In honor of Earth Day, I am pleased to launch Go Green Rockland, a blog that will provide readers with ecological landscaping fundamentals and green gardening tips.
What is ecological landscaping?
Find out what's happening in Nanuetwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Ecological landscaping, or eco-landscaping, is garden and lawn maintenance that conserves water, reduces pollution, and enhances the wildlife habitat. It involves practices such as reducing lawn size, using native plants, composting, mulching, and collecting rainwater.
How does ecological landscaping benefit you?
Find out what's happening in Nanuetwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Ecological landscaping improves the environment and your quality of life while it saves you money. It accomplishes these things by
- elminating the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers which currently pollute our streams and rivers.
- conserving water and improving its quality.
- reducing air and noise pollution.
- reducing home heating and cooling needs through better site design.
How can you create an ecologically-landscaped yard?
It's easy to create an ecologically friendly yard.
Step 1: Reduce the size of your lawn.
The average American lawn consumes 10,000 gallons of water per year and hours of your time and/or money in maintenance.
Step 2: Replace portions of the lawn with other elements.
Introduce plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees that are native to our region. Incorporate porous hardscape elements, such as natural gravel and stone paths that add interest and design.
Step 3: Collect rainwater.
Connect rain barrels to gutter downspouts and use the water in your garden.
Step 4: Compost.
Create a compost pile in the yard with vegetable scraps or purchase compost at garden centers. Mix it into the soil before planting and dress the top of the soil with it throughout the growing season.
Step 5: Mulch.
Cover garden beds with 2 - 4 inches of organic mulch to retain moisture and enrich the soil.
In closing, ecological landscaping is easy, saves money, improves everyone's quality of life, and nurtures the environment and its animal inhabitants. I hope that you'll try it!
Look for more green gardening tips in the next edition of Go Green Rockland.
