Better Hedges - Replacing Ficus

31. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Any way you look at it, Ficus hedges are not Green. The constant use of gas powered trimmers and blowers to maintain them makes them a plant with a major carbon footprint.

 

The pesticides required to keep them alive in the environment of pests doing damage to them these days, pollute our air, soil and likely our water and food supply. The manufacture of the pesticides has a carbon footprint as well.

 

When planting a hedge or screen to be Green, it’s important not to plant a monoculture. While monoculture hedges are quite popular and hedges are a great way to provide privacy to a garden, buffer noises from the street, and screen an eyesore from view, the way they are commonly planted as monocultures in long rows is not Green. 

 

The best way to plant a Green hedge is to use a variety of plants in a hedge.  Stagger the plants in a zig zag fashion rather than a straight row. Then allow them to grow in their natural habit.

 

This method protects garden and gardener from great loss, and contributes in a positive fashion to the living landscape.

 

When the plants need some pruning, do it by hand.

 

If a particular plant is suddenly under attack by a pernicious pest, one doesn’t have to use pesticides on the whole hedge, nor lose the whole hedge. The plants not under attack remain standing sentinel at their posts in the garden hedge.

 

Without the need for constant gas equipment to prune the hedge plants, not only does one lessen their carbon footprint, they also save money on the cost of maintenance.

 

Allowing plants to grow in their natural habit also provides habitat for desirable native birds, butterflies and the likes, as well as annual migrating birds.

 

Smarter choices of plants for hedges have always been available, but the ease of growing Ficus from cutting and their quick growth, made them cheap and popular with growers, developers, landscapers and homeowners.

 

My favorite choices for a more natural, naturescape style, Green hedge, include: Simpson Stopper, Green Buttonwood, Jamaica Caper, Bay Rum (what a marvelous bay scent the leaves have when one brushes against them), Golden Dewdrop, Clusea rosea “Nana”, Powder Puff (has beautiful flowers and is available in a variety of colors and sizes), White Indigo Berry, Tawnyberry Holly, Tallowwood, Red Stopper, Redberry Stopper, Spicewood, Natal Plum, Marlberry, Myrsine, Lingarro, Holly Malpigia (for a shorter hedge), Florida Privet, Chinese Hat, Bush Cherry, Bouganvilla, Bay Cedar, Black Torch, Boxthorn (for a shorter hedge), Wax Jasmine, Firebush.

 

Consider the ultimate height you want in your hedge. Plant the taller plants at the back row when staggering them.

 

All of the above plants have a lot to recommend them. Some are better than others at tolerating salt water intrusion. So consider that when choosing plants for landscapes near the ocean.

 

Some other fine choices that have been around a long time include: West Indian Cherry, Barbados Cherry, Yew Podocarpus. All these are also fine when grown, limbed up, as small trees, as are some of the other choices.

 

Be creative, plant a back row spread about 6 feet apart of Jamaica Capers. Two or three feet in front of them, in between each set of Jamaica Capers, plant Green Button Woods. About two feet in front of the Green Buttonwoods, in the center of each set, plant White Indigo Berry. Or zig zag three of the same plant, then three of another plant and so on until you have created the look you want with your Greenscape hedge. 

 

 

If you don’t have that much space, then alternate the plants and stagger them only a foot in front of each other. Be creative.

 

Top dress with composted manure and watch them grow. Enjoy a Green screen which offers beauty, privacy and desirable wildlife habitat.

 

Know that you’ve done your part for the environment and the living landscape.

 

The picture here shows a Greenscape with a hedge, planted at the left of the photo. The hedge is made up of several varieties of plants which do well in south Florida. They were planted small, in three gallon containers and have been allowed to grow in their natural habits. The natural hedge includes groups of Firebush, red blooming Powder Puff, and Golden Dewdrop, all of which are butterfly, bird and hummingbird attractors. They create a wonderful natural visual screen from the neighbors and offer privacy to the homeowners. The plants are all relatively fast growers and are filling the space quite quickly.

Posted in Green Gardening | Print | No Comments »

Natural Remedies for Pests in the Garden

29. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

One of the biggest mistakes people make in their home landscapes whether it be on their lawn or backyard garden is with their use of pesticides. The constant and continuous use of pesticides creates a toxic environment and puts these chemicals into the soil, the air we breath and even our water supply.

Don’t run out and buy pesticide when you see ants. Consider instead the possibility that soil and plants are not healthy and therefore pests are getting a foothold.

In a garden with lots of plant variety, including natives and good soil, which has been amended with compost and composted animal manures, the plants’ roots become healthier and therefore the plants are stronger when pests appear.

Variety in the garden brings in more variety of insects. With this biodiversity the ecosystem can come into balance with the natural world keeping itself in check.

If you feel you just have to treat for an infestation, try natural remedies. Dish soap and water will kill many pests as readily as many topical pesticides which endanger our health and put known carcinogens into the environment. If the pest is a pernicious one, try soapy water mixed with cooking oil. If you still find you haven’t rid yourself of the pest, add some alcohol to the mix.

If you just don’t feel like making your own mixes, try spraying Neem oil. Why use petroleum based oils, which are known pollutants and carcinogens, when you can use alternatives.

To kill white fly, put equal parts dish soap, cooking oil and water
into a liquid fertilizer applicator and apply as you would any pesticide. Drench the plant and the soil.

As is even necessary with toxic and dangerous pesticides, repeat every 7 to 10 days as needed.

Natural remedies are easy,  safe,  inexpensive, non-toxic. They will not hurt your plants, children, pets or the environment. They work as well as poison and one doesn’t have to worry about where they dispose of the leftovers.

My rule of thumb with plants, is 3 strikes your out. If a plant requires treatment for pests 3 times in a year, I remove it, dispose of it and find a suitable replacement that will do well in the environment in my garden.

Posted in Green Gardening | Print | 1 Comment »

The Birds and the Bees, A Cacophony of Delight

25. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Despite the unusual weather we’ve been having here in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the garden throughout the cold, and the heat and the muggy drizzling rainy days has been filled with delight.

This morning the bird seed feeder has been visited by a host of painted buntings (likely the same one’s who came last fall) there are 6 of them, a male and female cardinal (they’ve been around for a year). Last year they raised a brood here. And a series of blue jays have come and gone, calling out as they swoop down to the feeder. The hummingbird has been moving around the deck taking nectar from the salvia and the pink powder puff which are showing off this muggy warm January morning. The gray catbird and the mockingbird have snatched small round yellow berries from the bird pepper plant which occurs here naturally, and which I allow to grow where it seeds for the most part, for their benefit.

The smaller birds are moving through the branches of the majestic old oaks, and the large bright orioles have kept their distance moving through the wildness of the colorful bouganvillas.

The feeder is one I bought in fall to overcome the constant raiding of seed which was occuring with the old feeder. The squirrels can’t get into this one. So if you’re having a time of it keeping the squirrels out of the bird seed, try it out.

It’s a cylinder shape with wire grate which wraps the entire body of the cylinder. The wire is a distance of the average bird beak from the cylinder and seems to be impossible for the squirrels to get to. They will occasionally hang upside down from the feeder trying to figure it out. They are smart little creatures, but ultimately they give up and have to go forage for other delights in the garden.

The feeder is one of two red ones, tucked up under the yucca plant a the back of the old bench, just behind the sweet rescue dog making himself at home on the lounge chair, in the picture. It is the feeder on the right which the squirrels can’t raid.

Though the feeders are placed quite low and close to the deck for viewing pleasure, the birds still frequent them, as they are in a densely planted Greenscape with good protection from predators.

Posted in Green Gardening | Print | No Comments »

Hummingbird Joy in South Florida Winter Gardens

22. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Planting in a fashion which provides habitat and food for desirable wildlife is one the most important tenets of Green gardening. The rewards are magnificent, and winter in south Florida is a great time to enjoy the bounty of nature in a south Florida garden. It also a great time to enjoy the beauty of the Ruby Throated hummingbirds who overwinter here when it’s cold up north.

The male Ruby Throated hummers have a diamond shaped ruby colored pattern on their throats. The females are absent this marking. They are a shimmering green and are easy to miss in the garden if you are not watching for them.

Their demure size and speed could keep from ever seeing them if you don’t plant some of their favorite nectar plants close to window vistas you often enjoy from inside your home, or close to the patio or deck or sitting area of your garden.

The plants you use to entice them into your  Greenscape need to be ones that bloom during the fall, winter and early spring in order to provide nectar for them.

In my garden the hummers are taking nectar from Pink and Red Powderpuffs, Porterweed, Purple and Red Firespike, Several varieties of Justicia, several varieties of Salvia, Yellow Elder, Cape Honeysuckle, Honeysuckle, Tropical Fern Leaf Lavendar, Russian Sage, and Firebush, all which bloom on and off throughout the fall, winter and spring.

Something is always blooming in this cacophony of color and I see them regularly when I’m sitting at my windows or on my back yard deck. Their is always nectar available for them in my garden.

I don’t use feeders, as in our on again off again warm climate, the sugar water can sour if not changed often and cause the creatures to acquire a deadly virus on their tiny tongues.

The picture above is a hummer workers at a grower’s field in Homestead discovered cold and stunned laying on the ground. They picked it up, warmed it, held it for awhile and it began to fly excitedly around them after it warmed.

Posted in Green Gardening | Print | 1 Comment »

Lead in Drinking Water January 22, 2010

21. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

I heard the levels of lead in the water which are higher than Federal Regulations is not affecting any residential areas. I’m hopeful this is a fact. I have not yet heard what the parts per billion are that do affect places where we eat and buy food, such as Publix and area restaurants within the vicinity of Port Everglades. I will keep you posted as I learn more.

Posted in Breaking Environmental News | Print | No Comments »

Favorite Trees for Greenscapes

21. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Some of my favorite trees for south Florida include: Live Oak, Clusea Rosea, Clusea Rosea “Nana”, Sea Grape, Mrysine, Fiddlewood, Apple Blossom Cassia, Dwarf Apple Blossom Cassia, Powder Puff, Yellow Elder, Bay Laurel, Allspice, White Geiger, Orange Geiger and the list goes on. If you have favorites you would like to share, please do. Or if you are looking for a specific type of tree or a recommendation for a specific area, let me know.

Posted in Green Gardening | Print | 1 Comment »

Lead in Drinking Water Study

19. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

In my previous report, I said that according to the letter written by the Port Everglades director to Publix regarding the six sites of the water distribution system found to have levels of lead higher than 15 parts per billion allowed by Federal regulation, that Broward county had 12 months to correct the problem. In a subsequent reading of the letter posted at Publix on southwest 17 street by the Port, I learned, the 12 months allowed was to study the pipes’ corrosion. not to fix the problem.

That begs the question how long before there is a remedy?  How big is the problem?

The letter was dated September 30, 2009. I just noticed it posted last week .

Posted in Breaking Environmental News | Print | No Comments »

Lead in Drinking Water Port Everglades Fort Lauderdale January 18, 2010

18. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Still watching the local media online and television looking for the reports that clarify just how much lead is in the drinking water and how many residences and businesses are affected. Nothing to date since I read the letter. I’m wondering now just how long this has been going on, as well.

I’ve phoned the port, the commission offices and emailed the mayor to make an inquiry and learn more about the situation. No answer at the phones as yet. No response to my email yet.

I am beyond surprised that this is not making the news. I keep watching. I’ll share what I learn with you, as soon as I know more.

Stay tuned.

This is the only info that I have found at the Port Authority site: check out the brochure at www.porteverglades.net/water.

Posted in Breaking Environmental News | Print | 1 Comment »

Green Tips for Green Gardeners

18. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Trees are royalty in the landscape. While palm trees are beautiful and provide great architecture and a tropical look, canopy trees are king.

Canopy trees supply oxygen, remove carbon dioxide (the major greenhouse gas), trace metals, and other industrial pollutants from the air we breathe.

Trees absorb rainwater from frequent intense summer storms. This holds moisture on your property and prevents storm water runoff which often carries pollutions such as fertilizers, and other chemicals we use on our gardens and lawns off our property down storm drains and into our bays and estuaries.

Proper tree shading can reduce air-conditioning costs and mitigate temperatures, even alleviating the island heat affect of cities when enough are properly planted.

Trees provide shelter, food and homes for urban wildlife. Many migratory birds rest and live in trees.

Trees are long-lived, the longest lived plant in a landscape so that planting one not only enhances your property and its value now, but has a positive aesthetic and ecological impact on your neighborhood and the overall environment far into the future.

So plant more trees. Make use of the swale in front of your home. Plant trees there. Plant small trees over the air conditioning unit rather than planting a tightly clipped hedge that screens the air conditioner but nothing to cool it.

 

When you plant a large growing long lived tree be sure to plant it a distance from the house so it doesn’t outgrow its space.

 

Plant smaller shorter lived trees closer to the house.

 

Watch for some of my favorite trees for south Florida landscapes.

Posted in Green Gardening | Print | No Comments »

Troubling News About Lead in Water Not Being Broadcast By Media

17. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Knowing how dangerous lead can be, as most of us know with all the regulations over the years and the removal of lead from paints and jewelry and children’s toys, it is a puzzle that I have seen nothing in the media addressing the news about the letter written by Broward County’s Port Everglades’ Director stating that six sites at their water distribution center had levels of lead in them higher than allowed by law.

The letter gave few details.

I contacted several news agencies, including local televisions WSVN - Channel 7, the Sun Sentinel newspaper and the Broward edition of New Times when I saw the letter posted at my local downtown Publix at 17 street near Port Everglades.

I still haven’t seen or heard any details about the lead in the water from any of these media outlets.

While I understand that the circumstances in Haiti are devastating and important news, I don’t understand why this other important local news, which could spell danger to an unknown number of people here at home in Ft. Lauderdale,  has not been brought to the public’s attention here locally, as yet.

Surely, putting out at least a notice of some sort, as warning to people in the area would be the right thing to do, until all the details can be learned from Broward County and Port Everglades about the levels of lead in the drinking water system.

The lack of news and details about this finding, is as troubling as the news of the finding of high levels of lead in drinking water distributions systems at Port Everglades.

Posted in Breaking Environmental News | Print | No Comments »

Know What Green Food Is (and Grow It)

16. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

One of the tenets of Green Gardening is to grow your own herbs, fruits and vegetables. When doing so, it’s important to use heritage seed that hasn’t been genetically altered in order to grow Green food.

 

Green Food is food that hasn’t been altered genetically. Genetically altered food is grown from seeds that have pesticides and herbicides (some are viruses used as pesticides and herbicides) which are inserted into the DNA of the seed. Many scientist (usually those who don’t work for the industries involved in putting the DNA of viruses into the DNA of food seeds) think this could be dangerous.

 

And frankly, personally, I’m not interested in eating food with pesticides, herbicides or viruses in them. However, I suspect that often we have no choice when that information is not divulged.

Here is some important information about some foods available at your grocery stores, which you should know:

 

Fruits and vegetables have something called a PLU code (i.e. secret code) which you will need to know to learn how your food is grown and whether it has been genetically altered. 

 

A recent study demonstrated, when we humans digest foods that have been genetically modified, the artificially modified genes transfer into and alter the character of beneficial bacteria in human intestines.

 

According to some studies, gene transfer of similarly genetically engineered agricultural crops surrounding native species has created highly resistant species now called superweeds. This has dire consequences. As engineered genes are spreading among and altering other other organisms in the environment, it proves an inter and intra gene species transfer mechanism. It is obvious that enetic engineering is dangerous.

 

Before you read how to tell what has been done to your food, keep in mind, while fruits and vegetables are marked for the way they are grown and whether or not they are grown from genetically altered seed, that is only for first generation altered seed. While the food, in theory, is marked for whether or not they have been genetically altered, foods which come from genetically altered foods or a second generation seed, and subsequent foods made from genetically altered foods do not have to be marked as genetically altered foods. As canola is genetically altered, but oil is made from it, the oil does not have to be marked as made from a genetically altered food.

 

Here’s how to tell sometimes, what has been done to your food and how it is grown or treated:

 

For conventionally grown fruit, (grown with chemicals inputs), the PLU code on the sticker consists of four numbers.

 

Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9.

 

Genetically engineered (GM) fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8.

 

For example, for conventionally grown fruit, read on:

 

A conventionally grown banana would be:

4011

 

 An organic banana would be:

94011

 

 A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would be:

84011

 

The numeric system was developed by the Produce Electronic Identification Board, an affiliate of the Produce Marketing Association, a Newark, Delaware-based trade group for the produce industry.

 

As of October 2001, the board had assigned more than 1,200 PLUs for individual produce items.

 

Incidentally, it has been said that the adhesive used to attach the stickers is considered food-grade, but the stickers themselves aren’t edible. Hmmm.

 

How to tell if food has been irradiated:

 

As part of its approval, FDA requires that irradiated foods include labeling with either the statement “treated with radiation” or “treated by irradiation,” along with the international symbol for irradiation, the Radura.

 

Irradiation labeling requirements apply only to foods sold in stores.

 

For example, irradiated spices or fresh strawberries should be labeled.

 

Irradiation labeling does not apply to restaurant foods. Foods with smaller amounts of irradiates foods in them do not have to be identified.

 

Source: Excerpted from FDA/CFSAN Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide, 2007

 

The Radura symbol (meaning irradiated food) - is a broken circle with something that looks like a leaf and a sun or a flower in the center.

 

Posted in Sustainability Issues | Print | No Comments »

Lead in Drinking Water Port Everglades Fort Lauderdale

16. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Six local sites at the Port Everglades water distribution system are contaminated with lead above the 15 parts per billion allowed by Federal Primary Drinking Water Regulations according to the letter sent out by Port Director, Phillip Callen, to Publix located at southwest 17 street in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.

Local supermarket, Publix, has the letter posted by the grocery carts at the front entrance to their store.

According to the letter 15 locations were tested. The letter also reported that Broward County has 12 months to study the problem and suggested methods for living with the situation.

Recommendations included allowing the water to run before using it; using cold water and not hot; and drinking bottled water.

The letter spawns more questions than it answers.Who are those affected? How many homes and businesses are receiving water tainted with lead? Which ones? How much lead is in the water? Is it 16 parts per billion or 270 parts per billion? Why haven’t the general public been made aware of the problem? Why haven’t these questions been answered?

If as doctors say, no level of lead is a safe level, and as lead has been removed from paints, jewelry and children’s toys because it’s too dangerous to touch or breath - what then are the dangers of bathing in the water, cooking with the water, drinking the water, or washing clothes in the water and watering plants with the water?

None of these questions have been addressed in a public fashion which seeks to inform and provide the citizens of Ft. lauderdale with the information they need to be sure that they are safe from the hazards of lead contaminated water.

News agencies, Sun Sentinel, WSVN - Channel 7 and New Times Broward edition were all  contacted. All said they were not aware of the situation and that they would look into it.

As yet, I’ve seen no news with answers to the questions this news begs.

Posted in Breaking Environmental News | Print | 1 Comment »

Green Washing

15. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Green Washing is a term which explains much of what is going on today in industry with relationship to our environment. Often products and practices are touted as green when in actuality they are detrimental to the environment often due to the pollution they contribute to or the pollution caused by the way they are produced.

 

Some fertilizers and other garden products, such as some mulches, are produced using hazardous wastes in dangerous quantities and this practice is encouraged by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Industry and the EPA call this Recycling. And we all know that recycling is good right.

 

Not so in this case. This is a dangerous practice.

 

To read more about it, click on the link to New York Times Fertilizer Articles by Duff Wilson here at the blog.

 

Though this practice was uncovered over a decade ago, it continues today.

 

Knowing about this practice empowers homeowners and gardeners to change the way they garden, and allows us to understand how our gardening practices could be harming our living landscape. We can begin to change the way we garden and look for Green solutions. As a landscaper, I no longer recommend granular fertilizers and build soil quality through amendments and organic products and practices which I will discuss further soon.

 

I want to hear your thoughts and ideas about what you read here, and would like to know what you are doing to keep your living landscape Green.

Posted in Sustainability Issues | Print | No Comments »

Unsafe Level of Lead in Drinking Water Port Everglades Ft. Lauderdale

15. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Drinking water at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale has lead levels higher than allowed by EPA regulations according to a letter issued by the powers that be, to at least one business in the vicinity of Port Everglades.

Though I have not received a similar letter and live in the area, I fear that my drinking water may be from this facility.

I have phoned Port Everglades and the Broward County Board of Commissioners to make some inquiries and share the information, and both offices are closed. One message says the offices are closed as an unpaid furlough day due to budget issues. The other message says please call back during office hours despite the fact that this is Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 3:15 p.m.

As I don’t have home numbers of these officials, I have made some contacts to ask that this be investigated so we can learn more about the danger that lurks in our water supply and who is affected.

Channel 7 - WSVN, Sun Sentinel and Broward edition of the New Times have been given a heads up. Watch them to see if they offer up the details.
Stand by for more. I will follow up as I learn more.

Posted in Breaking Environmental News | Print | 1 Comment »

Mission & Philosophy

14. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe in the value of the landscape as a vital element which serves the earth in its functions as habitat, temperature mitigation, as well as cleansing the aquifer, soil and air of pollutants. Plant roots are vital to these activities as well as to stabilizing soil. The Living Landscape provides this important positive contribution to our earth, contributing to our quality of life, our aesthetics and our human well being. I believe in creating and maintaining Green Landscapes which contribute to sustainability of  the planet.

Trees are the most important part of landscapes. While palm trees serve to create beautiful architectural features in a landscape, from an ecological standpoint, they do not serve as large long lived canopy trees do.

The shade from tree canopies reduces air-conditioning costs and mitigates outdoor and indoor temperatures, cooling our neighborhoods, our environment. Trees canopies supply our oxygen. They remove carbon dioxide (the major greenhouse gas), trace metals, and other industrial pollutants from the air we breathe. Rainwater is absorbed from frequent intense summer storms by tree roots which hold moisture on your property. Their roots also prevent storm water runoff which carries soil, often contaminated with fertilizers, and other chemicals such as pesticides and fungicides used on gardens and lawns, off of our properties and into storm drains, our bays and estuaries. The resultant algal blooms cloud waters, killing sea grasses, without which young fish, crustaceans, and other aquatic life have no where to feed and hide. Lake Okeechobee, a water supply to local residents and a vital fresh water body which provides habitat for local wildlife and fish, contains an accumulated sediment base of phosphorus and nitrogen, and other pollutants, which has increased in the last century. It is vital that we conserve and preserve our water supply and the health of our ecosystems for future generations. Through our landscapes and our landscape practices we can be part of the solution in our own neighborhoods, and reduce this trend toward pollution and disaster. For more information about Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades go to the South Florida Water Management website at http://www.sfwmd.gov/.

MISSION

It is my mission through this blog and my website, www.pinkshovellandcsapes, to provide useful education and information which empowers gardeners and homeowners to create and maintain Green Home Landscapes through the use of Green Gardening Tenets in their home landscapes.

As a writer and gardener, my purpose coalesces in my desire to be a conduit for improvement of our environment. I will discuss many of the environmental issues we face today with experts and researchers and share their knowledge with the public.

As a landscape designer, it is my mission to provide quality well thought out landscapes which serve these important Green functions in our environment making them Green landscapes which contribute to nature and sustainability,  in a quality design with aesthetics that will pleases and serves the environment as well, now and in the future.

Posted in Mission & Philosophy | Print | No Comments »

Green Gardening for Sustainability of our Living Landscape - Defined

14. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Green means sustainability, creating and maintaining a living landscape which conserves and preserves our natural resources, including our air, water, and soil quality, as well as the flora and fauna. It is about preserving our way of life, and promoting an ecological balance which enables our environment, the earth, to endure and provide into the future for future generations.

            A sustainable environment will meet our needs in the present without compromising our ability to meet the needs of future generations.

            Green Gardening or a Green landscape is one which contributes to sustainability and does not add stresses and pollutants into the living landscape; this includes using best practices which have little to no carbon footprint, and cultivating a garden without making the many common mistakes in gardening practices; and the use of garden products, which pollute and contaminate the air, soil, water and even the food supply in our shared living landscape, without which we could not live. 

            It means planting the right plant in the right place and incorporating canopy trees and naturescape style plantings that provide for desirable wildlife in the living landscape. 

Posted in Green Gardening | Print | No Comments »