designed the Renters’ Retreat Garden at last year’s RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival, agrees: “If we aren’t looking after the millions of rented gardens in the UK, how can we hope to effectively manage climate change, heat islands and flash flooding?”

The Green and Easy Garden Checklist can be found at: www.sgd.org.uk/news/green-garden-checklist