Eco Travel - Choosing a Green Hotel
The idea of greener vacations is becoming more and more possible these days and thanks to growing awareness and concern for the environment, it is also becoming very popular. Hotel visits are one of the easier more obvious ways to “green” your vacation. Here are several simple things you might want to consider to help make your hotel stay a little more earth friendly. More »
Shop Green
Shopping for eco-friendly items? Visit our directory of green online retailers. More »
Our Story and Why We Eat to Fight Cancer- Part 1: Berries
This is the first in a series of posts on eating to fight cancer, a topic that is very close to our family’s heart. We will be featuring ten foods that have cancer fighting properties with an explanation of what those properties are and a favourite recipe of ours that includes cancer fighting ingredients. More »
Homemade Bird Food
n some parts of North America there is a shortage of fruit and nuts during the winter months. This means a lot of wild birds will be very hungry this time of year. You can help feed them. Save money by eliminating store bought bird feed and decrease your waste by using kitchen scraps to make homemade bird feed. More »
Raising a Child to be a Minimalist
There is a growing trend toward raising children in a minimalist, non-materialistic way. It is an uphill climb when you choose to raise your children in a frugal, non-consumerism sort of way, you are up against powerful advertising media and outside influences that you have no control over. More »
Conserve Water This Summer: Plant Drought-Resistant Gardens
A few weeks ago I watched the film Blue Gold: World Water Wars
The film got me thinking about what we can do at our house to lower the amount of water we use/waste. Living in the country and having to depend on our own little surface well, we are a little more conscious of the amount of water we use than most city dwellers who don’t worry about their well drying up. We learned the hard way, within the first week of making the move from city to country, that yes, wells do run dry sometimes.
Still we do waste water more often than I would like to admit. Every time I catch myself letting the water run a little longer than necessary to rinse something out or letting it run a minute or so to warm up, I find myself thinking about the children in Africa who don’t get to use that much water in a month or that a family there would have to give up their entire monthly income for less than half of the water that I just let run down the drain.
We all know the basic tricks for saving water; turning off the tap when you brush your teeth, taking shorter showers, dual flush toilets, using rain barrels to recycle water. All of these water saving ideas are great but then spring comes and suddenly water conservation gets tossed aside by the desire to have perfect green lawns and beautiful flower beds. If you’re recycling grey water to water your lawn and flowers then that’s fine but if you’re using fresh water then you might want to rethink your approach.
Many gardeners are switching to low-water or drought-resistant plants. These are plants that have adapted to surviving on very little water. They have the ability to store water in their leaves, or have narrow leaves that reduce the loss of water.
Choosing Low-Water and Drought Resistant Plants
In general, plants with hairy, succulent, or narrow leaves tend to need less water.
Some evergreens such as junipers and hemlocks can survive with a smaller amount of water.
If you live in a drought-prone area, you will find native plants to be a good choice. They have already adapted to the low-moisture conditions.
Specific Plants to Use in Low-Water Gardens.
(Consider your location when you look at this list, and see if there are any species that are native to your region. Also make sure that none of these are listed as invasive plants for your area.)
-Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)
-Thyme(Thymus vulgaris)
-Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum)
-Hen-and-chicks (Sempervivum tectorum)
-Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla)
-Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) (other Echinacea species are also low water-use)
- Dianthus
- Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum)
- Aromatic sumac (Rhus aromatica)
- Tall blazing star (Liatris aspera)
- Aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius) (Most species of aster are low water-use)
-Aloe(Aloe vera)
-Lavender(Lavandula angustifolia)
Additional Benefits to Planting a Drought Resistant Garden
- Native plants are generally considered best for low-water landscaping. Planting natives is much better for the environment, supporting the local ecosystem and habitat and not introducing potentially invasive species. Native drought-resistant plants are less prone to pests and diseases which cuts down on the uses of fungicides and pesticides.
- Many weeds require moist soil. Your drier garden soil will not be as attractive to weeds, cutting back on chemical weed-killers and gas-powered mowers and trimmers.
We already have several of the plants listed above in our garden and many more that aren’t. Our flower gardens never get watered, plants have to be tough to survive here (just ask my mother.) The only things that do get watered are the vegetables and the few flowers we have in planters. I’m ashamed to say that yes we do water them with tap water, something I’m working to remedy with a rain barrel outside and a bucket in all of our showers.
Blue Gold: World Water Wars is available at:
