“Ecologically sound land management, environmentally sustainable landscaping” and “organic gardening” are just a few of the new buzz phrases in the green industry and for good reason. With the trend for a cleaner environment, and with spring ready to burst at the bud, now would be a great time to work more environmentally friendly garden practices into your property. Here area a few tips to get you started in the right direction.

Let’s start with the lawn. If possible, cut down the size of the lawn. For instance, if you’re mowing five acres break it down to two and turn the rest into a meadow. You’ll save money, gas and time and you will be doing your part in making your property more wild life friendly. When mowing, you should raise the height of the mower blades from two inches to four inches; it’s healthier for the lawn. This practice will shade out many broad leaf weeds and help the lawn tolerate dry, hot summers, which seem to be a trend. Stay away from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that can pollute and cause adverse health effects.

Compost your garden beds with a local composted leaf, bark and root mulch. This combination will add body to the soil. The slow decomposition will keep the plants healthy and the garden will not require heavy watering, fertilizing and keep weeds at bay.

Now is the time to take an inventory of plants that need to be replaced or added to the landscape. Take a good hard look at and try to determine why certain plants have died or have weakened. Replace with native plants that have adapted to this particular environment. The right plant in the proper location can give generations of enjoyment.

Non-native and exotic species of plants require more care and are far more susceptible to insect and disease infestation. Native plants on the other hand, having evolved in the very environment in which we may plant them, are often able to fight both disease and insects naturally. What this means to the environmentally friendly gardener is less dependence on synthetic fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides, all of which can have negative short and long term impacts on the environment and our health.

What a perfect time of year to rethink our garden practices and methods to incorporate a more environmentally friendly approach on our property. Working with nature and the process of learning and understanding her rhythms through observation will create a cleaner, healthier backyard environment.

This article will be printed in the March 08'-April 08' issue of Dutchess Magazine.