How-To Green Your Garden
 
It may seem like a simple task to turn on your sprinklers and let them keep your lawn looking lush and green, but you may be wasting gallons of water, time, and money for something that’s not as eye-catching or productive as it could be. Follow these simple tips to get the most out of the acreage you have, whether it be the .5 acres your house sits on or the 10x5 sitting outside your sliding glass door. 1) Reduce what you use: Gardening on the outside of your home (or balcony) starts on the inside. Reducing what you use in your home means taking what you are putting out and using it for all its worth. Your leftovers sitting in your fridge from last friday or the nubs from the strawberries you just ate are compost waiting to happen. You create a DIY composting machine or purchase one, big or small, like the Earth Machine. In the long run, you will save drastic amounts on watering, fertilizing, and even plumbing. Plus, you will be adding less to the piles of dump called “land fills.” No need to use chemicals or commercial products...compost, mulch, and organic fertilizers will do the trick any day! 2) Go local: Your landscaping doesn’t have to include plants from around the world to have an out-of-this world, lustrous feel. Plants that are native and indigenous to California are eye-catching and can help you save a bundle by needing less water and fertilizers. They are also pest and disease-repellant. Village Nurseries in Orange offers over 350 acres of native plants that range from 4-inch color to 48-inch box specimen trees to fit any home small or large. Remember to also purchase bulbs from cultivated stocks and use lots of trees for shade. 3) Beat the drought: Want to spend even less on your water bill? Have no time for one more thing on the to-do list? Xeriscaping is a profound alternative. Adding plant life instead of a lush lawn will lower monthly water bills, bring color and life, need less maintenance, increase habitat for natural pesticides (ladybugs, bees, and other fauna), and so much more. 3) Plant your foodie: Having a garden to admire is one thing, but having a garden that will fill your tummy is an entirely different concept. Even in the smallest space (called “container gardening”), you can grow your own basil, tomatoes, peas, carrots, and in no time have a completely organic meal to share with your friends and family. With the help of your compost, it will grow quickly and with only a small amount water. You can’t get more green than that. And organic will never be fresher or cheaper than your own backyard. For more how-to tips visit the Back Yard Gardener or The Garden Helper. And if you don’t have time to plant your own food, go local (see Farmers Markets & Market section). See how far your fruits and veggies travel at leopold.iastate.edu. 4) Love your community: You can not only apply these helpful tips to your own garden whether it’s filled with flowers, plants, or food (or better yet, all of the above), but you can get involved in your community. Contact your local city department and ask about Community Gardening. For a low membership fee, you can have a space in a community garden all to yourself. There only about four in the county at the moment, and one starting up in Capo Beach. You can start your own by petitioning to use a open space with the city or using a neighbors plot of land, like Scott Brown (see Events for more info). 5) Love your community (underground): Another alternative to beautifying your community is Gorilla Gardening, which is becoming more and more popular in Orange County. You and your fellow gardeners can beautify your city one sneaky garden at a time. See articles section for a how-to guide on gorilla gardening. 6) In the real world: Keeping your gardens, wherever they may be, as organic as possible is the most important thing you can do to keep them green. Check out “Lawn Care” at thegreenguide.com or find products at gardensalive.com, extremelygreen.com, or purebarnyard.com. Using chemical and pesticides like peat is not healthy for you or for Mother Earth and byy using natural, organic growers, the US collectively could save the earth 67 million pounds of chemicals every year. 7) Plant it again (and again): You can always use recycled dishes, pots, and containers made from a variety of materials to add greenery inside and out. You can make great finds just by asking your local nursery if they have any pots they don’t need or visiting any of the Goodwill or Salvation Army stores in your city. 8) Get a good workout: Using non-electric and gas powered devices, like a manual push reel mower and a rake, will help save the earth and keep your garden green one day at a time. With a reel mower, you won’t have to refill the gas tank ever and you’ll get some wicked sweet muscles by doing so. The environment will thank you for it. By not using a gas powered lawn mower, you and fellow Americans will be sparring 800 million gallons of gas and 17 million gallons spilled while refueling. Then you can relax with a glass of lemonade and enjoy your green garden in recycled lawnchairs.http://www.compostguide.comhttp://www.earthmachine.com/http://www.californiagardens.com/Lists/native.htmhttp://www.villagenurseries.com/http://nativeplants.comhttp://www.arborday.orghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscapinghttp://www.containergardeningtips.comhttp://www.seedsofchange.comhttp://www.backyardgardener.com/veghttp://www.thegardenhelper.com/vegetables.htmlhttp://www.localharvest.orghttp://www.leopold.iastate.eduhttp://guerrillagardening.org/http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20070712-bounds.htmlhttp://www.thegreenguide.comhttp://www.gardensalive.comhttp://www.extremelygreen.comhttp://www.purebarnyard.comhttp://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/projects_lawns.phphttp://www.epa.org/otaq/consumer/f96018.pdfhttp://www.crplastics.com/shapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15shapeimage_2_link_16shapeimage_2_link_17shapeimage_2_link_18shapeimage_2_link_19shapeimage_2_link_20shapeimage_2_link_21
By Jenn O’Brien
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