More Eco-Friendly Suggestions for Your Greenspaces

Coincidentally two of my daily reads have come up with some excellent suggestions for making your backyard (or balcony or little patch of community garden) a more eco-friendly place.

First, I only happened to look down to see who wrote the lovely article in Whole Life Times entitled "Love the Landscape, Lose the Lawn: Eco-Friendly Ideas for Your Yard" and lo! it was our very own Virginian, Jenny Rough. She offers up five steps to a greener yard (and by the way, she writes, the average American household allots 60 percent of the total water use to lawn-care) which include going native (plants), eating your estate (turn your grass into vegetable gardens), keeping the rain (coincidentally, my husband has just done what Jenny suggests. We have kept a patch of grass close to our storm drain unmowed to collect runoff), swapping your shingles (rooftop gardens), and giving a hoot (okay, if you don't know what that refers to you just didn't grow up in the 70s). She also provides some great sites for more browsing. Great job, Jenny and congratulations.

Moving right along, the wonderful SusieJ as posted a tip for keeping those grody rose diseases from decimating your crop (Is that how you spell grody? Am I dating myself? Calling all Valley Girls! Like, Omigod, when was the last time you thought about Valley Girls?) The Magic of Chives. Who knew! Thanks for the suggestion, SusieJ. We (er...my husband) is going to have to try that. We wouldn't want anything taking over this beautiful thing...

The Greeness of Gardens

There is something about a garden - English gardens, schoolyard gardens, sunflowers-in-an-abandoned-lot gardens, balcony gardens, windowsill gardens - that makes you slow down, lets you breathe in and out, manages to find a way to challenge all your senses. They can also be a lot of work and my husband has created a number of beautiful gardens on our own quarter acre. My Aunt Miriam was a true garden-clubber and she was always very generous with advice and clippings. She and Green Nana found much to talk about. I regret that she died before I could really appreciate her gift for green. She was never a soldier in the miltary sense, but her husband, my Uncle Paul, was, serving in the Pacific during World War II. So today on Memorial Day I think it is appropriate to remember both of them. Here are some pictures for you, Aunt Miriam. I know you would enjoy them.

Building a Better Minivan - The Hybrid Affair

Okay, minivan fans. Diane at Big Green Purse has posted a nice summary about Toyota's attempt to build the perfect hybrid minivan, and she notes, there is a petition to be signed...by May 28th! So if you would like Toyota to bring the minivan to the United States instead of sending it to the big test drive in the sky, let know, by signing The Union of Concerned Scientists petition at their Hybrid Center website.

What's My Line - The Continental Version

Just hung my laundry for the day and though it is pretty seeing my floral sheets in the sunshine, somehow even underwear look better when they're line drying in...Venice.

Here is a beautiful image of laundry drying in Venice, used with permission of the photographer, Green Gramps.



Holly Pedlosky has some lovely images of Venetian laundry. Grazie, Holly!

Have you captured any line drying? Venice or otherwise? I'd love to see them and I will post them here.

We Interrupt This Blog

for a special announcement.

Today I received my electric bill in the mail.

My electric bill was $22.00 lower than last month, and we used the least amount of kWhs since October 2006.

If that's not inspiration enough to bow down to my CFLs and line dry 50% of my laundry, I don't know what is...

Think of all the fair trade lattes I can buy with that money!!

We now return to our regularly schedule blog, already in progress.