How “Green” Is Your Yard?

April 16th, 2009

   Nine out of every 10 homeowners say it’s important to care for home landscapes in an environmentally responsible way, but only half say they know how to do that, the National Gardening Association found in a survey of U.S. households.

   Thirty percent admitted they were “not at all” or “not very” enviro-friendly in their own yards.

   How’s it going at your place?

   How green is your yard?

   Here’s a not-so-dirty-dozen checklist…

Are you a sprayaholic?

    * Do you spray “just in case?” Treat only plants that really need it – and even then with the least toxic measure that gets the job done. More details: http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/.

    * Do you compost? It yields the best soil amendment while keeping leaves, grass clips and kitchen peelings out of the waste stream. More details: www.howtocompost.org or www.organicgardening.com (select “Compost and Soil” from top menu bar).

    * Are you bagging and tossing grass clips? Let them lie. Grass clippings feed the lawn as they decay. Cut often enough that the grass doesn’t mat. If you get behind, direct clips into the center of the yard, rake the channels and add the clips to the compost bin. More details: www.sustainable-gardening.com/lawn/Grasscycling.php.

    * Do you really need a perfect lawn? Spot-spray or pull weeds instead of routinely applying herbicides over the whole lawn. Use insecticides, fungicides and crabgrass chemicals only if you have unacceptable problems in these areas. Reduce fertilizer or switch to natural, long-acting and/or no-phosphorus types. More details: www.safelawns.org.

    * Are you a gas power-tool junkie? Try using more hand tools. They’re better exercise, don’t use gas and don’t create noise or air pollution. Consider a push reel mower instead of a traditional gas-powered one. Switch to electric or battery-powered trimmers, edgers, blowers and shears. More details: www.epa.gov/oms/consumer/19-yard.pdf.

    * Have you landscaped to reduce home energy costs? Tall, dense evergreens to the north and northwest of the house make a windbreak to block cold winter winds from reaching the house. Leaf-dropping shade trees to the south and west cool the house in summer but let sun in in winter to warm it. More details: www.energy.gov/landscaping.htm.

    * Do you have many trees at all? They not only cool in summer but add oxygen, purify air, reduce water use in the yard, add value to the home and provide food and shelter for wildlife. More details: www.arborday.org.

How much water are you wasting in the landscape?

    * Are you wasting water? Mature lawns easily survive summer drought – even when completely brown for 4 to 6 weeks. Don’t run sprinklers excessively or let them sprinkle sidewalks and driveways. And how about adding a rain barrel to recycle rain water or a rain garden to keep it out of the storm-sewer system? More details: www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/242/1/Saving-water-in-the-garden.html or www.raingardens.org.

    * Are you trying to grow more native plants? These are ones naturally adapted to our area. They’re good at surviving our bugs, diseases and climate curveballs without intervention from us. Examples: bayberry, witherod viburnum, summersweet, asters, goldenrod, columbine, woodland phlox, red switchgrass, fringe-leafed bleeding heart. More details: www.bhwp.org or www.meadowoodnursery.com.

    * Are you trying to avoid or eliminate invasive plants? Some of the worst in untended areas are multiflora rose, tree of Heaven, purple loosestrife, Canada thistle and mile-a-minute weed. Among common landscape plants that can seed into the wild: barberry, butterfly bush, burning bush and miscanthus grass. More details: www.dcnr.state.pa.us/Forestry/wildplant/invasivelist.aspx.

    * Are you growing your own food? Every fruit or veggie you grow in the yard (especially without chemicals) is potentially one less pesticide-treated item shipped across country or from overseas. It’s “grow local, eat local” at its MOST local… and is a more productive use of your land than mow-demanding, chemical-hungry lawn. More details: www.garden.org/foodguide/browse or www.veggiegardeningtips.com.

    * Is your yard a source for recycled items? Shredded paper can go in the compost pile. Newspaper makes a good mulch underneath straw or wood chips. Plastic containers can be reused to start seeds, grow plants or protect young plants from the cold. Even holey nylons can be used as plant ties. More details: www.frugalgardening.com.

    Some other resources for enviro-friendly lawn and landscape practices:

   * Download 46 pages of tips free from the Utah-based Center for Resource Management at www.nationalgardenmonth.org/files/LandE.guidelines.pdf.

   * A 2008 book filled with practical advice is “The Green Gardener’s Guide” by Joe Lamp’l (Cool Springs Press, $16.95 paperback).

   * Info on native plants, conserving water, avoiding pollution and more is at the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ site www.iConservePa.org.

   * A game plan for greener yard care, including natural lawn care and building healthy soil, is at www.epa.gov/GreenScapes.