Currently browsing Lawn and Garden

I want my child to connect with nature, but how can a suburban park be designed to both protect visitors from Lyme disease–carrying ticks and restore the natural ecosystem?
—Lena Crandall, Scarsdale, NY
The funny thing about wildlife (even the kind that finds its way into parks and playgrounds in developed areas) is that it’s wild and [...]

Since I write this column for Audubon Magazine, I thought I would share my (laboriously researched) advice with Eco Chick readers.

In considering the hidden costs that come with shipping fruit—trucking it around the globe in refrigerated containers—I’m wondering whether it’s more energy efficient to eat dried fruit?
—Justin Van Kleeck, Charlottesville, VA
This is indeed a [...]

These cool rugs, called Mad mats, are not only made from recycled plastic, they are inexpensive too! And since they’re made from plastic, you can use them on your patio, porch, or deck, or in the garden, or even in a kids’ room (or college dorm). To clean, just hose off!

Ever embarked on a home project, but didn’t have the tools needed or the money/space to buy and store them? Like most renters, buying a huge stash of tools isn’t feasible for me anytime soon. That’s why there are resources like the Berkeley tool library. One of the first libraries to lend hardware to local [...]

I’ve been enjoying the well-written and funny-as-hell GardenRant blog of late, and Susan Harris, who runs the site jointly with two other women, is guest-posting about why she wanted to start a blog that focuses on ecologically intelligent gardening. Check it out!
Why Gardening Matters 
by Susan Harris of GardenRant
When uppity women come together to create a [...]

 
The butterflies are migrating! I have noticed the delicate orange wonders flit joyfully through my neighborhood from one purple butterfly bush to the next for about 2 weeks now. They float along the sidewalks, the Potomac, and through our backyards. Today I counted about 13 of them float by my office window. The butterfly migration marks the end of [...]

A Very Green Kitchen
In my house growing up, no appliance or electronic gadget was bought until Consumer Reports was referenced (our local library had all the back issues and it was my job to find the right one). It seems like many of my friends’ families also had this allegiance to Consumer Reports, so [...]