"Green" Landscaping
Monday August 11, 2008
Green landscaping, as in environmentally friendly, isn't as easy as it first appears. Gardening may seem natural, but we're actually manipulating nature at every turn. Otherwise there would be no such thing as a weed, would there? Some gardening practices are greener than others. Most of us are cautious about what we spray and how much we water. About's Landscaping Guide, David Beaulieu, has put together a list of 10 Ideas for Environment-Friendly or "Green" Living Landscaping, to take us even further. While we look for better ways to fuel our cars and heat our homes, we shouldn't over look what we do in our yards and gardens.
Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.
Comments
One thing I recently learned about lawns from our local Arboretum, is that they actually benefit the recharging of aquifers. In urban areas, lawns actually contribute quite a bit to this process, as well as mitigating the heat-island effect.
It is important to keep lawns cut to the right level for the type of grass you have, whilst leaving clippings on the lawn at least every other mowing is also crucial to conserving water. We should also wean our lawns off the amount of water we pour on them every summer. If we are using smart lawn technique, even in the arid West, we can usually get away with less than daily watering. I find it is not so much the lawns that want the water, but that we are so accustomed to watering them daily.