10 Ways to help the environment with your garden

1. Use Solar Lighting. Solar lights are wonderful because they don’t have any emissions, and so don’t contribute at all to global warming. They also use solar lighting – a renewable resource!



2. Keep all power tools properly maintained in order to keep them running efficiently. Inspecting and cleaning your power tools regularly will help them to run the best that they can for the longest period of time.



3. When planning your garden, be sure to include trees and shrubs. When placed correctly, these can reduce the heating and cooling costs for your house. Plant deciduous trees in areas that will shade your windows in the summer, but will let in sunlight during the winter, and plant trees and shrubs to help block wind.



4. Save Water. I recently posted a list of 15 ways to conserve water in your yard and garden.



5. Compost. You can compost food scraps, and garden waste that would otherwise go to landfills. This not only reduces your garbage, but it also will give you material to help your garden grow healthier.



6. Grow your own vegetables. This will help to reduces carbon from fertilizers, and transportation.



7. Use a push mower. As push mowers are completely manually powered, using one of these will eliminate the gas or electricity you use when mowing your lawn.



8. Think about an alternative lawn. Grass is one of the least water efficient plants you can include in your yard. Lawns have to be watered much more often than other plants, and you have to use a lawn mower frequently to keep up the appearance of a well-kept yard. Think about clover, ornamental grasses, creeping thymes or moss.



9. Prevent Runoff and Erosion. Runoff can carry harmful chemicals, pesticides and excessive amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen into waterways, and erosion removes the top soil and can clog waterways with it. Prevent this from happening by using plants that cover the entire ground surface.



10. Eliminate the harmful chemicals you use in your lawn/garden. Any chemicals you use to get rid of weeds, eliminate pests or help plants grow can have adverse reactions to other plants or animals that come into contact with it. Getting rid of weeds using vinegar, hot water or just pulling up the weeds will work better in the long run than chemicals; There are many organic pesticides that you can either buy or make at home; to help plants grow, try using compost or compost tea.

Backyard dreams, create a man made paradise

With the steady increase of gas prices, lack of vacation time, extended travel delays, and pushy travel agents, dream vacations are becoming a thing of the past. Gone are the days of packing up and going on a family oriented road trip, or promptly flying to a secluded island. Many families
and homeowners are looking at ways to turn their own properties into mini paradises, where your travel time is spent on foot from your living room to backyard. With so many DIY television shows, and garden websites available, there seems to be an endless supply of quality resources to derive inspiration from. These resources are giving homeowners the confidence to go ahead and take on a project such as a backyard makeover, or front yard landscape re-build, and both the visual and emotional results are staggering.

Imagine having your very own backyard paradise, walking out of your doorway and being able to truly relax in the comfort of your own home. Quiet often the dream yards you see on television, can be achieved at a fraction of the cost that a couple of extended vacations would, with the added bonus that your backyard addition or upgrade is available to you 365 days a year.

Very popular ideas for landscape upgrades and additions are: zen-like gardens with a water feature focal point (garden fountains or waterfalls), garden ponds are very soothing and affordable, these ponds can be purchased preformed for easy installation, or in liner form, which you can customize to meet your own specifications.

Whatever the case may be it is steadily becoming apparent that these backyard additions add to your quality of life, and in some cases also increase your property value exponentially! Something to think about before planning your next vacation!

Reducing Noise Pollution in Your Garden

Your backyard should offer a tranquil atmosphere. Unfortunately, for those of us that live in urban areas, this is not always possible. Noise is a nuisance that limits garden enjoying in the city, especially due to the sirens, traffic, lawnmowers, power trimmers, leaf blowers, and construction present in a busy residential area.

However, there are things you can do to limit your noise exposure. Solid walls and dense foliage can help break up and block out noise. Berms, mounds of dirt planted with shrubs and perennials, are not only good for deflecting noise, but also offer a certain degree of privacy.

If you want your neighbours to respect your peaceful tranquility, you should also try to limit the noise that you produce, that can potentially distract your neighbours. Try reverting back to the tools of earlier days: reel mowers, handsaws, hand shears, and garden rakes. Not only will this reduce your noise footprint, but it will also afford you some much-needed exercise! To reduce the noise caused by maintenance further, why not create a maintenance-friendly and energy-efficient garden? Replace the lawn with pavement or ground cover, and replace the hedge with a fence or plantings of dwarf shrubs.

Rail planters convert your patio into a garden paradise

A patio can be a relaxing environment for you, your family, and your friends. However, sometimes it can be difficult to decorate your patio, due to its limited space restrictions.

One great way to add an accent to your patio deck, is to grow plants around it. However, you can’t just grow plants in an open space. What you need is a rail planter.

Rail planters are specially designed to provide you with a growing surface on top of your rails. Many are designed to fit over both 4” and 6” railings.

For the complete effect, use the rail planters to surround your deck with vibrantly colored blooming bulbs, herbs, plants, and ornamental grass. Complete the effect with a series of cascading vines which lead up to the planters.