by Pam Roy, CPH
Planscapes / pnw135@verizon.net
Our gardens are an important part of the ecosystem. What we do in our home gardens greatly impacts the environment. Here are some ways you can put sustainable practices to work in your own garden and contribute to the greener good.
1. Plant the right plant in the right place. Choose plants that will thrive in the various conditions of sun/shade, dry or wet soil, and hardiness ratings for the different microclimates in your yard. Select plants that will not outgrow the area they have.
2. Practice water conservation. Use drought tolerant plants. Group plants according to water use needs. Water in the early morning hours when less water will be lost to evaporation... If you have an automatic sprinkler system, invest in a rain sensor that automatically prevents the system from coming on during rain. Don’t overwater—if your lawn is going "squish, squish" when you walk across it, it’s getting too much water. Monitor amount of water the lawn is getting with a raingauge set out in the yard, or by putting some empty tin cans around and measuring the amount of water they collect. One inch of water per week is enough. Let the lawn be off color in August, knowing it will green up once the fall rains commence.
3. Eliminate or reduce the amount of lawn area in your yard. If you have a lawn, adopt lawn care practices that will minimize harmful impacts. Mow with an electric mulching mower, or better yet skip driving to the gym for your workout and mow with a push mower. Keep the lawn at a consistent height of one and a half to two inches .Stay away from products like weed and feed which can leach harmful chemicals into the storm water system. Use organic slow release fertilizers that have a balanced 3:1:2 ratio of nutrients. Avoid overfertilizing with high nitrogen fertilizers.
4. Build healthy soil for your plants by incorporating composted organic material into soils as needed. Think of the soil in your garden as a living entity and encourage microbial activity to help develop a healthy growing medium for your plants. Apply 2" of composted mulch to planting beds or 3-4" of aged wood chips to larger areas after planting to suppress weed growth, conserve moisture and insulate plant roots.
5. Use native plants. Many of our native plants are drought tolerant, offer year round color and interest, and provide nutrition for birds, butterflies and bees. Look into getting your yard certified as a back yard wildlife habitat (www.nwf./backyardwildlifehabitat)
6. Install rain barrels or some other type of on site water catchment system to reuse storm water on site. Plan a rain garden or bioswale to slow down and filter storm water runoff.
Take the "greener good" challenge and incorporate at least one of the above into your landscape this year.
Consultations are available to help implement the above with an award winning landscape designer/certified professional horticulturist with 30 years experience.
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