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Yet it doesn’t have to be this way. We can still have beautiful outdoor spaces while being more responsible in our choices of how we make them so. But where do we start? Indeed there are many ways to be greener, but here are five things you can do right now to be more eco-friendly, starting in your own backyard.

1.) Put the right plant in the right place.
In my role as host of Garden Smart on PBS, I have the opportunity to travel around the country touring spectacular gardens. The first question I ask the gardener at each location is, “What’s the one thing you do to keep your plants looking so good all year long?” I always get the same response, “Put the right plant in the right place.”

When plants (including lawns) are growing in their ideal environment, they thrive. And when plants thrive, they are naturally more resistant to pests and diseases. That means fewer chemicals going onto the plants and into the soil.  Conversely, when plants are improperly placed, they become stressed and prone to attack from those same adversaries. We unknowingly respond to these visible signs of trouble by pouring on the fertilizer and chemicals and making our garden even less eco-friendly than before. Growing the right plant in the right place dramatically reduces the amount of chemicals needed to keep plants looking their best.

2.) Use rain barrels.
Many parts of the country are facing a serious water shortage, resulting in restrictions and all out bans on outdoor irrigation. Harvesting and retaining rainwater for later use is like money in the bank. Rain barrels are one of the easiest ways to capture water from gutters and downspouts. Just a tenth of an inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot roof area can fill a 60-gallon barrel.

Keeping plants alive during drought conditions is good for the environment too since living root systems help reduce soil erosion and runoff of potentially harmful chemicals. You can purchase rain barrels today at many mass retail and garden centers or make your own.

3.) Make compost
There is simply no better amendment for your lawn or garden than compost. It is loaded with organic nutrients and it has something no manmade fertilizer can offer; beneficial fungi and bacteria; microorganisms that work wonders to improve the overall health and structure of ordinary garden soil. Compost helps retain moisture in sandy soil and improves drainage in heavy or compact soil. It’s also known to suppress numerous soil born plant diseases and buffer soil pH. The bottom line is, healthier soil leads to healthier plants that don’t require extra chemicals to thrive. An added bonus is that making your own compost reduces waste that could otherwise end up in the landfill.

4.) Get a soil test
A soil test, available from your county extension service or private labs is an easy and inexpensive way to find out about the nutrient quality of your soil. The report will indicate nutrient deficiencies and suggested applications to improve levels. But it will often reveal that nutrient levels are already sufficient, saving you and the environment from adding unnecessary fertilizers. Look for labs that offer organic nutrient options. Find your county extension service at www.csrees.usda.gov/extension.

5.) Use Mulch
Mulch is an important tool in so many ways. It keeps soil temperatures cooler in summer and warmer in winter, retains vital moisture in the ground, suppresses weed growth and prevents many soil-borne diseases from splashing onto leaf surfaces. As mulch breaks down, it adds back valuable organic matter. A three-inch layer around your plants and trees will help reduce the need for water and chemicals.

Just be sure when purchasing mulch that it is free of potentially harmful contaminants such as arsenic from treated wood. The Mulch and Soil Council has a certification seal to identify bagged products that are free of unacceptable materials. To learn more: www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org.

It all adds up.  These five simple yet significant actions are a great place to start. But don’t stop there! Some will do much, others very little, but if we all do something, we’ll be well on our way to creating a more eco-friendly environment, not only in our own tiny plot, but also for the one we all share and cultivate together.  
JL

Worms, birds and bees, these are a few of my favorite things. As a gardener and nature lover, I can’t imagine life without these three creatures. Each plays such an important role in creating healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. Without them, life wouldn’t be the same or possibly even exist. It sounds like a bold statement I know, but take the bee for example. It is single-handedly responsible for one third of the food we eat, including coffee and chocolate. Bees are directly responsible for the pollination of the plants that make them. What would I do without my bees?

Yet honeybees are in grave danger. A yet unexplained phenomenon known as “Colony Collapse Disorder” is decimating honeybee colonies around much of the world. The source of the problem has yet to be determined but it is strongly suspected that pesticides play a significant role.

On a related note, our beloved backyard birds are a welcomed addition to our gardens and landscapes. Their brightly colored plumage and melodic songs are the perfect complement to the plants and flowers we enjoy so much in our gardens. But in addition to the pure pleasure they provide to us personally, birds too play a vital role in maintaining biodiverse habitats. Many of our native plants are propagated each year thanks to seed-eating birds that randomly disperse them through ecosystems across the world. Birds are also a wonderful natural pest control since they eat millions of pest insects each year from our gardens and lawns. Unfortunately, according to the National Audubon Society, about seven million of our feathered friends die annually across America from eating insects poisoned by pesticides.

And then there is the lowly worm. Not so lowly really if you consider all that they do. They provide some of the most essential benefits to what happens below the surface of any garden or lawn. Known as “nature’s plow”, earthworms create a network of tunnels and pockets underground that allow air and water to circulate and roots to grow. Moreover, their castings (manure) are five times higher in nitrogen, seven times higher in phosphorus, and ten times higher in potassium than ordinary garden soil. A single acre of healthy earth may contain over a half million worms. But that number can fall rapidly when salt-based, synthetic fertilizers are added to the soil. Worms are very sensitive to adverse changes in soil chemical or physical makeup and will relocate to more hospitable environments.

All this to say that we gardeners and weekend warriors hold the key to protecting some of the most important guests we can ever have visit our gardens and landscapes. In order to provide the most inviting and sustainable environment for these vital creatures, understanding what attracts, repels and harms them will have a great deal to do, not only with the health and vitality of our own little corner of the world, but collectively, with the health of the planet as well.

I have three rules to almost guarantee the success of any garden or landscape. First, put the right plant in the right place. Next, feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants. And finally, use mulch. It sounds simple and it is. But all too often we try and take shortcuts by not taking the time to learn about a plant’s ideal cultural requirements before we plunk it in the ground just anywhere. Or we try to solve every visible problem by throwing a chemical at it, especially fertilizer. And all too often, we skip the most important step (after watering) once the plant is in the ground, and that’s the addition of mulch.

For the purpose of this writing, let’s assume you’ve done your homework and know the ideal placement in your landscape for whatever plant you happen to be dealing with at the moment. And then you actually follow up and place it there. Now it’s time to make sure the place where this plant will live has the optimal conditions within the soil in which to thrive. How do you do that? From whatever conditions you start, add organic matter to the soil sufficient to cover the entire planting area.

What is organic matter you ask? Think of shredded leaves, ground bark, aged manure and compost and you get the idea. Although these examples are not a complete list, the more organic matter you can incorporate into the soil to a depth of six inches or greater, the better any soil will be. Accordingly plants will be happier too. But of all the organic matter I mentioned, I believe compost is the single most important ingredient we can include. It adds life and fertility to the soil, improves drainage while allowing the soil to retain sufficient moisture and it creates good soil structure, a critical element in allowing nutrients and water to be absorbed, and roots to spread.

The good news is you can make it at home for free with ingredients you already have around the house and yard. The bad news is, we can rarely make as much at home as we want.  Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to improve your soil. A little goes a long way. Once you inoculate an area with the beneficial microbes from compost, you’re well on your way to a healthier, more productive garden.

There are a few essential elements necessary for compost to occur.  They are: water, air, heat, carbon (brown matter, like dead leaves and twigs), and nitrogen (green matter, like grass clippings and vegetable and salad scraps).

To start a compost pile, you don’t need anything fancy.  A simple accumulation of green waste (10-25%) and brown waste (75-90%) will get you going.  Every week or so, try to mix up the pile so you add oxygen to help speed up the decomposition process.  Add a sprinkling of water, enough to give the pile the moistness of a damp sponge, and you will be well on your way to making compost.  Depending on the variables, you should be able to have usable compost in about four months to one year.

You can add many items to your compost pile or bin.  Almost anything from the yard or garden can be used but try to avoid adding limbs that are thicker than a pencil.  They’ll take longer to break down.  Also, avoid adding diseased plants.  The disease pathogens may not be killed in the composting process, and you can end up adding diseases into your soil.  I also choose not to include weeds if they are at or near the flowering state.  Weed seeds can persist for a very long time, and may survive the composting process.

When adding products from within the house, the biggest items to avoid are meat, fish, bones and dairy products.  They can attract outdoor pests.

Your compost will be ready to use when its dark brown, earthy-smelling and crumbly.  The end-result is undoubtedly the best soil food and conditioner available – it’s recycling at it’s best!

When I was hosting Fresh from the Garden, on DIY Network, we grew a lot of different kinds of vegetables. Many were the classic favorites of summer: tomatoes, green beans, corn, squash and peppers to name a few. Because all the vegetables in the garden were TV stars, they had to look their best at all times too. This put a lot of pressure on me since there are many variables outside of my control. As a gardener, you know Mother Nature always has the final word.

Although I managed to get through three years and 52 episodes with a near blemish free record, this was still a real world, working garden. I used eco-friendly practices then, just like I do today. Although that was certainly good for the environment, it did require the utmost vigilance on my part to head any potential problems early in the process. Of all the challenges a garden can throw at even the most experienced veteran, dealing with rapidly changing weather is likely the most nerve-wracking experience. Yet even then, there are a few ways to extend the season along with the pleasures of gardening that go along with it.

Anytime I knew cold weather was on the way, I’d get out my row covers as the first line of defense. These thin, lightweight covers allowed air and light in, but provide just enough insulating protection to keep those few extra degrees of precious warmth contained near the plants and in the soil. The row covers alone helped keep the frost off the leaves. Without them, my plants could have easily turned to mush.

Another trick, which had value year round, was a nice thick layer of mulch. In summer it kept the roots cool and moisture in the soil. In late fall and winter, that same mulch helped keep the warmth in the soil and prevent the ground from freezing. For cool season plants like spinach, on those extra cold nights, I’d spread a layer of mulch directly over the plants. This protected the foliage that might otherwise burn from exposure to extreme cold and wind.

Sometimes, I’d cut off the bottoms of plastic milk jugs and place the bottomless jug over small plants. I was always amazed at how well such a simple step worked to protect them. In fact, it insulated so well, I’d have to be sure to remove the jugs in the morning. Otherwise, those same shelters that protected my plants through the night might be the very things to cook them the next day.

One of my favorite ways to extend the season each winter was to plant in cold frames. If you’re not familiar with the term, just picture a big wooden box with a glass or clear plastic lid on top, such as a storm door or window frame. I’d put straw bails around it to provide extra insulation but having cold frames allowed me the opportunity to garden year round. I’d plant directly into the soil within the frame or simply put potted plants inside it. Either way, it was usually enough to keep them from freezing to death. However, just like the plastic milk jugs, I always had to be sure to vent the frame in the morning so the plants wouldn’t cook.

Finally, for a relatively carefree winter vegetable garden, I was always sure to plant plenty of cool season crops like kale, collards, turnips, Brussels sprouts and spinach. I guess if you love to garden as much as I do, you’ll do whatever you can to keep your hands in the dirt all year round, no matter where you live.

JL

Q: When can I prune my verigated dogwood? I live in Zone 4.

Q: We purchased and planted six yucca plants in our flower bed (Dallas, TX) last August and only one bloomed this summer. That one long stem bloomed for a few weeks and remains with 'dead pods' on it. These are planted in beds with three on each side of the sidewalk, facing southwest. One side get more tree shade than the other (where bloom is.) Our beds are well-worked, with peat and landscape mix, and well watered. Should the bloom stem be cut off? Is there a fertilizer for them to shoot out more blooms? Thanks for any info you might offer! MJ