Green Gardening

Embrace New Gardening Tips with the Changing Climate

Only someone living in a cave or under a rock will not be able to observe the climate change happening now.  We have unusual weather patterns where the winter season is colder and the summer season is hotter, not to mention that the seasons now overlap more than ever.  As many will say, you can smell it in the air, see it on the ground and feel it in your bones. So what is a gardener to do when gardening heavily depends on the climate?  Well, let's adapt to the changes, of course!  This is what our forefathers did before us and we can certainly do it again. Select Native Plants With globalization, we have experienced non-native plants being cultivated in many areas of the world.  In many ways, this is a good move considering that biodiversity is a desirable quality in our ecosystems. The problem, however, begins when the non-native species begin to ruin the natural ecology of the area.  This is possible when the new species carry new diseases to which the local plants have no prior immunity as well as when the non-native plants become invasive. With that being the case, we should consider reverting to native plants.  This way, you can ...

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Creating a Backyard Habitat

Creating a backyard habitat with your children can be a very exciting endeavor, and a great way to teach children the importance of being friendly to the creatures and plants that we share our planet with.  Creating this is a way that you and your family can take land that was developed for your use, and making it suitable for the plants and animals that once resided in the location.  Natural animal and plant habitats are destroyed daily so that people can develop the land into other things.  These lands may be used to build homes, businesses, recreational areas, schools, and more.  The process of deforestation and even pollution can also have an impact on natural habitats.  Here, you will learn some important facts and tips on creating a backyard habitat. There are many advantages to creating a habitat in the backyard.  You do not even have to use the entire backyard.  Just using a small area in the backyard can be highly beneficial.  Many individuals keep their backyard well groomed and looking picturesque, and this may be extremely appealing to the senses, the home owner’s association, and to the neighbors, but it does next to nothing for the plants and ...

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Autumn Leaves: Healthy Alternatives to Burning Fallen Leaves

When it comes to autumn leaves, there are many healthy alternatives to burning fallen leaves.  When individuals who specialize in the overall quality of air studied the effects of burning leaves on the environment, it was found that there is a negative impact on the environment.  As autumn grows closer this year, it is important that individuals work to consider healthy alternatives to burning all of those leaves that have fallen in your lawn.  Here, you will learn about these healthy alternatives. What Effect Does Burning Leaves Have on the Environment? There are many effects that burning leaves have on the environment.  When leaves are burned, the smoke emits something that researchers and professionals call “particulates”.  When individuals who are elderly, extremely young and those who experience breathing complications are subjected to these particulates, they have been found to experience a number of health complications.  These particulates have been found to actually embed themselves into various areas of the body and remain there for an extensive amount of time.  In addition to this, the pollution that is emitted from the burning leaves enters into the atmosphere and results in the effects of the greenhouse effect as a whole. Healthy Alternatives to Leave Burning There ...

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Victory Gardens - How To Start A Community Garden

On March 19, 2009, the New York Times reported that First Lady Obama was preparing the ground for the first vegetable garden at the White House since the time of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden, during World War II.  The garden was to be organic, and would provide fresh-grown vegetables for the White House dinner table.  Children from a nearby school would help her prepare and plant the garden, and the garden was to be used as a teaching tool – to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern.  Mrs. Obama told the reporters that it was her hope that the children would then begin to educate their families “and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.” The White House Garden was not the first of its kind, of course.  Many schools and even communities have had established vegetable gardens for several years. If you would like to start a community garden, there is, of course, a website chock-full of information on how to do so, called communitygarden.org.  It’s the website of the American Community ...

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Recycling Water In Your Garden

Do you live in a city or state where it is illegal to collect rainwater? It used to be illegal in Colorado, for example (although the law was very infrequently enforced).  The reasoning was that the rain was needed to replenish the aquifers.  However, in June 2009, Colorado passed two new laws that does make it legal to do so. In Utah and Washington State, however, it is still illegal to collect rainwater from the roof, unless the roof owner also owns water rights on the ground. But if you live in a locality where it is legal to collect rainwater, here’s how to do it. Acquire a rain barrel or two, depending on the size of your home.  If you pick up a container barrel from a junk yard, make sure it has never contained toxic waste.  Drums that were used to contain vegetable oil are fine – simply wash out the interior a few times with soap and water, then rinse thoroughly. Are there rainspouts on the four corners of your home already that guide the water down and out and away from the foundation of the home?  Simply take ...

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