Eco Friendly Tips For Going Green In The Yard & Garden

We tend to think that our yard and garden are already green and eco friendly, but there is always room for improvement and leaving a smaller foot print in our environment.

One eco friendly way to go green in your yard and garden is to stop using chemical weed killers. Remove weeds from your lawn and garden the old fashioned way, pull the weeds up by the roots. While this is labor intensive, the weeds won’t return and less chemicals will enter our water sources. Chemical products, like Weed and Feed for lawns are carried into our water supplies by rain run-off, not too mention that any chemical weed killer you put on your lawn can kill any landscape shrubs, since shrub roots usually extend under your lawn.

Once you have removed the weeds from your garden, apply organic mulch to prevent weed growth and retain garden soil moisture.

Chemical fertilizers also seep into the ground and ultimately into our water supply. Use organic compost as an eco friendly alternative. Compost will fertilize your garden and amend garden soil.

Did you know that a gasoline powered lawn mower can produce as much pollution in one hour as driving a car for 350 miles? For eco friendly lawn mowing, use a non-gasoline powered reel lawn mower.

Go green by recycling the rain water that runs off your home’s roof. An standard 1,200 square foot roof yields about 750 gallons of water per 1 inch of rain. Be eco friendly and catch that rain water for watering your yard and garden, or even for use indoors.

Written by SueDoeNim

Organic Farms, Back Yard Vegetable Gardens and animal farming destroyed by S 510 “The Food Safety Modernization Act” “We have just received word that tomorrow, Wednesday, November 17, 2010, the Senate will vote on S. 510 Food Safety Bill! “If accepted [S 510] would preclude the public’s right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes. It will become the most offensive authority against the cultivation, trade and consumption of food and agricultural products of one’s choice. It will be unconstitutional and contrary to natural law or, if you like, the will of God.” It is similar to what India faced with imposition of the salt tax during British rule, only S 510 extends control over all food in the US, violating the fundamental human right to food.” ~ Dr. Shiv Chopra, Canada Health whistle blower. “Section 3 which is the definitions portion of the bill-read in it’s entirety. section 103, 206 and 207- read in it’s entirety. Legally binds state agriculture depts to enforcing federal guidelines effectively taking away the states power to do anything other than being food police for the federal dept. Effectively criminalizes organic farming but doesn’t actually use the word organic. Effects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it but consuming it. Effects anyone producing meat of any kind including wild game. Legislation is so broad based that every aspect of growing or producing food can be made illegal. There are no

Shade Gardening

Gardening can be difficult if you don’t have a lot of sun in your yard. Trees and buildings or exposure on the north side only can be a problem. However, if you select shade loving plants, you can create a cool and colorful oasis in your own yard with these hardy plants.

Step1

Look at your yard closely. Is there an area that is so shady that grass won’t grow there? Stop fighting it and put plants that actually want to grow there. You can cover up the bald spot beautifully and easily with hardy, shade loving plants. I noticed an area like this in my own yard in front of the shed. The shed blocked the afternoon sun, so only morning sun had a chance to touch area. It was nearly all exposed dirt with a few weeds.. Yuck!

Step2

Dig up the grass and weeds from the desired area. Think about the shape of the garden ahead of time. I happened to have some landscaping ties in the yard that were unused, so I used them as a border around the area I cleared in front of the shed.

Step3

Go to your local nursery. I really like Lowe’s for buying plants. They have reasonable prices (compared to local nurseries) and the tags on the plants make it very clear what kinds of conditions each plant prefers.

Step4

Think about some taller plants for the center or rear of your new garden bed. If it is up against a building, you’ll want to put the taller items closer to the building. If not, you’ll want to put them in the center.

Step5

Hosta are the backbone of a shade garden (perennial). They don’t have showy flowers, but have beautiful foliage that is very colorful on its own. There are many, many varieties. Some smaller, low growing hostas would look great as a border while the larger ones would make a great “mid size” foliage plant. Most hostas send up long stalks with purple or white flowers, which are pretty, but they don’t come close to the beauty of the leaves. Some are variegated green and white, others have a bluish tinge. Hostas will be very well established within about 5 years and at that point, can be split and moved around your yard or given away to friends. Hostas can also tolerate a decent amount of sun and poor soil conditions.

Step6

Another great shade plant (also a low growing perennial, for the border) is Black Scallop Ajuga. They have a very unique dark color with a hint of red and extremely shiny leaves.

Step7

Japanese silver painted fern Ferns are also a wonderful addition to your shade garden. They are slow growing and will grow to be a bit taller, generally than the hosta and ajuga, depending on the variety. They will live a long time and add wonderful texture to your shade garden once established. There are many varieties of ferns. See which ones can tolerate the cold in your area.

Step8

Probably the easiest way to add some color to your shade garden is with impatiens. In hot or dry weather, you will need to water them frequently. Impatiens are annuals and come in pink, red and white and create a blanket of color with lots of blooms. I have an empty area in my shade garden reserved for them every year. Plant them scattered around whatever empty space is left and they will fill in very nicely, making mounds of color.

Step9

Bleeding heart is another popular shade plant. The blooms last for a long time and they are very delicate looking. The plant can get quite tall, so they should be planted behind all the before mentioned plants. They can tolerate dry conditions.

Step10

Joe Pye Weed is a taller plant. It can tolerate very wet areas but does fine otherwise as well. It is a wild plant, so it is very hardy. I have seen them routinely on sale at Lowe’s. They have sprays of pink blossoms in the fall. Some varieties can grow over 5 feet tall!

Step11

Pachysandra makes a great shade loving, no mow ground cover. Some other interesting shade plants include: Jack in the pulpit, False Solomon’s Seat (has GOLD berries!), Mountain Laurel (a big bush), and Virginia Bluebells and Pachysandra(ground cover)

Step12

Try adding some strategically placed rocks and a birdbath or garden statue to your shade garden as well. Stepping stones surrounded by gravel are a nice (and useful) touch as well.

Some hosta varieities
About Ferns
A huge list of shade plants
A list of native shade plants to Virginia

Written by harrietcat

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Yard Swings

For the fun loving families, the idea of having yard swings is very important. Apart from enjoyment, one gets the chance to experience relaxation moments right in their homes. Thus, no need to go to the public parks to relax.

 

The swings could be made of wood, metal and plastic. Depending on the amount of money has, they could purchase the type that would most please them. Before considering purchasing any of them, it would be wise to consider some of these few things.

 

* The material used to make it should be strong and long lasting. Consider that wooden models must be from very strong and resistant timber. The best choice would be red wood, cedar, oak, and mahogany and is even stronger when treated. Plastic though may look very attractive to the eyes, may not be handle well the effects of weather. The metal ones though come in elegant designs, too are prone to corrosion due to changes in weather.

 

* Before installing any swing, one must consider the safety of the users.

This is by making sure that it is free from any rough edges that could cut children. The equipment too should be very firm and strong and located at a place that is safe from any objects that could hurt the children.

 

* Consider too the area where you will install the patio swing. One may be required to measure the place. Clearing the area first is important.

 

Many styles of yard swings are available in the market today. Most of them are easy to fix and one needs to hang them at a point that they love. Available also are free standing designs that do not need hanging at any point but can be left alone to stand anywhere in the yard. There very big ranges of play products to choose from and glider porch swing sets are one of them. They can be placed anywhere from the garden, patio, porch and the yard. In addition, canopy patio styles offer a lot of comfort especially in the garden.

 

No matter what you wish to purchase, garden swing products are there to make our life different and worthy living. If you have already purchased one of these and life is still boring, then you may be unwell. Where else would you get the chance to breathe some fresh air without the interruption of passers by? Is it not that quiet place back in your backyard? These deck play sets could also offer very romantic settings for couples who are willing to invest in them.

 

What you need to do is sit on the swing, cuddle your sweet heart and let the swing do the rest for you. yard swings have become very popular today and people no longer perceive them like just outdoor pieces of furniture. Instead, they are willing to spend money on them as some of them really form a wonderful piece of art in their yards. Not forgetting the amount of fun they offer to families.

G. Smitty is a writer who loves to discuss many topics ranging from metal swingset to professional basketball. Thanks for reading!

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