Make Your Southeast Garden Sustainable - Lowe's Creative Ideas

I am always looking for information about gardening here.  Even the difference between here and Vero Beach leaves me scratching my head sometimes, but totally different from Long Island, NY.  I am trying to slowly but surely get 'native' plants going and growing here.  I used to do better with containers but the ones I have, I've been trying to get into the ground.





Make Your Southeast Garden Sustainable - Lowe's Creative Ideas


We’d all like to have a more sustainable garden as long as it doesn’t require more time, energy, strength, or money. Here are some ways to make your sustainable garden an enduring one.

Tip 1: Water Wisdom

While I have the best intentions of installing an efficient drip-irrigation system, I haven’t gotten beyond a leaky pipe and a sprinkler. However, I learned a lot a few years ago when watering was restricted due to drought.

• My garden needs less water than I previously thought to survive and grow. I try to group drought-tolerant plants to create areas that seldom need water.
• Watering well once (or twice if the soil is sandy) each week is better than a little bit every day.
• Reducing the water pressure to the sprinkler increases the droplet size and reduces the mist that usually evaporates.
• Watering in the early morning means plants are ready for the heat of the day with minimal evaporation.

Tip 2: Lawn Insights

• Raise the cutting height in summer to prevent the lawn from drying out.
• Use a reel mower for exercise and freedom from noise, fumes, and trips to the gas station.
• Fertilize only enough to support healthy grass, not excessive growth.

Tip 3: Tool Rules

• Buy tools that fit your hands, your height, and your needs.
• Sharpen all blades, including shovels and hoes.
• Use the right tool for the task; for example, use loppers rather than hand shears for a limb larger than your thumb.
• Buy well-made tools for long-term savings and enjoyment.

Tip 4: Good Ideas

• If you have a tree removed, recycle the wood chips for garden paths.
• Compost the easy way by burying non-meat kitchen scraps in empty garden beds.

Tip 5: Go Native

• Often the diehard plants are those that are nature’s gift. Blue phlox reseeds itself in my garden.
• Look to nature for well-adapted plants in problem areas. In a dry bed, eared coreopsis, moss verbena, and bird’s foot violet bloom without care. In a wet zone, sweet bay magnolia, Virginia sweetspire, and swamp hibiscus are thriving.

Really, a sustainable garden is one that belongs to a smart gardener — one who wastes little and uses everything. Have you found ways to be a smart gardener?