1. Choose wisely

I’m not talking here about the landscaping contractor or even the design contour (though these are important)—I’m talking about the plants themselves.  Ideally, all your plants, flowers and grasses will be native to the area.  Naturally, this practice is better for the local eco-system, contributing proper nutrients to the local wildlife and other plants, while being more likely to be self-sustaining and survive longer in the environment.  In addition, choosing native plants means that shipment is local, decreasing the footprint of your yard, in some cases, dramatically.

In many places, including most of California, this means choosing natural bushes and flowers, and fewer grasses.  This has the side-effect of less lawn mowing, and thus less carbon emission as a secondary effect of your yard.

2. Conserve

With the many existing water sources to water your yard, take as little of the municipal water as possible!  You have several options here, any of which can greatly reduce your water consumption, and even completely cover your garden’s water needs.  First off, there’s rainwater harvesting.  Many collection systems exist, harvesting roof run-off in particular, which is stored in barrels or containers, and then routed to the garden.  But that’s not the only way to harvest unused water!  In hot, humid areas, air-conditioner condensation can be collected and stored.  In summer months, this method can collect several gallons per day in a single-family home, plenty to put a dent in that water usage for the yard.  Finally, there is another method that, with an initial investment, could take care of the whole yard: grey water recycling.  This means taking the drainage water from things like the shower and kitchen sink, running it through a filtration system, and routing it to the back yard.  This water could not be used for potable water, but with filtration, can be perfectly healthy for your plants.  The system has more complicated installation, but the amount of water that could be re-used is enormous.

In addition, installation of drip irrigation systems, which enables more targeted water distribution, will help conserve water whether or not it’s been recycled.

3. Site placement

Make the best use of your yard or garden for the home, too!  Reduce wind by placing taller trees in the wind direction of the home.  Increase shade and temperature stability by placing deciduous (seasonal) trees to the south of the home (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere).  Make sure to consider how much sun each plant needs before deciding where it will, go, otherwise, you could waste water keeping it alive, or lose it for lack of sun.

A good landscaper will be well-versed in these site considerations, but it’s important for you to consider what you’re looking for so that you can bring the right goals to the table for planning and design.

4. Grow your own

…food!  If you have the time, having a vegetable garden is a wonderful way to reduce your personal footprint, and enjoy the fruits of your land!  Check what veggies grow best in your area, and create a plot.  Alternate seasonal vegetables for the best use of the soil.  Of course, whether you are growing food or flowers, keep a compost bin going, to create your own fertilizer.  Learn more about composting here.

Whether you’re doing a window garden or major landscaping project, there are tons of ways to make sure you’re choosing the most eco-friendly options.  If you need more ideas, check out the Landscaping Ideas page, and ask a question to the pros.

CalEarth

So imagine my glee when a newly-minted computer millionaire replete with ponytail, tie-dyed shirt and old pickup purchased an empty parcel right in the middle of The Estates and began to build a huge domed eco-compound that looked like a cross between a Zuni Indian village and Fred Flintstone’s house. As you can imagine, the reaction of the blue-bloods was to raise holy hell, sighting everything from zoning laws and real estate values to Satan worship.

But alas, it was too late; the main structures were up and occupied before the ink on the first petition was dry. Hippies, dogs, lowlanders like myself, and various other strays now had a “dome away from home” right in the middle of the well-heeled gentry, and my friends and I soon learned brand-new words like “organic gardening,” “tofu” and “Shiva.”

Build Your Own Eco-Dome

If you’ve always wanted to go off the grid and thumb your nose at society like my ponytailed guru, but you’ve been shackled with a conventional home and not much space to build, take heart, fellow traveler! Here’s a chance to scale down your counter-culture dream home and still piss off your neighbors by building a small, efficient, 400-square foot Eco-Dome on a relatively small patch of homestead. The kind folks at Cal-Earth even offer workshops and tutorials to teach you how to build your own eco-home.

Using a simple plan utilizing earth-filled “Superadobe” coils, you and three or four of your comrades can easily build a small main dome with four “niches” that can function as a small guest home or studio apartment.  Use the main dome as a living room and the niches as an entrance hall, kitchen and bathroom, or convert the whole structure into something the website calls a “Bed-womb,” which I’m not sure I want to know about.

Once built, you can leave as is, or make it the first step in a cluster design of connecting vaults and domes that could lead to a backyard commune, a divorce, banishment from the Homeowners Association or all of the above. But remember, take it slow, because to paraphrase the old adage…Dome wasn’t built in a day.

Behavior problems have been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals and mold.  At the same time, we see that ADD/ADHD rates in today’s schools are higher than ever.

Chemical and environmental sensitivities are known to cause all types of headaches.

Furthermore, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, lupus, circulatory disorders, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, depression, and hormonal problems are diseases commonly related to chemical exposure.

Now, given these facts, consider these statistics: A survey by the EPA showed that indoor air is 3 to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air. Imagine how much time we spend indoors–for some, it’s as much as 90% of their time!

The National Cancer Association concluded in a 15-year study that women who work in the home are at a 54% higher risk of developing cancer than women who work outside the home.

Unfortunately, a large part of indoor contamination comes from household cleaners and chemicals, including things like pants, adhesives and sealants, which off-gas at high rates.

When doing home renovation, it is absolutely paramount to select products that have been rated by third parties to minimize or be free of harmful chemicals.  Paying attention to these choices can mean the difference between a clean air environment and a potentially dangerous one.