Going green involves looking at our everyday activities from a different perspective. Take lawn maintenance, for example. Many of us have a well-manicured lawn that we maintain by mowing, trimming around the edges, watering and probably even adding weed killer once or twice a year. Up until recently, this was the traditional lawn maintenance method for most neighborhoods. However, regular lawn maintenance takes time, energy, adds toxic chemicals to the environment, and contributes to noise pollution if you use gas powered mowers and weed eaters.
Naturescaping is another way of looking at landscaping. It is a method of landscaping that incorporates native plants into your yard design. There are many benefits of growing native plants, such as:
· they are easy to grow
· they do not need maintenance
· they attract beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife
· there is no need to use toxic chemicals, which is good for our health and for the environment
How do you find out which plants are native in your area? Take a walk in an area where plants grow wild. Take note of which ones do well in the sun or shade and what their habitat is like (wet, dry, etc.). Also notice which plants like to grow near each other. Using a good guide book, identify the plants and find out if native plants are available through a local nursery or your community. It is not a good idea to dig the plants up and transplant since this is illegal in many areas and further destroys natural habitats. You may be able to find workshops offered in your community, such as in Portland, Oregon or demonstration projects, such as in Port Moody, BC, Canada
While you may not want your yard to be completely naturescaped, adding a nice variety of native plants will not only beautify your landscape, but it will also save you money and time, and even more importantly, be beneficial to the environment.
How green are you? Join our Green Channel discussion forums and talk about green living!
