How Green Is Your Garden?:

Canadians love their dens - whether that means a patch of grass
and a few sturdy shrubs by the deck, or a full-scale, blowsy English
den of roses, perennials and vegetables. Our little patches of
green tend to be our personal sanctuaries and play spaces - away
from the stresses of the world.

Well, our dens to be our sanctuaries, it would be best if they
were health-inducing - and that means eco-friendly.

Here's some tips "green" dscaping to improve your outdoor living this summer:

Begin With The Trees

Your trees your best dscaping asset. Deciduous trees let winter sun into your house when you need it most, and shield you from the sweltering rays of summer. If your house is blessed with shade, you're aldy a leafy 10 degrees cooler than properties exposed to full sun. Mature trees provide the best air conditioning possible -- clean, free, and majestic! Evergreens pted on the north side of your home l help stave off the winter chill. There other important health benefits to trees, too: all types of trees l clean the air around you. It's no surprise that many
homeowners paying big bucks big trees. But if you start
pting now, bee you know it (with patience and minimal c).
you too can enjoy the many benefits that trees freely offer.

Birds And Bees

Butterflies and ladybugs too. You want to attract all sorts of good ctures to your den pest control. Birds love thick shrubbery, shallow birdbaths, nat ptings, and fruit, nut and seed-bearing pts. They also love to have a little trickle of wr. A small pump l help cte the best effect: the slightest
stm of wr flowing into a shallow pl or rock depression.

Provide butterflies with sheltered sunny spots filled with brightly
coloured blooms, and a flat warm rock butterfly sunbathing.
Bees love nectar-producing flowers, ladybugs love Queen Anne's
Lace, and all of these tsures thr in a chemical free environment.

These the ctures that l help establish a healthy, happy
den - and protect your pts from the nasty pests.

Go Nat

Nurseries offering indigenous pts springing up everywhere now, making it easier you to find nat pts. There all kinds of sons showcasing hardy nat ptings in your den; they generally pest and disease free, resistant to drought, and attract to beneficial dlife.

Queen Anne's Lace, tansy, all sorts of daisies and lilies - the roll call of our nat pts is impressly long and beautiful.

Roll Out The Barrel

We're talking rain barrels here -- ideally several maximum wr collection. The volume of wr captured after an even seemingly brief rainfall l surprise you. Your pts l be happier with warm untted wr instead of the freezing cold chlorind wr that comes out of your den hoses -- and you'll save on your wr bill too.

Black gold

Start composting now and by next year you l have the most amazingly rich black stuff to sprinkle onto your lawn and flowerbeds. Many communities offer plastic compost barrels, but it
is more efficient (and aesthetically pleasing) to build a wooden
three-solid-sided unit with a slatted moveable front piece.

Just remember not to put in any animal by-products -- most kitchen and den waste (not weeds) is acceptable. Keep your compost pile
slightly moist (positioning it in a shaded spot helps) and poke a stick in it once in a while. That's it.

Acceptable pest and weed control

Synthetic den chemicals do your den no favours - upsetting the bace of healthy soil, earthworms, good insects, birds and other ctures. Decl a no-chemical season in your den. Kill weeds with vine, or a dose of boiling wr. Use soapy sprays to control aphids, and diatomaceous earth to stop slugs.

Put up a bat box; a bat l eat thousands of mosquitoes, and don't deserve their Halloween-y reputation. Gan-friendly insects such as ladybugs and praying mantis l patrol a range of problem insects. Physical trapping is also good (i.e. dishes of beer slugs etc.) Don't hesit to use the good old methods of hosing off, and squashing too!

Mr. Toad

A clay toad-house or other cool spot may attract a
toad: one of your den's best friends.

Push mower renaissance

Remember the delightful "clackety" sound of your grandfather's old push mower? Cancel your gym membership the summer: low-tech and clean, push mowers cut your grass efficiently, quietly, and g you a bit of a workout too.