For the salmon, the climate, and your wallet

Most of us take water for granted. But using more than we need costs us money and harms the environment by depriving other creatures of this vital liquid. In California, for example, so much water is drawn out of the rivers that some fish species are threatened with extinction. The once-mighty salmon migrations, which depend on rivers, shrank so much in 2008 that salmon fishing had to be banned. But even in water-rich states like Wisconsin, which boasts more than 84,000 miles of rivers, 15,000 lakes, and 1,000 miles of shoreline on two of the world’s biggest lakes, the governor recently called a conference on water conservation because the state relies so heavily on badly depleted underground water. No state, city, or private landowner can afford to ignore water consumption.

Also, the more water we use the more energy it takes. It’s not something you’re likely to think about when you jump into the shower or fill a cold glass from the tap, but your water is pumped from wells, lakes, or reservoirs, then purified, pushed through pipelines and into water towers, warmed in water heaters, and pumped and treated after it runs down the drain. All these processes combined take a lot of energy. For example, almost 20% of California’s energy consumption is related to water use. So when you conserve water, you also save another precious resource: energy.

Top Tips

At home

• Fill up the washers. When you use your dishwasher or clothes washer, make sure to fully load them so you don’t waste water washing small loads.
• Trick the toilet. Some toilets, especially older ones, use 3.5 gallons per flush or more. To cut down on the water, put sand or rocks in a plastic bottle to weight it down, fill it with water, put the lid on tightly, and place in the toilet tank. Make sure the bottles don’t interfere with the mechanisms in the tank. And don’t overdo it. If you end up having to flush the toilet twice, your bottle is taking up too much space. There are also devices on the market that do the same job.
• Stop major toilet leaks ASAP. A toilet that keeps running (you can usually hear it) can waste as much two gallons of water every minute!
• Stop “silent” toilet leaks. A “silent” leak in a toilet can waste thousands of gallons a month. To find a silent leak, put food coloring in the tank. Don’t flush. Check the toilet bowl after 10 or 20 minutes. If there is color in the bowl, your tank has a silent leak. These leaks are usually from a worn-out fill valve at the top of the tank or flapper valve at the bottom of the tank that fails to shut off when the tank is full. To replace the flapper, shut off the water at the toilet. Next, remove the worn valve and purchase a comparable replacement part. Replacing the top valve is somewhat more complicated, but you can do it if you are reasonable handy.
• Flush less, and be a water miser. Don’t flush unless it is necessary. If you toss a tissue into the toilet, there’s really no need to waste a couple gallons of water flushing it away. When you run water waiting for it to get hot, put a container under the faucet and save this cold water to use for something else, like watering plants.
• Fix dripping faucets. Drip, drip, drip. It may not seem like much, but it adds up. Just 100 drops per minute of dripping can waste 350 gallons in a month. A leak that’s a tiny stream can total 2,000 gallons a month. Most leaks can be stopped simply by replacing worn-out washers inside the faucet. These washers are cheap and easy to install.
• Check for hidden leaks. To find other hidden leaks, turn off all your water taps. Check your water meter and write down the reading. Don’t use any water for 30 minutes, then read the meter again. If it shows water has been used, then there’s a hidden leak that should be fixed promptly.
• Don’t run water when brushing teeth. Many people leave the tap running while brushing their teeth. This can waste hundreds of gallons of water each month. So turn off the tap while brushing, and only use water to rinse your mouth and your toothbrush.
• Use the garbage disposal only when you have to, and run as little water as possible into it. Or consider composting food waste and avoiding the garbage disposal altogether.
• When you wash dishes by hand, fill the sink and dip dishes in water to rinse rather than running a lot of water.
• Use your automatic dishwasher. Believe it or not, dishwashing machines are actually more efficient than hand-washing. Most dishwashers do not require pre-rinsing dishes by hand. Just scrape solid food off with a spatula.
• Take shorter showers, and take showers instead of baths. The longer you linger, the more water you use. But filling a bathtub takes a lot more water than the average shower.

In the yard and garden

• Nix the lawn or shrink it to a more earth-friendly size. In many parts of the country, lawns are heavy water users. Smaller lawns also mean less mowing–and that saves time, money, and CO2 emissions.
• Water lawns less often, but more deeply-and don’t overwater. Over half of the average household’s water use is outside the house. Lawns are a major guzzler. Watering to the root depth of is best. In clay soil, one-half inch of water should moisten the soil to a depth of six inches. Lawns in very sandy soils need less water but more frequent application. To find out how deeply the water is penetrating, turn on the sprinkler for five minutes, then push a spade in to check your depth. If five minutes moistens the soil two inches down, you may need to water for fifteen minutes to moisten it down to six inches.
• Water shrubs more deeply and less frequently.
• Use brooms and buckets. You can waste a lot of water blasting dirt and leaves off your driveway or sidewalk with a hose. Instead, use a broom. And when you wash your car, use a few buckets of water instead of hosing it off.
• Water as early as possible. Watering early in the morning means that less water is lost by evaporation from the sun. Also, plants are less likely to get diseases if watered at this time, rather than in late afternoon or evening.
• Mulch and compost. Several inches of mulch will keep moisture in the soil while it suppresses weeds. You can use everything from grass clippings to newspapers for mulch. Also, adding compost to the soil helps it retain moisture.
• Check outside for leaks too. Your sprinkler and irrigation systems are the prime suspects.

When shopping, look for

• Native or locally adapted plants. They’ll require less watering than plants that are not well-suited to your soils and climate. You’ll also save water if you group plants by how thirsty they are.
• High-efficiency toilets. Some high-efficiency toilets take only 1.3 gallons per flush (gpf), or only about a third as much water as older toilets. Some utilities give generous rebates for installation of the efficient toilets–in some cases up to the entire cost. Check with you local utility to find out if rebates are available.
• Low-flow showerheads. Install a water-efficient showerhead that takes no more than the federal maximum of 2.5 gallons per minute. “Low-flow” showerheads can do even better.
• Aerators. Low-flow aerators on your kitchen and bathroom faucets are easy to install and cut down on water use and splashing. A flow rate of 2.2 gallons per minute is good for kitchen faucets and 1.5 gallons per minute for bathroom faucets.
• A water-saving clothes washer. A high-efficiency machine can clean clothes better while using 30% to 50% less water and 40% to 70% less energy than conventional models. Look for a “water factor” label.
• Water-smart irrigation controllers. There are new products that automatically adjust irrigation based on actual weather conditions, shutting off when it rains, sending out more water in hot and dry spells, and reducing runoff from slopes by recycling water that runs down them. You save water, money, and have healthier gardens. Some water districts even offer vouchers for savings on purchases of these new systems. Ask your local district about rebates.
• Drip irrigation. Drip irrigation systems apply water at the base of a plant instead of saturating soil all around it, and therefore they use a lot less water than an overhead sprayer. Slow, accurate application of water to the plant roots prevents water from running off on walkways and into gutters. A well designed drip system is durable. And there are even sub-surface drip irrigation systems for lawns. Ask about rebates for these systems too.
• Hand watering. Drip irrigation uses less water than sprinklers, but for small yards you can save even more if you water with a hose. Studies show that people use less water and water less frequently when they do the job by hand.

Other Considerations

• Be aware of sliding-scale rates. To discourage water waste, many utilities charge more if you use above a certain amount. A district might charge a baseline price of a sixth of a cent per gallon for the first 150 gallons. But for every gallon above that baseline rate, the price might go up to a fifth of a cent or more.
• Want to be on the cutting edge of green gardening? Irrigate your yard with gray water. Gray water systems reuse the relatively clean waste water from showers, bathtubs, bathroom faucets, and clothes washers (never from toilets or dishwashers, and rarely from kitchen sinks). The most basic gray water system is a bucket placed under the showerhead or tub faucet to collect water wasted during that annoying wait for the hot water to arrive. You can use the buckets of water to flush the toilet or water plants. More sophisticated setups pipe the gray water from the house through filters and then into the garden or a holding tank. To minimize health risks from contaminants that might be in the reused water, gray water is usually used for below-surface irrigation of nonedible plants. Gray water isn’t yet legal in some communities and states, so check with your local building department. Find out more about building a gray water system at www.graywater.net.
• Rainwater harvesting is a time-honored way of making the most of the pure water from the skies. Under ordinary circumstances, rainwater runs off your roof into the sewer or onto paved areas where it can pick up pollutants and carry them into local waterways. A rainwater harvesting system captures that roof runoff and directs it to a storage container, which can be anything from a basic covered barrel to a huge underground tank with a pump to get the water back up to the surface. Harvested rainwater is usually used for irrigation, although if it’s appropriately purified, it can also be used for drinking and cooking. If you want to try harvesting, make sure that your roof is made of a material that won’t leach contaminants into the water. You should also have a “first flush valve” so that the first few minutes of rainfall is diverted into the normal drainage system rather than into the barrels or cistern. This helps keep contaminants like bird droppings and mold spores out of the harvested water.

Benefits…

…to your wallet
On average, U.S. households consume about 127,500 gallons of water a year. Water is a bargain. The average cost is only about a sixth of a cent per gallon, and the average household’s total bill comes to about $200 a year. Of course many people pay more than this, depending on their use and higher-than-average rates in some areas. Many people can cut their use–and their costs–in half without even investing in new equipment. If you go all out, and invest a bit, you can save even more. Studies by the American Waterworks Association (AWWA) have found that in some cases water consumption can be reduced by a whopping 75%.

…to the Earth
The less water we use, the more remains for the nature’s creatures to enjoy. Also, the less water we use, the less energy is required to pump and process it. That means less mining and drilling for coal, oil, and natural gas, which damages the environment. Lower energy use also lowers the emission of global-warming gases such as carbon dioxide and other pollutants.

Getting Started

• Look closely at your water bills. If you are spending more than average, or are shocked at the bill, it’s especially important to study it. A big change may signal that you have a hidden leak.
• You can find many other water-saving products and ideas at the website of the American Waterworks Association. Many local waterworks also supply practical, money-saving information.

Related Products & Services

• Conservation
• Showers and faucets
• Toilets
• Water heaters – conventional
• Water heaters – solar

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 the ground, rather than sending them–and all the pollution they carry–into streets and storm drains. Just a 30-by-30 foot patch of concrete can shed over 550 gallons of water in a one-inch rain. Multiply that by thousands of homes, and you’re talking a tidal wave of potentially tainted H2O. Permeable pavement can even lower the temperature around your house in the summertime because, while it absorbs moisture, it absorbs less heat.

Top Tips

• Consider your options. Below are some permeable pavement possibilities, from very inexpensive small stones to pavers and even driveways and carports made of grass.
  • Small stones. These are the least expensive, and allow water to penetrate, but require more frequent maintenance because little stones are easily displaced. NOTE: By “stones,” we mean smooth stones, not crushed gravel, which lets water run off instead of down in the ground.
  • Grass. Yes, it’s possible to turn asphalt or concrete into lawns. This is achieved by sinking a durable plastic grid into the ground and letting the grass grow in it. Vehicles can be driven on it, just like on a driveway, but if they are parked for extended periods of time, the grass won’t grow.
  • Pavers. There are good-looking interlocking pavers that fit together like puzzle pieces but that have sufficient gaps between them to allow water to seep down into the ground.
  • Hollywood driveway. This old standby is well worth considering. Instead of a solid run of asphalt or concrete, it consists of two narrow, parallel strips of concrete, spaced so that a vehicle’s wheels can drive on them. Water soaks into the vegetation beside these strips. This type of driveway will be cheaper than solid concrete because less concrete is required. If the path is extremely long, however, it may be hard to follow, so drivers’ skills must be taken into account, especially if long backups are involved.
  • Pervious (permeable) concrete. Made by using less fine material in the concrete mix, perious concrete is durable and porous. Contact local contractors to see if they are familiar enough with this material to do an installation.
  • Porous asphalt. This type of asphalt works on the same principle as the perious concrete described above. It, too, is durable, but should be installed by an experienced contractor.

Other Considerations

• The following is a rough guide to the per-square-foot costs of materials when installed professionally:
  • Pervious concrete: $4 to $8
  • Porous asphalt: $4.60
  • Grid systems for grass: $5 to $6.50
  • Pavers: $12 to $15
• Concrete lasts longer than asphalt in warmer climates, but asphalt lasts longer were the weather is cold. A rougher surface, such as small stones, can make snow removal more difficult, so you may have to consider a tradeoff between cost and convenience.
• If anyone in your household uses a wheelchair, remember that a rougher surface hinders accessibility.

Benefits…

…to you
Permeable pavements create better-looking, cooler areas around your home.

…to the Earth
Stopping runoff prevents pollution. When water is allowed to seep underground on site, on the other hand, it is purified as it descends.

Common Mistakes

• Not preparing the subsurface properly. Regardless of the pavement or surface you choose, you must make sure that there is a solid yet porous layer underneath.
• Ignoring local conditions. There is no single solution for pavements, so consult reputable contractors to find out what will work best.
• Building on heavy clay. Heavy clay is so impermeable that it may not be worthwhile to place a permeable surface on top of it. Consult a local engineering firm or reliable contractor if this is a concern.
• Going too close to a well. Water that is allowed to seep deep into the ground is purified as it trickles down through layers of soil, sand, and porous rock. However, if your well is close by, you may have no choice but to allow water to drain off to avoid contamination.

Getting Started

• Check your local building codes to see what is permissible in your location.
• Unless you have a very high skill level, hire a contractor, especially for permeable asphalt or concrete. Click here for advice on hiring a contractor.

Related Products & Services

• Climate appropriate planting
• Decking
• Gardening supplies
• Lawn care
• Organic seeds
• Outdoor wood furniture
• Pesticides

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. But it doesn’t all stay there. Some of these chemicals leach into the groundwater, pollute the air, and get onto the skin and into the mouths of our children, pets, and other creatures that come into contact with the treated grass. To make matters worse, tons of chemical fertilizers are added to the soil, and some of it runs off into our waterways. Those nutrients that turn your grass green can cause vast algae blooms that kill fish and other aquatic creatures.

Fortunately, with a little work upfront, there are many things you can do keep your lawn robust without using these toxic materials. A healthy lawn is like a healthy person. When it’s strong, it can resist disease, withstand a bit of drying out, and go without chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.  Watch this video from gogreentube.com and then read on to learn more.

Top Tips

At home

• You can have your grass. But do you really need all of it? Consider downsizing. If you have kids, perhaps you can live with a narrower strip for running back and forth or a small area for tumbling and dining. If you can downscale, then you can fill in the rest of your yard with beautiful drought-resistant ground covers, native flowers, vegetable beds, fruit trees, and shrubs. Pass on the grass in spots that are rough and difficult to mow or water, places where grass won’t grow readily without adding chemicals, or areas that are rarely seen.
• Get at the roots. Soil quality is truly the root of all evil, or good. If your soil isn’t in optimum condition, the lawn will suffer, and you’ll dump more resources into its upkeep. Don’t seed or buy sod until your soil is primed, and hopefully irrigated. Later it will save on everything–water, time, and money.

• Forget the buzz cuts. Mowing higher, up to three inches, gives the grass the opportunity to shade out young weeds naturally, and keeps the soil from drying out, cutting down your water needs. Never trim more than one third of the grass’s height.
• Timing is everything. If the soil is healthy, your lawn may not need any fertilizer. If you choose to fertilize, use organic fertilizers. They release their nutrients more slowly and are less prone to leaching into groundwater than quick-acting synthetic fertilizers.
• Morning water. Water deeply early in the morning, so you lose the least moisture to sunlight and heat. The practice will also help you avoid mildew and root rot. Use a timer so you can start watering before sunrise.
• Hire a natural lawn care company if you don’t manage the lawn yourself. See “Getting Started” (below) for tips in doing so.
• Please do walk on the grass. But do it in spiked shoes purchased expressly to aerate the soil. Or, for an upper body workout, jab a garden fork deep into the turf at close intervals. Aerated soil is primed to make the most of soil nutrients, so you need less fertilizer, and it provides the perfect breeding ground for strong, deep roots that will need less water.

When Shopping

• Stay local. The best variety of grass for your region will help you cut down on water, pesticides, herbicides, and other resources. These days, more people are passing on conventional turf species and planting native grasses and grass-like plants. To find the ideal type, check with a local garden supplier that specializes in organic products and natural lawn care. They can answer all sorts of lawn, groundcover, and garden questions. Friends and neighbors with healthy grass and other plants are also a great resource-but be sure to ask about their maintenance practices. If their grass looks great thanks to loads of chemicals, water, and time, you may want to look elsewhere for advice.
• Broaden your borders. Filling out more of your yard by planting drought-tolerant groundcover, flowers, and vegetables well-suited for your area will also save you time and resources. Besides, you can create some wonderful visual effects.
• Lay the pipes. If you are starting from scratch, either with seed or sod, it’s a perfect time to plan and install an underground irrigation system, which will prevent waste of water through evaporation.
• Push for the planet. If you keep your turf to a minimum, you can get away with an energy-saving, workout-inducing push mower.
• Go electric on the lawn too. Still can’t stand the thought of a push mower? Consider getting the next best thing, an electric mower. They’re cleaner, quieter and more efficient than gas.
• Upgrade your gas mower. If you must use gas, get one of the new, less-polluting models that meet EPA standards. Some mowers emit as much pollution in an hour as an old car driving 100 miles.
• Make a home for insect eaters. Plant a diversity of plants to attract birds and insects. In a healthy yard, birds and beneficial insects help keep the bad bugs in check naturally.

Avoid

• Pesticides and herbicides. Look for natural and organic solutions with organic bug and weed suppressants. And try some of the nifty weed-extracting devices offered in catalogs. Or get a workout yanking out weeds by hand. Or use child-energy, which (like wind energy) is a green, low-cost source of power! For a comprehensive look at nontoxic options, check with the National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns.
• Fertilizers from the lab. You can apply compost on the spot by “grasscycling.” It’s as simple as leaving grass clippings on the lawn where they’ll provide a chemical-free fertilizer. (If the cut grass clumps, rake it around.) Use only organic fertilizers.

Other Considerations

• Starting with seeds is cheaper, but requires patience. If you try it, remember that it’s best to sow seed in the spring or fall, as grass prefers a temperature of 50° to 60°F to germinate. The soil should be moist, but not soupy.
• Sod is costly, but quick. If you go this route, remember that the most important ingredient is good soil for it to grow in.

Benefits…

…to you
A lawn grown without using synthetic poisons is safer for everyone. You and your family will be spared the risk, and the rivers and the lakes nearby will remain pristine.

..to your wallet
Maintaining healthy soil and grass and getting rid of weeds without poisons often costs less than expensive remedies.

Americans spend about $30 billion a year on lawn maintenance. Reducing the size of your lawn can keep more money in your pocket. Replacing some of your lawn with a vegetable garden or fruit trees may reduce your grocery bills.

…to the Earth
Avoiding chemical pesticides and fertilizers means that less of this stuff gets into the air and washes onto land and into streams, where it can do environmental damage. Reducing the use of gas-powered mowers keeps greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

Common Mistakes

• Trying to resuscitate a sickly lawn. If your lawn is unhealthy or filled with weeds, dumping weed killers and fertilizers probably won’t cure it if you have bad soil. To find out if you need to start over, just dig down six inches or so to see what it looks like and feels. If it’s not crumbly and dark, but hard, rocky, or yellowish and clumpy, you may need to add some quality topsoil, good compost or other organic amendments. If the ground is in really bad shape, you may even need to churn it up, at least in the worst spots, and add compost or topsoil. You can amend a sickly lawn more slowly by aerating it frequently and adding compost and organic fertilizer.
• Trying to outshine your neighbor. Most people overwater their lawn. But doing so won’t make your lawn grow faster and greener. In fact, too much water invites disease.
• Riding the range. Unless you have a 10,000-square-foot lawn or a disability that prevents you from operating a regular mower, you probably don’t need a riding mower.

Getting Started

If you are starting from scratch with seed or sod, lay the foundation for a great lawn:

• For that great soil you are aiming for, plan on 4 inches of good, rich topsoil.
• You’ll need to churn up and loosen the soil, breaking up clods and removing rocks. If you plan on installing a sprinkler system, now is the time to do it rather than after your lawn is established.
• Grade your lawn so that it slopes away from buildings. If you live in an area where a lot of water collects and lawns tend to get swampy, you should also consider adding an underground drainage system.
• Grass doesn’t like soil that is too acid or too alkaline, and the wrong pH (the measure of these characteristics) can encourage weeds. Dandelions, for example, thrive in an alkaline soil. Grass likes a pH of around 6.5. Use a soil-testing kit or have the soil tested by your local U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, and amend your soil if necessary. If the pH is too low, the soil is acid, and can be amended by applying lime. If it’s too alkaline, it can be improved with rock sulfur, peat moss, or small wood chips.

If you plan to hire a landscape or lawn care service, look for a company that:

• Offers a natural lawn care service that uses few or no synthetic chemicals.
• Tests your soil quality and applies organic amendments only where and when needed.
• Uses mulch and compost to improve soil health.
• Composts plant debris.
• Grasscycles.
• Recommends native and climate-appropriate grasses and other plants.
• Promotes water-conserving plant species and high-efficiency irrigation systems.
• Uses manual tools as much as possible, and electric or biodiesel mowers rather than the more polluting gas mowers.

Related Products & Services

• Climate appropriate planting
• Decking
• Gardening supplies
• Organic seeds
• Outdoor wood furniture
• Pavement and concrete
• Pesticides

Decks allow us to do more of our living outdoors, so it’s no surprise they’re one of the most popular features of today’s homes. They can be a great investment. But it takes smart planning to make your deck as green as possible, whether you’re building it yourself or hiring a contractor.

Top Tips

At home

• Repair so you replace less. If you have an old deck, you may be able to repair the worn places and avoid using more trees and preservatives. Boards that have started to decay from infestation or water damage should be removed right away. Otherwise, wood-destroying organisms will spread.

• Apply a safe preservative. To maximize the lifespan of your deck, apply a penetrating preservative every other year. Fortunately, you probably will no longer be able to find chromated copper arsenate, a preservative that contains arsenic, which can cause cancer and other illnesses. The EPA banned most residential uses of chromated copper arsenate at the end of 2003. Instead, find a preservative considered safe by the EPA such as “quat.”
• Seek the sun. If you are dreaming of a new deck, find a sunny place to put it, if possible. A warm location not only guarantees that you can enjoy it longer each year, but you won’t be as tempted to use outside heaters when the weather gets chilly.

When shopping, consider

• No deck at all. Because decks can be costly to construct and maintain, you should first consider whether a patio of stones, concrete, or tile might be a better choice.
• The codes. Bad construction invites decay and infestation by termites and other wood-devouring pests. Saving a few dollars by cutting corners today can mean big expenses tomorrow.
• Mr. or Ms. Greenjeans. If you are hiring a builder, find a LEED-certified one. These contractors use their knowledge of green building techniques to make projects more environmentally sound.
• Wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Looking for the FSC label is the best way to find wood that has been logged sustainably and with care for the environment.
• Treat your ends well. The sawed ends of wood boards are particularly vulnerable to decay. So put the ends in a bucket with preservative and let them soak it up for a few minutes.
• Snazzy fasteners. Instead of driving screws or nails through the surface of the deck into the joints, consider using one of the various types of fasteners that attach from below or through the sides of the boards. They may cost more, but they are less likely to make a path for water to get into the wood and cause decay. Because no nail or screw heads show, they also make a better-looking deck.
• Hardware that curbs corrosion. Use corrosion-resistant nails, screws, and connectors when building with treated wood.
• Flashy metal. When a deck is attached to a house, the joists (the parallel beams underneath the floor) are tied to a “ledger,” a large board bolted to the side of the house. This ledger should have a flashing that goes under the siding and over the ledger. Without it, water can seep in between the ledger and the house and cause the wood to rot.

Other Considerations

There are three basic kinds of material used for decking. Since each has its pros and cons from a green point of view, you should consider which best fits your lifestyle.

• Will you have lots of plants that you’ll be watering? Do you live in the rainy Northwest? Would you rather be hiking than staining on weekends? A water-resistant synthetic lumber might be your wisest choice. A number of brands now on the market are made of wood waste and recycled plastic. Some are 100% recycled plastic. This lumber can’t be used for joists because it bends too easily. But it works well for railings and the floor itself. Synthetic lumber never needs treatment or painting, doesn’t release toxic substances, and keeps old, treated lumber from filling up landfills. While it costs more upfront than treated lumber, it will be cheaper in the end, because it lasts so long. As to esthetics, synthetic lumber is gray. But keep in mind that even the most beautiful and well-maintained redwood decking also grays with age.
• Are esthetics and using wood–but not chemically treated wood–important to you? Consider weather- and water-resistant premium wood such as redwood or cedar or even teak, a tropical wood. Although these are more expensive than treated wood, they resist rot and will hold up for a long time. However, for better looks and a longer life they need periodic applications of a preservative. If you go this route, make sure your wood is FSC-certified.
• Do you love real wood, but can’t afford the premium prices? Chemically treated softwoods might fill the bill. This type of lumber lasts a long time, and the treatment enables builders to use lower-cost, abundant woods like fir or pine that look beautiful, but would quickly rot or be infested with termites and other vermin if not treated. If you have a child or a pet that might gnaw on the wood slats, however, you might want to stay away from treated wood.

Benefits…

…to you
Decks help city dwellers get outside, especially kids who grow up dining and playing on them.

…to your wallet
Decks are expensive. Including installation, synthetic lumber and premium woods can cost $20 a square foot or more, with softwoods running in the $10 to $16 range. But the average deck returns 75% of that outlay when you resell your house, and 90% if you live in a climate with mild year-round weather.

…to the Earth
Despite the higher cash outlay upfront, synthetic wood can spare forests and save you from using chemical preservatives. (Steer clear of vinyl, however. It produces hazardous pollution during manufacturing and disposal.) If you choose wood, FSC certification ensures that the forests that provided your decking were harvested in an environmentally sensitive way.

Common Mistakes

• Touching the ground. Wood should never be in contact with the soil, even if treated. Use concrete pillars instead, or you’ll make an open invitation to destructive fungi and insects.
• Forgetting about your health. If you have to cut any chemically treated wood, you’ll need a respirator mask. Keep a drop cloth under it to collect the sawdust.
• Being careless with treated lumber. Shower after working with it, and wash your work clothes separately. When you dispose of any treated lumber, make sure it goes to a lined landfill, and don’t burn it. Burning it will release toxic substances into the air. (Call your local waste authority if you need to know more about disposal.)
• Jumping the gun. Don’t tear down an old deck just because it was treated with copper arsenate. You might rub off more toxic stuff than if you leave it alone. Instead, coat it with oil- or water-based penetrating stains every other year. This reduces the ability of the arsenic compound to come off. Use a pigmented stain; it will be more effective than a clear one because it blocks ultraviolet light, which can speed release of the harmful compounds.

Getting Started

• To find certified wood dealers near you, check this guide prepared by the Rainforest Alliance.
• If you have trouble finding a LEED-certified, or environmentally aware contractor, check with the Green Building Institute.

Related Products & Services

• Climate appropriate planting
• Gardening supplies
• Lawn care
• Organic seeds
• Outdoor wood furniture
• Pavement and concrete
• Pesticides

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. A big riding mower might impress the neighbors and make you feel like a land baron. But riding mowers emit three times as much air pollution as regular power mowers. Does the size of your lawn justify it? Or could you easily get along with a small power mower or a hand mower?

At the same time, do a little innovating yourself. Are there low-cost, low-waste alternatives to the products on the shelves? Instead of buying pots or plastic cells to start plants, for instance, you could use old plastic bottles, milk cartons, and other containers. Instead of plastic mulches to cover bare ground between plants, you could simply spread old newspapers, straw, or grass clippings on the soil. (It’s best not to use magazines or newspaper pages with colored inks, however, because they may be toxic.)

Once you’ve determined what garden supplies you actually need, look for the most durable, well-made models you can afford. They will cost you less in the end. And don’t be afraid to invest in some snazzy new technology. Today’s water timers and sensors, for example, can make gardening easier on you and the environment.

Top Tips

At home

• Sweep, don’t blow. Instead of blasting leaves away with a blower, sweep or rake them up and put them in your compost. If your leaf-strewn property is too extensive to sweep, then purchase a device that vacuums them up.
• Water early. The best time to water is around sunrise. Watering in the day causes loss to evaporation. Watering at night can encourage plant diseases such as molds or inspire attacks from slugs and other moisture-loving, plant-loving creatures.

When shopping, look for

• Appropriate power. This is a prime area for thinking about what you need. If you have only a small amount of hedge to trim, you might not need a power trimmer. If you have a small lawn, a muscle-powered lawn mowers won’t pollute and will provide you with some exercise. If you do need power tools, though, keep in mind that electric engines are significantly cleaner and more efficient than gas-powered ones. In fact, a small gas-powered garden-tool engine can pollute more than a car!
• Drip irrigation systems. For vegetables, flowers, and shrubs that are spaced apart, drip irrigation uses less water than sprinklers, because it delivers the water exactly where it is needed, near the plant. Because the little drip emitters let the water seep in gradually, drop by drop, they don’t lose a lot of water to evaporation or runoff. For small yards, however, studies show that people who water with a hose tend to use even less water than those with drip systems because they water less frequently for shorter amounts of time.
• Soaker hoses. Suitable for thicker plantings, soaker hoses let water slowly seep out through tiny pores in the hose. Some are made with rubber recycled from tires.
• Timers for sprinkler and drip systems. Wasting water is becoming more and more costly. It’s also bad for the environment. A timer helps you deliver the right amount of water at the right time.
• SWAT (Smart Water Application Technology). Some devices now available for home use automatically decide when and how much to water, using sensors that respond to weather conditions. They release less water on cool, cloudy days, and more when it’s hot and dry, saving their owners 25% or more on outdoor watering. The devices cost $250 or more, but may quickly pay for themselves if you do a significant amount of watering.
• Organic fertilizers and pest controls. Urban lawns and gardens actually use more chemical fertilizers and pesticides per acre than farms. When it rains, these chemicals are washed down into drainage systems, increasing pollution, harming wildlife, and making it harder to keep our water supplies clean and safe. Thanks to the increasing popularity of organic gardening, more and more organic fertilizers and pest controls are available. They the safest choice for you, your family, and the environment.
• Recycled edging. If you use edging around flower and vegetable beds, look for products made with recycled materials.
• Bamboo stakes and poles. Bamboo is a good alternative to wooden stakes and poles. Depending on your climate, you might consider growing your own. But be careful: it spreads rapidly, and unless you control it carefully, you may have a lot more stakes than you need.
• Unconventional mulch. There are many types of plastic mulches–plastic sheets that cover the ground around plants to help retain moisture and suppress weeds. (Red-colored plastic mulches increase the yield of tomatoes and peppers.) But plastic mulch wears out and is made from petroleum, which is not a renewable resource. You might want to try a new kind of plastic mulch made from corn, or (as noted above) you can simply use newspapers or straw.
• Rain barrels? Maybe. There are a number of rain barrels on the market that can catch the rain flowing off your roof. But these barrels are small and pricey, and they won’t save much water unless you can use up a full barrel watering indoor plants, flushing toilets, and the like before the next rain.

Interested in purchasing a rain barrel?  Learn more by watching this clip from GreenEnergyTV.

Avoid

• PVC plastic. PVC (vinyl) products are not hazardous to you or your garden, but making and disposing of them creates toxic and carcinogenic substances. Good alternatives: recycled plastic or HDPE, a type of polyethylene plastic.
• Lead. Some types of garden hoses contain dangerous amounts of lead, according to Consumer Reports. If you are buying a hose, check the package to see if it states that the hose contains lead. Look carefully, because the warning is sometimes in very small print. If you already have a hose with lead, don’t drink from it or fill a kiddie pool with it.

Benefits…

…to you
Working with well-chosen equipment makes every task easier.

…to your wallet
Choosing wisely can save you money. So will investing in resource-saving technologies, such as efficient watering systems.

…to the Earth
Safe materials that conserve fuel and water and rely less on synthetic chemicals reduce your lawn and garden’s impact on the environment.

Common Mistakes

• Being too cheap. The old saying, “You get what you pay for” often applies to garden supplies, from rakes to hoses to shears to garden tractors. Today’s tempting bargain is likely to end up in tomorrow’s dump. A well-made, durable item, on the other hand, can give you a lifetime of use–and end up costing less.
• Impulse buying. Sometimes our eyes are bigger than the needs of our garden. Be conservative about what you purchase, and look carefully at product specifications.

Getting Started

• It sounds almost too basic to mention, but this advice so often ignored it’s worth repeating: take care of your equipment. Many a tool has been thrown away before its time because it wasn’t properly used or handled.
  • Lawn mowers that weren’t maintained according to manufacturers’ instructions or had the wrong fuel mix end up being junked when they could have had years more of useful life.
  • Wooden handles rotted by rain from being left outside will snap like kindling wood.
  • Poorly sharpened mowers and cutting tools will damage your lawn and plants because they tear instead of cut. They’ll also damage you because they require so much more exertion to use than well-honed instruments.

Related Products & Services

• Climate appropriate planting
• Decking
• Lawn care
• Organic seeds
• Outdoor wood furniture
• Pavement and concrete
• Pesticides

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. Organic seeds aren’t grown with these chemicals, and are therefore better for the environment. Organic farmers also tend to use other farming techniques that prevent erosion and are safer for birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife.

Another good reason to buy organic seeds: The companies who sell them tend to offer a broader range of plant varieties than other seed distributors. Moreover, the U.S. government doesn’t allow organic seeds to be genetically engineered, a process in which a gene from one species may be spliced into another. For example, a gene from a nut might be introduced into a bean. This practice has been challenged because of possible health and environmental hazards.

Top Tips

At home

• Think outside the supermarket. Instead of raising supermarket mainstays at home, try vegetables that you often won’t find in the supermarket. Among the interesting and tangy options are greens–such as arugula, chicory, collards, dandelions, endive, escarole, mizuna, mustard greens, turnip greens, rapini (Raab broccoli, cima di rapa)–as well as various Asian greens such as bok choi or gai lam, or different types of squash, such as the Mexican chayote.Why aren’t these tasty, nutritious options available in supermarkets? It may have a lot to do with shelf life. Dandelion greens just don’t hold up as well as iceberg lettuce, and Raab broccoli can’t outlast conventional broccoli.
• Choose the right seeds for your area. Just because a local garden supply store carries a pack of organic seeds doesn’t mean they’ll grow where you live, and this is also the case with seed catalog companies that ship all over the country. Learn about the principles of climate-appropriate planting in your area.
• Know when to plant. Stores often display seeds long before or after they should be planted, and seed catalogs make them available pretty much year round. Read the seed package carefully to determine when to sow seeds.
• Plant varieties with different maturities. Diversifying will give you an edge in fighting pests and diseases. Having different maturities gives you a longer growing season, and ensures that everything doesn’t ripen at the same time. Of course if you plan on doing a lot of canning or freezing, you might want things to ripen at the same time.
• Trade seeds, and experiment. It’s helpful to trade seeds with other organic gardeners and experiment to see if they do well. Think of your garden not just as a garden, but as a test plot where you strive to learn what works best for your soil and climate.

Other Considerations

Saving seeds from your own organic garden can be a useful strategy. It may not be worthwhile if you have space limitations, however, because, except for fruiting plants such as tomatoes or squash, seeds only ripen long after the plant is done producing. Moreover, continuing to save seeds from just a few plants can result in inbreeding, which creates weaker plants with lower yields. Saving hybrid seeds is problematic, too. A cross between two or more varieties of the same species, hybrids often yield more and have better disease resistance than plants grown from open pollinated types of seeds. But this “hybrid vigor” doesn’t necessarily carry over to the next generation. Only try the offspring of hybrids if you have room to experiment.

Benefits…

…to you
Organic seed gives you the satisfaction of knowing that you are supporting growers who care about the environment and safer farming practices. You also have a great excuse to spend more time outdoors!

…to your wallet
Planting your own garden is often less expensive than purchasing products at the grocery store.

…to the Earth
Organic seed production reduces the burden on the environment caused by the use of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers.

Common Mistakes

• Rejecting hybrids. Some organic gardening enthusiasts confuse hybrids with genetically engineered plants and refuse to use hybrids. They are unnecessarily denying themselves some high-yielding, hardy plants. Hybrids are crosses of varieties within a species. Genetically engineered plants involve taking much greater, and riskier, genetic leaps.
• Planting monocultures. Whatever you plant, it’s best to plant several different varieties of the same plant. Resistance to different pests and diseases varies, so if you have only one type and it happens to get smacked hard by a pest or a disease, you’ll have a complete crop failure. With different varieties, you’re more likely to have some plants that do well.
• Inbreeding from saved seeds. The quality of many vegetables, including cabbage, carrots, chard, corn, and onions, can decline greatly if you keep saving seed from a small number of plants for several generations.
• Cucurbita crossing. A genus in the gourd family, cucurbita (which includes squash, cucumbers, watermelon, and chayote) tends to cross-pollinate easily. If there are different types of cucurbita in your garden, you may not get, say, the type of zucchini you were expecting because it crossed with another kind of squash. If you want predictability growing this group of plants, you have to hand pollinate.
• Expecting too much from heirlooms. “Heirloom” seeds from plants that are not widely used are becoming increasingly popular with organic gardeners. This is a welcome development, because it encourages gardeners to experiment and keeps a broader variety of plant genes in circulation. But beware of high expectations. Heirlooms don’t necessarily yield as much or taste as good as some of the more common varieties. Those hybridizers were sometimes crossing varieties with home gardeners in mind.

Getting Started

Browse the seed catalogs. Thanks to the booming interest in organic gardening, organic seed purveyors abound. Since the selections in garden shops may be limited, it’s a good idea to take a look at some of the catalog offerings. You can find them on the Web.

Related Products & Services

• Climate appropriate planting
• Decking
• Gardening supplies
• Lawn care
• Outdoor wood furniture
• Pavement and concrete
• Pesticides

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 other ways, too. Is the chair or table you are about to buy contributing to global warming and deforestation? Will it give off toxic fumes? Here’s how to find out–and invest in long-lasting furniture that will help you enjoy your home outdoors.

Top Tips

At home

• Repair, reuse, and recycle. Before you replace older furniture, ask yourself if some simple repair work might add to its life.
• Protect and defend the natural look. Wood furniture needs protection from rain and sun. If possible, bring the furniture inside during winter to protect it. To shield softwoods from the elements, use a low-toxicity antifungal (and anti-termite) borate salt such as disodium octaborate tetrahydrate.
• If you paint, go low. Buy low- or zero-VOC latex paints, which emit fewer harmful chemicals than other paint. Prep and repaint often enough to prevent damage to the wood.

When shopping, look for

• The FSC label. Products with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label come from forestry operations that meet strong environmental, social, and economic performance standards.
• Recycled plastic instead of wood? Recycled plastic is now being made into attractive, durable outdoor furniture. You can even find a reasonable facsimile of that old favorite, the Adirondack chair.

Benefits…

..to you
Comfortable, good-looking outdoor furniture makes your outdoor space more pleasant and inviting.

…to your wallet
Buyng furniture made from FSC-certified wood should be more or less wallet-neutral. It costs about the same as the standard stuff, yet provides many environmental benefits.

…to the Earth

• If you choose furniture made from environmentally sound wood, you help slow down global warming by maintaining the healthy forests that soak up carbon dioxide.
• protect tropical forests. One-fourth of the world’s global-warming greenhouse gases are emitted because of reckless slashing and burning of tropical forests. Wood from well-managed forests in the Tropics, however, provides income for loggers while protecting forests.
• preserve enough of the forest environment to enable forest creatures to thrive. Sound forestry practices even require healthy growth of lichens, fungi, and insects, which are a vital part of the food chain in a forest.
• prevent erosion and floods by leaving enough trees to absorb water and hold the soil in place. (The rule is to not to take more out of a forest in a year than it can regrow in the same period.)

Getting Started

Some major home improvement stores now carry FSC lumber and wood products. To help you choose among them, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has a “scorecard” that rates those retailers’ commitment to forest protection.

Temperatures, rainfall, soils, and altitudes vary tremendously in the United States. What grows well in the California’s dry summers and Mediterranean climate might be completely lost in Colorado’s mountains, or on the damp coastal plain of Louisiana. Even within a given area, there are microclimates. When most people think of cacti, for example, they picture Arizona or New Mexico. But some cacti are native to the upper Midwest. They’ve found a desert-like niche in dry, rocky slopes that get lots of sun.

On a website called Colorado Gardening, Sally Codgill describes the mistakes commonly made in her state: “Too often plants that require mild winters, cool summers, ample rainfall, a humid environment, or loamy, acid soil end up in gardens here. Doomed from the start, these misfits die an early death.”

Fortunately, it’s simple to avoid this kind of doom. Just get to know the plants that grow best in your area, and the microclimates of your own yard. You’ll be spared the grief of having raised a bunch of sickly plants and you’ll save time, effort, water, and fossil fuels. Next thing you know, your house will be on the garden tour.

Top Tips

At home

• Know your climate zone. This zone information will quickly lead to the facts about what plants grow best where you live. To see which plants can survive your winters, check the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s maps. To see what plants will thrive year-round, check out Sunset magazine’s website.
• Know your neighborhood. A walk around your community will give you an idea of which plants do best.
• Talk to gardeners. Some of the best experts you’ll find are people who have gardened in your area for many years, and have learned what works and what doesn’t. If you see people working in interesting-looking yards, strike up a conversation. They may be more than eager to share their experiences. Generally, gardeners like to see things grow, including other people’s knowledge. Joining a garden club is the fastest way.
• Go native. More and more gardeners are turning to plants that have been growing wild in their area for thousands of years. These plants have learned how to survive in their homelands, and will usually require a lot less attention than species that are imported from places with totally different weather and soils.
• Try groundcovers instead of lawns. There are several hundred types of low-growing groundcovers, most of which require no mowing and need far less water and other care than grass. They are especially helpful in tough-to-mow spots. In some areas where grass won’t grow, they will thrive and add color, like a thick carpet of moss under a big shade tree.

When shopping, look for

• Healthy plants. Even if a plant is perfectly suited to your area, it might not do well if it’s not healthy. Don’t go for something on sale if it’s not in good condition.
• Younger plants. You’ll save money if you buy a smaller, younger plant rather than a larger, more mature one. And in the end you’ll have a plant that’s just as big and beautiful.

Other Considerations

• If you really want plants that can’t make it through cold weather, consider planting them in a container and bringing it in during the cold season. This way, you can even grow semitropical fruits in the far north. If the container is heavy, put it on wheels. We even know of a fellow in New Jersey who rolled his lemon tree into the house on rails he installed for the purpose.
• Shade trees are nature’s air conditioners. Where it gets hot in the summer, plant deciduous shade trees as close to the house as is safe. In winter, after their leaves have dropped, they will let in sunlight to help warm the house. In colder areas, choose evergreens on the windiest sides of your yard.
• Fruit trees can be a beautiful addition to a garden, and low-cost source of food. But be careful to purchase trees that are right for your area.
• Garden catalog companies often have plants that you might not find at a local supplier, and they may be cheaper. But make sure the plant is right for your yard.

Benefits…

…to you
For most of us, being surrounded by plants is a joy.

…to your wallet
Climate-appropriate plants can save tons of money on maintenance. From the grass in your lawn, to your shade trees, to the ornamentals in the front of your house, you’ll spend a lot less money on water, fertilizer, fighting bugs and weeds, and even heating and cooling costs if you make the right choices.

…to the Earth
Smart plant selection is as good for the Earth as it is for you. It minimizes fertilizer runoff and pesticide pollution. It saves water. Shade trees and wind barriers can reduce energy use. And once your garden is thriving, it can provide food and shelter for birds and butterflies whose natural habitat has been diminished by development.

Common Mistakes

• Overwatering. For many plants, overwatering can do as much or more damage as underwatering because excess moisture suffocates the roots of the plant and can cause disease.
• Thirsty plants. Choosing plants that demand lots of water can dramatically increase your water consumption.
• Doing too much at once. You may have seen folks at a garden shop pile up cartloads of plants. They often do so without enough preparation, either in knowing the plants or in tilling the soil. It is much better to develop a garden gradually, carefully mastering small parts of it with well-worked and properly amended soil.
• Putting plants in the wrong place. Plants have different requirements for sun and water. Put a poppy in the shade or a rhododendron in the sun, and you will likely be disappointed.

Getting Started

• Try perusing some of the wonderful books and magazines about gardening, from national publications like the venerable Organic Gardening to regional publications like Sunset, which covers the West. One good tip from such sources can be worth the cost of years of subscriptions.
• One of the best-kept landscape and gardening secrets is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service. These offices are staffed by experts with a detailed knowledge of a region, what plants will do best there, and how to take care of them. The Extension also has volunteers known as “master gardeners,” who are eager to share years of experience in landscape and gardening in specific regions.

Related Products & Services

• Decking
• Gardening supplies
• Lawn care
• Organic seeds
• Outdoor wood furniture
• Pavement and concrete
• Pesticides

Picture a healthy lawn and garden. For many people, what springs to mind is an iconic image of green grass bordered by colorful flowers. But a healthy landscape does so much more than look pretty or provide a place for tossing a ball around.

In a healthy landscape, plants and soil absorb and sequester carbon dioxide, helping counter the rate at which humans are pumping CO2 into the atmosphere. A healthy landscape slows stormwater runoff, allowing rain and snowmelt to percolate into the soil where pollutants they’ve picked up can be broken down by soil organisms instead of carried into waterways. In a healthy landscape, plants and soil keep outdoor air temperatures cooler in the summer and trees shade buildings, reducing air-conditioning energy use. A healthy landscape provides habitat and food for wildlife, and can even feed your family, friends, and neighbors.

What does it take to create a healthy landscape? First and foremost, attention. Before making major changes to your garden or lawn, take time to observe deeply. Get to know the area’s weather patterns as well as the microclimates in your yard. Learn where the sun falls, how rainwater flows, which spots are sheltered and which exposed to the wind. Think about what’s already in the landscape that’s working well–plants, animals, walkways, fences, buildings, views, places to play, and places to relax. Also take note of what’s not working and what might be missing.

This kind of careful attention sets you on a path to creating a landscape that’s healthy because it’s in harmony with nature. But once you’re on that path, how do you make the transition from observing to digging holes and planting seedlings? Whether your landscape consists of a window box, a postage-stamp plot, or a sprawling estate, the basic principles for creating a healthy landscape are the same:

• Nurture the soil
• Choose the right plants for the right spots
• Use water and other resources wisely
• Use healthy pest control methods

Nurture the soil

Some organic farmers say they don’t grow crops, they grow soil. That’s because productive land begins and ends with healthy soil. A teaspoon of high-quality soil teems with 100 million to 1 billion bacteria, as well as worms, fungi, protozoans, and other beneficial critters.

Think of healthy soil not as inert dirt but as a living organism that benefits plants by feeding them minerals and organic matter, protecting them from diseases and pests, making water available, and breaking down pollutants.

To nurture the soil, steer clear of synthetic pesticides and herbicides that can disrupt soil life. Add compost to increase the amount of organic matter, and keep unplanted areas of soil covered with mulch to retain moisture and prevent erosion. In areas where you plan to grow plants, don’t compact the soil by walking or driving over it.

Choose the right plants for the right spots

When designing your landscape, take the time to identify plants that not only look attractive but that are also appropriate to your area’s climate and your yard’s microclimates. Climate-appropriate plants are more likely to thrive with little or no irrigation and resist pests and diseases. Aim for biological diversity in the landscape. A monocrop–whether it’s a field of corn, a grassy lawn, or a solid bed of petunias–is more likely to attract pests, invite disease, and deplete the soil than a variety of plants.

Choose plants that won’t be crowd their space when mature. Right-sized plants won’t encroach on their neighbors and won’t need extensive pruning that takes a lot of your time and leaves you with excessive plant waste.

Aim to maximize the benefits of each plant and the overall landscaping design. Trees absorb CO2, add beauty, and can increase your property value. What’s more, deciduous trees can be positioned to shade the house in the summer, reducing air conditioning costs. Come fall, they’ll drop their leaves, allowing the winter sun into the home and reducing heating costs (if you’re planning a solar electric or solar hot water system, be careful not to shade the roof). Trellises planted with deciduous vines can shade your patio, keep your house cooler, and maybe even provide you with food. Fruit trees and vegetable beds can feed your family as well as add beauty to the landscape. Many types of flowering plants will attract birds, pollinators, and beneficial insects. Plants can be used to screen out views you don’t want and enhance views you do want, mute noise from roadways and neighbors, and filter air pollution.

No matter how small or large your yard, be sure to provide some habitat for wildlife: this could be a butterfly garden tucked into a side yard, a hedge of berry bushes for birds, or a back-forty of grasslands or woods left in their natural state.

Use water and other resources wisely

The climate is changing, and for many parts of the country, that’s likely to mean more frequent droughts and water shortages. High-efficiency irrigation systems go a long way toward reducing water use, but there are many other ways to conserve water, including mulching, creating swales to slow rainwater runoff, harvesting rainwater, and recycling gray water. Read more in our Water Conservation article.

Of course, water isn’t the only resource we use (and sometimes overuse) in our yards. Consider shrinking your lawn or eliminating it altogether. Less mowing saves time (a precious resource), fossil fuel energy, and CO2 emissions. Consider planting perennials instead of annuals that need replanting every year. When it comes to reducing waste, the only limiting factor is your imagination. Here are just a few ideas: compost kitchen scraps and yard trimmings, “grasscycle“ your lawn waste, reuse plastic pots from the nursery to grow seedlings, use pruned branch trimmings as stakes, make borders for beds by partially burying upside-down wine bottles, use broken slabs of concrete (also known as “urbanite”) for path steps, and build garden beds with recycled-plastic lumber.

Also favor locally made materials when possible to reduce transportation energy. Instead of buying plastic bags filled with mulch and compost shipped from hundreds or thousands of miles away, look for local sources. Some cities give away mulch made from chipped urban trees and compost made from green waste and sewer plant “biosolids” (which, unsavory as they may sound, have undergone a process that makes them safe for your garden). Check with local stables for bedding straw and manure, and ask neighbors if you can have their bags of raked leaves.

Use healthy pest control methods

The shelves in garden stores are stacked with heavy-duty chemicals promising to solve your pest problems. Beware of falling for the lure of the easy fix. These chemicals may temporarily knock down the species you’re targeting, but may also poison people, pets, beneficial critters, groundwater, rivers, lakes and streams, and the soil that’s fundamental to a thriving landscape and healthy planet. Whether your aim is to rout out weeds, fend off bugs, or keep pesky gophers and rabbits at bay, always try the least toxic methods of pest control. To learn more, check out our articles on lawn care and pesticides.

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.

According to a study by the  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), plants can be used indoors to purify the air and improve indoor air quality.  Green foliage absorbs carbon dioxide and removes formaldehyde and volotile organic compounds (VOCs) – chemicals that are potentially dangerous to your health – leaving your home fresh and clean.  Because chemical-filled household cleaning products can pollute the air in your home, your disinfecting habits can actually do more harm than good.  In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) even states the the air in your home can cause problems such as irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, fatigue and even more serious health issues like asthma and lung cancer.  Placing plants in your home can help you get rid of impurities so that you and your family can breathe easy.

Most houseplants require only indirect sunlight and little care, so even those with a not-so-green thumb can easily grow them.  Some common, hardy houseplants are Ivy, Spider plant, Wax plant, Snake plant, Cacti, Aloe, and the flowering Bromeliad.  These silent assassins attack the pollutants in your home and thrive on very little attention, so you can just sit back, relax and enjoy the fresh air.

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Top Tips

• Find the right plant. It’s important to take into consideration your skill level when choosing your houseplants.  Beginners should stick with hardy foliage plants like cacti, succulents, spider plants and snake plants because they are quite easy to grow.

Although indoor plants usually require less maintenance, they do still need some care.  Most houseplants will be fine with a once-a-week watering, so if you don’t think that is possible for you, you may want to choose plants that don’t need as much moisture.  Cacti and succulents are able to go longer between watering.  Other plants may need more constant watering, so make sure you read the label on the plants before making your purchase.

The conditions of your home are important to take into consideration when it’s time to pick your plant.  Flowering plants like the Peace Lily generally need more sunlight than non-flowering plants, so if your home is limited on windows stick with green foliage.  Make sure you read the labels on your plants.  Find out where they come from so that you can decide whether or not the plant would be able to survive under the conditions of your home.  The tag will usually inform you on the proper temperatures and moisture levels for the plant, so you can find one that will fit with your own temperature comfort-level.  If your home is extremely humid go with tropical plants, while desert-based plants will flourish in drier climates.

• Pick the perfect pot. The pot is what provides the connection between your plant and home décor.  Make sure you find a pot that you like and that matches your home so you don’t end up transplanting the plant several times, as this can be quite harsh on the plant.

It’s important to buy durable pots.  Plastic pots often break easily, forcing you to toss them out, wasting money as well as materials.  Ceramic pots are long-lasting and aren’t made of the same chemicals as plastic.

Make sure the pot leaves room for the plant roots to spread out and grow.

Your pot should provide your plant adequate drainage.  If there is nowhere for excess water to go, the plant can “drown” or die of diseases like root rot.  Pots containing holes at the bottom should be placed on a dish or saucer that will catch any excess water that drains out.  Sometimes pots made for indoor plants don’t contain holes for drainage.  If you aren’t able to create one, add a layer of stones at the bottom of your pot.  You can use stones or pebbles from your yard or purchase them at any home store or nursery.  The space between the stones will create a place for the water to escape until it is eventually absorbed into the soil above.

Try purchasing pots at a thrift store.  Thrift store shopping is eco-conscious shopping because it gives old items a second cycle of use.  They usually have lots of options, and if you’re squeamish about buying things used…it’s just a pot you put dirt in.  Come on. 

• Location location location. Indoor plants don’t usually need direct sunlight, but it should be placed in well-lit rooms that provide adequate sun.  Again, flowering plants need more sunlight, so place them throughout your home accordingly.  The kitchen is often a well-lit room in most homes.

If you don’t think you have enough space in your place for potted plants, hanging plants are a beautiful way to incorporate foliage into your home without taking up precious space.

• Maintenance. Because houseplants are generally low-maintenance, they need little more than good soil, some indirect sunlight and the appropriate amount of water.  You can, however, occasionally add some natural fertilizer to your plants.  Just make sure you don’t over-fertilize and “burn” them.

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Other Considerations

• Office air. Houseplants also thrive in office spaces, so bring them to your work for a little bit of a mood-lifter.  In addition to the natural light that you may have in your office, indoor plants will also benefit from the fluorescent lighting in office buildings.

• Think of your pets. Some plants can be toxic to pets if they are ingested.  The most common houseplants – like those mentioned so far – are perfectly fine for pets, but if you’re thinking of branching out to more unusual plants, you should do a little research before purchasing them.  Lilies are known to be toxic to cats, while oleanders can be quite dangerous for dogs.  Just ask for assistance when buying plants you don’t know anything about. 

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Benefits…

…to you

• House plants are a beautiful way to decorate your home.  Flowering plants can provide your home with lots of color, but any kind of foliage will provide a beautiful focal point for any room.  Potted trees can bring dull corners to life…Literally!
• Placing indoor plants in your home purifies and rids the air in your home of pollutants creating a healthier environment for you, your family and your pets. 

…to your wallet

• Plants can actually help cool a room!  Placing lots of plants in your home can actually save you money on your cooling bills in the summer.
• Most houseplants are quite inexpensive.  And because indoor plants require less water your indoor garden will save you money on your watering bills.

…to the earth

• Plants are good for the earth…bottom line.  Plants – indoor our outdoor – clean and purify the air and improve oxygen levels.
• Using plants for decoration rather than purchasing lots of man-made items for your décor limits waste that ends up in landfills.  You may think you need all those little nick-knacks, but sooner or later you will be tired of them, they will end up in the garbage, and then eventually in the landfill.  Plants provide an all-natural look that will never go out of style, and the only man-made item you have to buy is a pot, of which there are many to choose from at your local thrift store.

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Further Reading

Indoor Air Quality

Healthy Lawns and Gardens

Home Performance and Indoor Air Quality Experts

Green Cleaning…Not Just for Spring

Photo Credits

Good Housekeeping

Apartment Therapy