An organic garden brings a vibrant and colourful touch to any eco home. But instead of just the run of the mill vegie patch out the back, having a garden professionally conceived by a landscape architect can add a unique aspect that highlights your own green passion.

“Landscape architecture is a combination of science and art,” says landscape architect Steve Batley from Sydney Organic Gardens. To Batley, the process of designing a sustainable garden for an eco home involves a world of creativity while employing good practical design that works with nature.

A well designed garden is a living ecosystem that encourages animals and people to interact with nature. Children love connecting with the earth and gardening is a great way to teach them to cherish the environment.

Here are some handy tips to consider for your own organic garden:

Eco Home Tip #12 – Save water – Use water wise plants that are native to the area. Water tanks are also great water saving devices.

Eco Home Tip # 13 – Organic smorgasbord – Mix in your vegies with native plants. Including edibles with native plants is “good for pest management,” says Batley.

Eco Home Tip #14 – Passive solar for the greens – consider passive solar principles in your garden. Make the most of sunnier areas for plants, while shady spots are great for benches and relaxing.

Eco Home Tip #15 – Farmer knows best – Farmers periodically rotate their crops to maximise the use of the soil. You can do the same in your vegie patch, try rotating your vegies through different parts of the garden to make the most of the nutrients in the soil.

Also, feast your eyes on my primitive, amateur lighting setup. Four compact fluorescent bulbs and a 200 watt incandescent, using only the bouncy white walls and bouncy white ceiling to diffuse. I’m like the MacGuyver of studio lighting, except I suck at it.

What difference can one homeowner make to the environment? Why, when big polluters are making “green” changes, do we need to change our daily living habits? The answer is simple… children! By making slight and easy changes in the way we look at, and treat Planet Earth today, future generations of children will have learned by example.

Teach the Children

My children love the outdoors, because I expose them to it. They also love computers, and I am sure if we exposed them to fast foods they would love that as well. It’s all about making good choices and being a good example. I’m not talking about wearing hemp clothing or eating granola all day long although there are those who do. You do not have to be that committed to be a part of the “Green Initiative”. For those who merely have a healthy respect for the world we live in and want to take action to help improve the environment, there are many simple changes that we can make, and teach our children to do the same.

Recycling

There is more to recycling than paper, plastic and bottles. Organic waste is one of the largest contributors to landfills which causes methane gas, the principle component of natural gas, is released into the atmosphere and is a contributing factor in the depletion of the ozone layer, which in turn plays a major part in global warming. Organic waste such as leaves, grass clippings, and non-animal food scraps do not decompose efficiently enough in landfills yet makes the best compost for your vegetable garden, flowers, trees and shrubs.

Composting is Easy

Composting can also be fun, especially if you enjoy gardening, and is even more rewarding when you think about the thousands of acres of open space being saved through the very simple practice of recycling and composting. All good gardeners know that there is nothing better for your plants and turf than good old fashioned hand made compost. There are many different types of composters on the market today that make the task of composting very easy and will protect against attracting stray or wild animals. You can even quicken the process of making compost by using safe and organic composting accelerators giving you compost within a few weeks.

Use Organic Products

Using organic fertilizers and control products also cuts down on soil, air and ground water pollution. Sure it’s easy to buy a bag of name brand fertilizer or pesticide; however it is just as easy to find organic products now more than ever. In fact, it is also just as cheap. The larger name brand companies are beginning to put out their own lines of organic gardening products, so be sure to keep an eye out.

Getting Rid of Insects

Rather than spraying for insects which would be both timely and costly, install a bat box or two in your trees and let them take care of the bugs for you! Adding ladybugs or praying mantis to your garden is much more fun than spraying weekly for bugs. If you live in a rural area and zoning allows for livestock, chickens are an amazing bug control. Yes, just a couple of chickens running loose in your yard will eat up to 1 million fleas and ticks daily.

Conserving Water

Where droughts are prevalent each year conserving water is a must. Watering your yard can account for up to 40% of water consumption. Catching rainwater with rain barrels to water your yard or garden is just as easy as dragging out your hose and will save you a substantial amount of money on your water bill. One 80 gallon rain barrel can capture 3,275 gallons of water per year and you’ll be putting the water back into the underground aquifer. Not routing rainwater from your roof to your garden will only serve to tax drainage systems rather than benefit vegetation or replenish natural, underground aquifers.

Most rain barrels are made from either 100% recycled plastic or reused food industry barrels, so either way you will also be putting renewable resources to good use and your plants and flowers will thank you for it.

Plant a Tree

Every tree planted helps remove CO2 from our atmosphere, depletion of the ozone layer. There are many other benefits to growing trees in your own yard or community for that matter. They provide homes and a safe haven for the many wild animals that still reside among us. Mature trees help shade our home from the sun, cutting down on energy consumption when using air conditioning. One of the more proactive and well established non-profit organizations is the Arbor Day Foundation which encourages the planting and care of trees worldwide.

Pervious Patios and Walkways

For every 1,000 square feet of pervious patio, driveways or walkways, you can prevent an average of 12,100 gallons of storm water runoff from going into your communities drain system. This same water will help to recharge our lakes, wetlands and groundwater.

Green Up the Inside of Your Home

Green Living not only pertains to what affects us outside, but on the inside of the home as well.

We can reduce waste going into landfills by composting our table scraps. We can save precious trees by using toilet paper made from recycled paper, and to stop using napkins and paper towels all together. An average household can save up to 0.00 per year by not buying paper towels and napkins. How do you go without them? Use cloth napkins that can be washed. And for wiping up spills and cleaning, there is nothing better to use than cloth rags.

Changing out your old traditional light bulbs for the energy saving type is an easy switch. Not only do they last longer, they run on less energy, which saves you money and the world precious resources. Wrapping your hot water heater, insulating your electrical outlets, and sealing leaky windows can also save lots of energy. Then there are the really simple changes one can make such as, turning off the lights when you are not in the room, keep the heat turned back to 68 degrees or below, only use the air conditioning when necessary, washing your clothes in cold water and only when you have a full load and that goes for the dishwasher too. You can save and cool your boiled cooking or bath water to water your houseplants. The list could go on and on…

Make a List

There are many changes that you can to help improve our environment. Gather everyone in your household and discuss how your family can contribute to the health of the world we live in. Children are the most receptive to new ideas and will have a lot of fun making their own top ten lists. By our making good choices today, our children will make even better choices tomorrow.

Shopping online provides consumers with lots of choices as well as the ability to research products and compare prices without ever leaving home. Due to its efficient & cost-effective nature, online shopping has quickly become associated with the movement to go “green”.  Now that this movement is gaining more worldwide attention, consumers are now turning to online shopping as a greener alternative to traditional storefront shopping.

A 2010 study conducted by the Green Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University suggested that online purchases can result in 35 percent less energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions than traditional shopping.  Storefronts require massive amounts of energy in their daily operations for functions such as lighting and electronic registers.  Many online retailers, especially the smaller variety, do not have the need to expend nearly as many resources.

The online shopping process is easier on the environment overall.  Products sold through traditional retailers often have to pass through multiple distribution centers before being delivered to stores.  More trips mean more CO2 emissions and resource consumption.  Online retailers help streamline the delivery process from A to B, so less is wasted.  When deciding whether to buy online or make a trip to the mall, consider this: an average trip to the mall produces 4,274 g of carbon dioxide, while a typical van-based delivery creates about 180 g (which makes online shopping approximately 24 times greener!).

Online buying has traditionally been associated with excess packaging, but that is quickly changing.  In response to a demand for greener packaging, many retailers are developing more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to package and deliver online goods.  From using recyclable and nontoxic materials to package goods, to making an effort to customizing packaging to fit the product being delivered, online retailers are taking extra steps to deliver products in more environmentally friendly ways.

Buying online is the perfect option for anyone interested in saving time and money while also doing something good for the environment.  Today’s online retailers fill a variety of niches from beauty products to cutting-edge fashion.  One great example of an online retailer that allows shoppers to have a green shopping experience is Peacock Plume, an Austin women’s clothing boutique based in Austin, TX.

Want to go green but not quite ready to install solar panels? Try this tomorrow, wake up ten minutes earlier and run through this eco checklist. Just for one day make “green” your morning routine.

See the light – in the morning, open up your curtains and let in the natural light. It’s healthy and much more eco friendly than switching on lamps.

Turn the tap off while you brush your teeth – there’s no need to have the water running while you brush. Use a cup to rinse instead of running the water.

Ditch the electric toothbrush – since when did moving your arm back and forth require too much effort?

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Use a bucket to collect warm up shower water – while you wait for the water to warm up, you can use a bucket to collect the “grey water” from your shower and use it to water your plants and garden.

Have breakfast at home – instead of getting “take away” which often involves excessive packaging, buy your breakfast foods in bulk. If you are in a hurry, grab something to go in a re-usable container. (While you’re at it why not pack something up for lunch as well?) Turn off your power points – NOW is the time to do it! Check the lights, kitchen appliances, entertainment systems, computers, microwave – everything you don’t need running while you’re at work! Eco your commute – just today, try public transport, cycle or just walk. You might find you’ll enjoy it! If you have to drive, try and arrange a car pool just for today, it will help you save on petrol and parking too! Morning coffee – bring a mug down to the café, or if your work has the facilities (and to save some $ $ ) make your own.

Congratulations! You’ve just run through a more eco friendly morning routine. (That wasn’t so hard was it?)

Living a more eco friendly lifestyle starts with small behavioral change. Now that you’ve done it once, can you do it again tomorrow?

Theres no question that consumers are starting to pay attention to eco-friendly companies. With the threats of global warming, over-filled landfills, water shortages, and many other environmental concerns looming on the horizon, some businesses that want to make a difference in the world and attract a large amount of consumer goodwill are choosing to go green.

There are plenty of reasons to consider environmental factors when planning for your next exhibit. If your industry is not traditionally linked with environmental movements, having a green exhibit is a great way to stand out from the crowd. Add to that the fact that you’re doing your part to make the world a better place, and you’ll feel less guilty for blowing your competition out of the water. Here are ten tips for going green at your next exhibit.

Building a booth? Use eco-friendly materials. If you’re building a custom booth this year, you have several options for greener materials. First, try to avoid wood. The earths forests are nearly 80% depleted, and thats bad news for our atmosphere. Trees breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen so they may be our first line of defense against global warming. Leave a few trees standing by choosing another material to build your booth.

One more eco-friendly choice is recycled metal. While this may not seem like the most biodegradable choice, it’s much better than using non-recycled metals. For example, the process of recycling aluminum takes about 95% less energy than it does to create new aluminum from ore. Recycling steel uses about 60% less energy than making it from scratch.

Another option is wood/plastic composite. This building material is made up of sawdust from lumber and furniture companies mixed with fragments of plastic trash, such as soda bottles and garbage bags. There are many different brands, and the wood comes in colors ranging from deep ambers to espresso browns—as beautiful as natural wood, without the environmental price tag.

Consider your paints. Oil and latex-based paints are toxic to the environment they contain poisonous chemicals that can’t be removed at a treatment plant. Leftover paint is often poured down the drain, and it gets into oceans and waterways. It also leaches from painted items in landfills, further damaging the environment. Even worse, VOC s volatile organic chemicals, such as cyanide in paint evaporate at room temperature, contributing to global warming while coating your booth.

Instead of traditional paints, look for non-VOC paints made by big-name paint manufacturers such as Sherman Williams and Behr. Other eco-friendly paints are made from talcum powder, clay, and chalk.

Get green giveaways. When looking for a good giveaway item, choose with an eye toward minimizing trash. Avoid items that come in plastic packaging. Avoid plastic altogether, in fact, unless its recycled. Good ideas include cotton or hemp tote bags, food in recycled-paper wrapping instead of plastic, recycled plastic Frisbees, pens and other items, and ceramic mugs. Stay away from plastic bags, wood, and non-recycled materials.

Use energy-efficient lighting. Incandescent light bulbs are notoriously inefficient. They emit only 10% of the energy they use as light. The rest is given off as heat which is why these bulbs can catch your lampshade on fire if youre not careful. Instead, use fluorescent bulbs. These are much more energy efficient.

Use recycled paper. There are a lot of paper products involved in a typical exhibit: business cards, signs and displays, brochures and promotional materials. Why not use recycled paper? While most people think of rough, textured and off-white paper when it comes to buying recycled, there are many companies that make smooth, bright-white papers that are comparable to virgin papers.

Consider green printing. Some inks can be as toxic as paint. You can go green with your printing by choosing a green printer. Not all are created equally; their commitment to green printing can range from using energy-efficient operating procedures to printing with soy-based inks on recycled papers. Be sure to shop around when looking for eco-friendly printers.

Talk to your vendor. Some booth vendors are more eco-friendly than others. Some may operate under environmentally mindful conditions using alternative energy and energy-efficient practices, for example while others may have pre-fabricated booths built from eco-friendly materials. Be sure to ask your vendor for more advice on how you can create a green display for your next exhibit.

Going green doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. While you may have to buy a custom booth to go green, recycled and eco-friendly materials sometimes cost less than their non-recycled alternatives. Talk to your vendor, research your options, and take your time in designing an approach to green exhibiting that works for your company. No matter how far you go with it from using recycled papers to building an entire booth from eco-friendly materials you’ll be making a positive contribution.

Let’s face it many Americans want to be more green in their daily living, but don’t know where to start. A lot of the most publicized eco friendly changes are often times quite costly. I know because I was one of those Americans. So I have put together 7 simple ways to go green without spending a day.

1. Turn things off – Sounds so simple, yet rarely done. You can save energy by simply flipping a switch. Try this for 30 days, start turning off appliances, lights, etc. when not in use and develop a new energy saving habit.Skip the Heated Dry Cycle on you Dishwasher – Allow your dishes to air dry right inside the dishwasher. Some may argue that washing dishes by hand is more energy efficient, but as it turns out using an Energy Star dishwasher is actually more energy efficient and more water-wise then washing dishes by hand.Take Shorter Showers – When showering, particularly log showers you are using several gallons of water.

Obviously shorter showers use less than log luxurious showers. Even baths in a shallow tub is more efficient because you’re using a fixed amount of water.Donate Your Old Magazines – Magazines can be recycled in curbside bins, but why not donate them to libraries, hospitals or doctor offices. You can even use them as wrapping paper.Clean your Refrigerator Coils – If your refrigerator has coils on the back, once or twice a year you’ll need to turn your refrigerator off and to clean those coils. Cleaning those coils enables your refrigerator to operate more efficiently.Put On a Sweater – Finding an optimal temperature is a challenge in itself, but reducing the thermostat a few degrees can reduce use as well as raising your temperature when cooling. Wash Full Loads of Clothes in Cold Water – Most detergents work well with cold water have have specific detergents designed to work in cold water. Even if you wash with warm water, you’re saving more energy then if you were washing in hot water. Lastly, only wash full loads.

So there you have it, these few tips for environmentally friendly living can be done by anyone that wants to make a positive change for the environment. These small changes can make a big impact on the environment and impact the environment greatly.