Check out these simple, straight-forward tips for converting your landscape into a haven for clients, passersby, and wildlife.

Using organic landscaping techniques can save you money because your outdoor space is a prime location for showing off your commitment to developing a green building that is not only better for the environment but also healthier for humans and animals alike. Developing a stunning yet beautiful landscape will be more attractive , require less maintenance, and save you money from year to year.

Here are six easy to implement tips for you to apply in your next project:

1. Choose the right plants:
Choosing plants for their beauty is one way to build a pleasing landscape design, but failing to also examine their maintenance requirements will cost you money and increase time spent on caring for them. Drought tolerant plants are a good bet for any climate, but those that are considered native to your area are even better. Since they grow naturally without any human intervention, they will require little more than the rain that falls naturally, and wont need much if anything in the way of soil amendments.

2. Compost:
Adding compost (a mix of decomposed organic matter) contributes beneficial nutrients, minerals, and organisms, increases water retention, improves soil structure, and prevents soil erosion. Together these benefits mean you will require less watering, few (if any) fertilizer applications, and less work. If you make your own compost, you will have a ready supply that is local and inexpensive.

3. Mulch:
Composed of bark or wood chips, shredded leaves and branches, straw and hay, or rocks and gravel, mulch will help to prevent weed growth, reduce evaporation and water loss, and add to a pleasing visual landscape. Again, the benefits include lower maintenance requirements, lower irrigation costs, and reduced need for pesticides.

4. Organic amendments:
This group of materials includes lime, organic fertilizers (made without synthetic chemicals), and manures (both animal and non-animal), which will improve soil acidity as well as mineral and nutrient content. These products are made from readily-available, renewable, non-petroleum-based materials, are healthier for plants, animals, insects, and humans, and can often be less expensive than conventional products.

5. Use integrated pest management:
If you have done your homework and designed an efficient, natural landscape you wont suffer from as many pests as comparable, conventionally-designed outdoor spaces. However, when you do require pest management, choose integrated pest management (I.P.M.) which relies on a whole-systems approach that looks at the relationship shared between pests and their environment. It substitutes harmful chemicals for safe, complementary control methods. Effective (I.P.M.) involves many aspects, but can include two important factors: prevention and removal. By removing features that attract pests, adding physical barriers, and employing humane, mechanical methods for removing pests, you will cut pesticide and herbicide costs while making your space less toxic and more enjoyable for all who dwell in it.

6. Practice intelligent landscaping:
Taking water conservation to the next level by considering the whole system in terms of water use. It means (among other things) grouping plants together by similar water needs so that those that require a lot of water are together, and those that can survive in more desert-like conditions are in a different area. A smart landscape design will lower water consumption, reduce plant deaths, and increase the overall beauty of your space.

Toxic, potent chemicals may be a great short-term solution to your landscaping improvement requirements, but they are no good for the earth or the health of those enjoying your outdoor space (including local wildlife). So green up your green space, the planet will thank you.

I’m Nestor Santtia, and I have 23 years of experience in homes and green building. I’m a Certified Green Building Professional and a member of the U.S.G.B. Council. Learn how to improve the health and safety of your family on my website

www.freeecoguide.com,
www.howtobecomeanecorealtor.com, and in Spanish at href=http://www.ecoguiagratis.com>www.ecoguiagratis.com