Saturday, May 22, 2010

I Want to be an Eco-Gardener

I've been reading about how to design home gardens for years, and slowly, I'm learning the most basic tricks of the trade.  My biggest goal is to create a garden that grows plants native to Ontario.  My research tells me that doing so helps by way of...
-  controlling the spread of pests
-  helping conserve native wildlife and insects
-  reducing water usage because native plants only need as much as it rains
-  easing the work involved in maintenance
-  all of the above means I would save $ and workload. 

My Immediate Goals:
- filling in my flowerbed and borders with native plants, as well as other plants that look nice
- use plants that help keep pollinators alive, such as bees
- use plants that gypsy moths don't like

My Future Goals:
-  plant a tree in the front yard to create a shade over the house during the hot summer months
-  build a separator between my backyard patio and my neighbor's using a trellis
-  grow a beautiful rose garden
-  grow a practical herb garden that I can maintain indoors over the winter months

Some helpful links:
http://www.plantnative.org/how_intro.htm
http://ontariowildflowers.com/index.php
http://www.canadiangardening.com/how-to/wildlife/save-the-bees-how-to-attract-pollinators-to-your-yard/a/21340
http://www.toronto.ca/greentoronto/greengroups
http://www.cloca.com/index.php

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