Landscaping

First impressions are important for any home, & that can be especially true when building a Green Home, be it LEED certified, Passive House, ZNE or in the future a Net Positive Energy property. Modern high efficiency homes look even more beautiful surrounded by an oasis of carefully selected indigenous plant species, well adapted to their environment - especially if they also happen to be edible! Discover how to grow food in small spaces, how to avoid invasive species from taking over, revolutionary beekeeping & honey production techniques, which plants to grow in shade or dry conditions, and which will take a certain amount of neglect (or shall we say "Freedom?") - leaving homeowners the time to relax & enjoy their gardens. You're in the right place to learn all about Lanscaping and Food Production in an environmentally sensitive manner.

Landscaping

Which are the best bee-friendly & eco-friendly alternatives to grass lawns in backyards?

Ground covers & succulent plants offer an eco-friendly alternative to traditional high maintenance lawn, the bonus is, bees love them too. Alternatives to grass lawns - ground covers! North American backyards have one main point in common – Kentucky blue grass. But here we’re talking about ground covers and…

Landscaping

Is raking up dead leaves in fall a good or bad idea ?

A classic fall time activity - the habit of collecting fallen leaves has been called into question by many environmental experts. What are the advantages and disadvantages of raking up and disposing of dead leaves? Ecohome takes a closer look. Who hasn't played in a huge pile of fallen leaves, all raked up…

Landscaping

Urban farming turns beautiful gardens into a grocery store!

Sustainable home landscaping has permeable surfaces, doesn't require a lot of watering, and ideally incorporates rainwater collection. Urban farming means you can eat what grows there, and that's even better. How to grow vegetables & fruits in a garden Plants survived long before humans were around to water them, so…

Landscaping

Avoiding invasive species when landscaping

How to identify and choose plants that are native to your region. Invasive plants are defined as plants from other continents, countries or even other regions of Canada. Humans have been introducing foreign plants to new lands since the 17th century, for horticultural, agricultural or medicinal purposes. Due to a…

Landscaping

A guide to growing edible perennials.

Whether or not you're interested in edible landscape design, permascaping, or creating a food forest, this list of cold tolerant edible perennials is a great place to start. When beginning to think about permanent edible landscape design and forest gardening, taking in the general concepts of Permaculture can help…

Landscaping

Hydroponic bottle gardener launches kickstarter campaign

Canadian aims to make home-grown greens accessible all year round. More and more people are informing themselves on various forms of urban farming to counteract the heavy ecological footprint of industrial agriculture. However, there are very few options for the increasing number of people wishing to get involved…

Landscaping

How to make a keyhole raised garden, a DIY guide

How to get this drought-resistant efficient growing method working for you, a five step process. What is a keyhole garden? A keyhole garden is a circular raised garden bed with a compost basket at the center and a keyhole-shaped path that allows access to the entire garden. The compost basket can be fed throughout…