Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. The old adage, what goes around comes around is especially true in your garden. Because plants aren t the only things living there, your garden should be a friendly place for children, pets and you. Blanketing it with petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers is not only toxic, it kills the friendly insects, bacteria and fungus that are essential to a healthy garden. Fortunately, there are a lot of great natural options, like iron phosphate pellets for slugs, citrus oil-based weed killer and Pyola spray for pest insects. Products like these use naturally occurring chemicals to solve common garden problems, and they re worth a closer look. Probably the best thing you can do for your garden is to add organic material to the soil with compost. Unlike chemical additives, nutrients in compost are available to plants as they need them, making it very difficult to use too much. What you plant is even more important than how you plant it. If it s native to your area, it ll probably do better in your garden and require far less water, fertilizer and hassle than something exotic. Rather than coddling a vast expanse of lawn, design areas with mulch, low groundcover plants or even a rock garden. You ll use far fewer chemicals that can leach into the soil and the water supply, and you won t have to work as hard all season! Another way to be green in the garden is to use non-polluting garden tools. Instead of cranking out exhaust with the rototiller or tractor, pick up a shovel or a hand mower and save yourself a trip to the gym. Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

In the last couple of weeks, the landscape on the front of the yard has been replaced. It used to be somewhat scruffy and sloped right to the sidewalk. A beautiful recycled stone curb has been installed along the front of the house and acts as a retaining wall. Bob talks with Ruth Foster, a landscape designer, and Nick Christy of Atlantic View Landscape Construction. A low-maintenance garden was put in place because this a busy household with two young children. The lawn was taken out because mowing lawns requires a lot of time. Pachysandra is being installed as ground cover because it does not require a lot of care. Pachysandra takes a year or two to develop but once it does, the ground will be completely covered. The pachysandra grows by sending out roots and sending up little plantlets. The plant requires no fertilization or watering. The front yard was filled in with eighteen inches of loam to reduce the slope to the curb and enrich the plant bed. A red Japanese maple that can grow to around 30 feet in height is at the center of the new yard. This tree will also need limbing in the future. Holly and rhododendron were also added to the front yard for low-maintenance bloom ing bushes. Daffodils and blue muscari were also put in, providing a blue and yellow accent in the spring.

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. What you grow in your yard can actually keep your air conditioning costs from growing out of control this summer. Most people know that planting a tree to shade your house is a great way to keep it cool. But contrary to what you d assume, the south-facing fa ade is not the best place for a tree. In winter, the south fa ade is the one that gathers the most heat, but that s not true in the summer. To prevent the most summer heat gain, plant trees to the east or west of the house to block low early and late-day sun. Deciduous trees work best in colder climates since they obligingly lose their leaves at the start of the heating season. Be sure not to plant trees where their roots could damage septic systems, water lines or your foundation. Plants have a kind of built-in air conditioning system called evapo-transpiration. Foundation and yard plantings can really lower your home s temperature if you keep shrubs a few feet away to allow air to circulate. And don t plant a row of them where they block the flow of air from cooler areas like valleys, ponds or woods. Vines on a trellis set a few feet from the house or on a pergola over the patio will also create shade and cool the air naturally. Vines grow faster than trees and are great for color and privacy as well. Replacing paved or bare areas in your yard with low ground covers can turn down the heat by 10 degrees. But before you plant groundcovers, shrubs or trees, find out which ones do best in your area. Hardy natives are more likely to thrive with less water and fertilizer. Work with nature rather than against it and stay cooler this summer! Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com