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Recycle, It's the Natural Thing to Do.

We want to keep our earth clean and beautiful through every stage of gardening.  We also know that you live a busy life and need your gardening process to be convenient while still protecting the environment.  The tips below might be helpful to you as you plant and maintain your garden.

10 Easy Ways to Garden Green

 
Get rid of the grass and start planting. 
Landscaping and gardens provide many resources that the earth needs as well as return oxygen to the air.  In the continental United States, around 40 million acres of land is covered in lawns, resulting in the use of millions of pounds of pesticides and fertilizers.  By beautifying your yard through landscaping and gardening you can recycle natural resources and reduce the need for harmful toxins used in general lawn care.  This will be beneficial not only to the well being of your yard but also for your family’s health and wellness.

Go native. 
Return to the use of indigenous plants in your area.  Because these plants are already accustomed to the growing and climate conditions of your region, they will adapt much more easily, will require less fertilizer and water, and less effort in pest control.

 
Invite nature into your yard. 
By drawing bees and butterflies to you yard you can help the environment.  Bees and butterflies are essential to the pollinating process and increase the output of worldwide crops.  A pesticide-free garden is the most inviting environment for these necessary creatures.


Install WATERWISE. 
Watering accounts for 30 percent of suburban family water use.  Drip irrigators need half the water sprinklers do.  This product can be purchased directly on our website, www.provenwinners.com. Learn more about Waterwise.

 
Harvest rainwater. 
Keeping gardens and containers properly watered can be costly in terms of both money and resources.  You can harvest your rainwater to use by simply placing buckets at the bottom of your gutter drains and downspouts.

Make garden compost from garden scraps. 
When you are cooking and baking in your kitchen, set aside a bowl for scraps that can be placed in a compost pile in your yard.  These materials may include vegetable waste, fruit rinds, eggshells, and coffee grounds.  Then, transfer the contents to a compost bin in your yard.  This container can be as attractive as you would like it to be, such as an old whiskey barrel or wheelbarrow.  Just mix and turn the contents every so often and in a matter of time a nice compost pile will form that can be used for organically fertilizing your garden.

 
Reuse. 
If your yard acquires any waste such as tree limbs that cannot be recycled into compost, be creative in your means of disposal.  Tree limbs can be trimmed down and reused for wreaths, plant stakes in your vegetable gardens, or even decorative trellises to enhance your outdoor living.  P. Allen Smith offers many useful ideas both on his website, pallensmith.com, and in his latest gardening book, Living in the Garden Home.

 
Mulch.
Mulch around your plants and trees to retain water in the soil.  We recommend using mushroom compost or other natural mulch materials that have been neither dyed nor treated.

Recycle. 
The Proven Winners tags, trays, and containers that your plants are sold in are made of recycled material and can be recycled again once you are finished with them.  Look for the recycle number on the bottom of the plastic or check with your local garden center for their preferred method of disposing of these materials. Call your county's Department of Public Works or recycling center to determine what type of plastic to recycle and where to take it,  call 1-800-CLEANUP for state recycling information or go to Earth 911’s recycling locator.

Take part in a small way.
If you are not an avid gardener and do not have the time and energy to spend on an entire garden, you can still do your part by maintaining a green entryway or planting one small area with your favorite Proven Winners annuals, perennials or flowering shurbs.