How to green your landscaping

“To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.” Jane Austen
I perfectly agree with Ms. Austen! 
Here are some helpful suggestions for greening your landscaping:
1. Landscaping with native wildflowers and grasses improves the overall functioning of the ecosystem. Because they are naturally suited to the environment once established, native plants generally do not need fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides or even supplemental watering, thus benefiting the environment by reducing costly maintenance and increasing biodiversity. This is a great native plant nursery finder.
2. Planting the right tree in the right place can be an energy saving measure. Properly placed, trees can afford protection from wind, as well as shading and cooling the air around your home. They also add beauty, privacy, and wildlife habitat to the landscape.
When choosing trees and shrubs it is also really important to consider seasonal allergies. For instance the overwhelming planting of Male trees and shrubs is very problematic since they produce such large amounts of pollen and may be partially responsible for the sharp rise in asthma. Unfortunately, plant breeders and propagators discovered how to manipulate nature by using only male cultivars, for the purpose of creating “litter-free” landscapes.
Female trees and shrubs, which on the other hand, produce seeds rather than pollen and are a far, better choice. The trade off is that Female plants may produce large amounts of seed pods, berries or fruit that will require some cleanup.
Personally I'd rather rake than sneeze!

3. Do Xeriscape gardening. The word xeriscaping was coined by combining xeros (Greek for "dry") with landscape by definition it is gardening with plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate. Lavender, juniper, sedum, and thyme are commonly used in xeriscaping. One obvious advantage is lower water consumption which leaves more water available for other uses.  
4. You could decrease the size of your lawn and convert to an eco-friendly lawn mower. Little or no lawn mowing--which saves gas--leaves space for increased habitat for native bees, butterflies, and other fauna.
5. Use a rainbarrel to save roof runoff and install a drip irrigation system for watering.
6. Compost, compost, compost!
 Happy Gardening and I'll see you over the fence!

(Photo credit:

ria and her eye from SuperEco group on flickr)