Sierra Club Green Home

Spring is upon us. And that means gardening – this year even the First Family is doing it! But did you know that not all gardening is green? It’s important to think about how much H20 your gardening, and the rest of your landscaping, requires. Do it right, and you’ll have a lawn or garden that’s great to look at and great for the planet. Confused? Don’t be. Sierra Club Green Home has all tips you need in our landscaping advice.

Whether you’re a treehugger or not, you’re probably aware that placing plants throughout your home is an easy, inexpensive decorating option. Plants can instantly brighten up a room, and with the proper pot you can fit your choice of foliage with any décor. What you may not know, however, is that plants can provide your home with more than just aesthetic benefits.

So you want to plant a garden, or seed a lawn, or just grow herbs and flowers in a pot in a window or on a balcony. One of your first choices is what kind of seeds to buy. Seeds grown by farm operations that use synthetic fertilizers, bug poisons, and weed killers can harm the environment in many ways, from poisoning wells in the Midwest to washing all the way down the Mississippi River and creating a “dead zone” in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Remember the smell of burning fall leaves wafting through the air? Good memories, indeed, but best that they remain just memories. Burning leaves is bad news.

This practice is now illegal – or at least highly discouraged – in most areas.

In the United States, lawns cover almost 40,000 square miles, an area the size of the great state of Kentucky, famed for bluegrass! Sad to say, a lot of those lawns are bad for the environment, because a hefty portion of the 100 million pounds of household pesticides and herbicides U.S. consumers buy every year goes straight to our lawns.

Thanks to constant innovation, garden stores are like a candy shop for some people. There’s a mind-boggling array of alluring things to buy. So how do you choose what’s right for you? Well, it’s a good idea to start by sorting out your wants and your needs.

Spring is upon us. And that means gardening – this year even the First Family is doing it! But did you know that not all gardening is green? It’s important to think about how much H20 your gardening, and the rest of your landscaping, requires. Do it right, and you’re lawn will contribute to your goal of having a green home. Confused? Don’t be. We have all green home gardening tips you need.

Shopping that supports forests
If you’re the kind of person who really uses your backyard–whether for big barbeques or quiet contemplation–you need a special kind of furniture. It should be comfortable and attractive, yet tough enough to withstand years of your area’s worst weather. If that furniture is made of wood, it should measure up in [...]

Safer ways to defend your garden
Let’s say you’ve just planted a garden and want to be ready when the insects attack. You’ll have no difficulty finding items at the garden supply store that promise to do the job. But you wonder–is this stuff safe?
Well, pesticides and insecticides are less dangerous to humans than these products [...]

Cool ways to cover the earth

If you’re considering building or replacing a driveway, carport, or other paved area, think twice before you invest in plain old concrete or asphalt. New materials and methods will not only make your property look better–they are better for the environment.
The key is allowing rainwater and snowmelt to drain into [...]