The ecologically aware can select native plants, analyze their soil, even take steps to protect local fish populations.

Yes, you read that last bit about the fish correctly.

“We actually have a whole program on salmon-safe gardening here in the Seattle area,” says Sarah Hayden Reichard, professor of conservation biology at the University of Washington and author of “The Conscientious Gardener: Cultivating a Garden Ethic” (University of California Press).

Phosphorus from garden fertilizers sinks into the soil and eventually flows out into waterways, causing excess plant growth, which eventually leads to depletion of oxygen in the water, she says.

“It’s an interconnected world, and when you do something in one place it affects things in other places, in ways that we can barely imagine,” says Reichard. She offers fresh ideas for green gardeners:

Pick the right plants: Native plants are great if you want to support local wildlife and give your yard an authentic sense of place but, Reichard cautions, some can be major water hogs and others may prove to be invasive. Just because a plant is native to your broad region, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s native to the precise area where you live. And regions and landscapes change over time, meaning that a plant that’s theoretically a great match may actually be a pest or a threat.

Gardeners can find good information on plants, native and invasive, at local botanic gardens and arboretums, as well as from local conservation groups.

Respect your soil: It isn’t always easy to love the soil you’ve got, but you’ll save resources and reduce waste. Accept that you may not be able to grow certain plants in wet or clay soils, and don’t feel that you’ve got to pump your soil up with large amounts of organic matter.

“You (generally) need 10 percent or less organic components – people think you need much more,” she says.

Go easy on fertilizer: “Fertilizers are among the worst polluting culprits – and it does not matter if they are from organic or synthetic sources,” she writes.

The elements nitrogen and phosphorus are good for garden plants, but they’re bad for fresh water, she writes. She suggests fertilizing most woody plants and herbaceous perennials sparingly. Mulching with well-aged manure, compost or other easily broken-down materials is sufficient.

Reichard uses fertilizer on her vegetables, roses and containers, but not on her lawn and shrubs. In the fall, she rakes leaves into beds and lets them decay over the winter, enriching her soil.

Use less water: “Water is a finite resource, and as the human population grows, we have less of it to go around,” Reichard says.

She suggests choosing plants that don’t require much water, reducing your lawn area and putting water-hogging plants only in areas that are naturally wet. You can also group plants with the same water needs, minimizing waste.

“It is generally best for plants if you water deeply and less often: usually about an inch of water, including precipitation, each week is enough,” she writes.

PEAT MOSS ALTERNATIVES

Peat moss holds moisture well and it’s popular among gardeners. Unfortunately, it’s harvested by draining and destroying peat bogs, some of which are centuries old, and that’s cause for concern, says Sarah Hayden Reichard. Many scientists believe that peat bogs, which hold vast amounts of carbon, can help prevent global warming.

Reichard suggests some peat alternatives, among them:

Coco peat, coir and coir dust, which are made from coconut fibers and offer peat-comparable water absorption and drainage. Buy coir labeled for horticultural use to avoid high salinity.

Compost, or decomposing organic matter (often leaves, grass, manure, bark or nutshells). Compost offers water absorption similar to peat’s and is generally higher in nutrients such as nitrogen.

BEST PART: Whether you’re an experienced gardener or a complete novice "Creating Your Own Authentic Japanese Garden" Will Give YOU Everything YOU need to Transform Your Own Backyard… you’re GUARANTEED of that!

“We found the informative content of your ebook, particularly beneficial for planning, designing and creating our very own authentic Japanese Garden. With your expertise and awesome mix of graphics and relevant easy to read information we are now planting good fortune, positive energy and living in harmony with nature. I absolutely loved the personal touch with Kanji interpretations.” “Thanks so much for your incredible ebook it was worth every cent…”

Have you ever wanted to create your very own authentic Japanese Garden at home but just don’t know where to start? Sure you have a vision of what you want it to look like but just don’t have the “how to’s”? If so, this is going to be one of the most exciting letters you have ever read.

My name is Jayne Parr and for as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by Japanese Gardens and dreamed of creating one right in my own back yard! I have long dreamt of creating that tranquil haven surrounding my home. I often imagined walking through my very own Zen garden, feeling the peace and serentiy I longed for. My busy life seemed so rushed and hurried I was losing the ability to find that special time and space to just be.

Then one day I decided enough was enough, I wanted to make my dream come true. Much to my dismay, this…

100’s Of Wonderfully Frugal, Eco-Friendly and Highly Resourceful Ideas, Techniques and Tricks with Detailed Instructions for Just About Everything Having to Do with Gardening

Do You Enjoy Gardening? Are You Interested in Learning New Ways to be More Creative In All Aspects of Caring & Tending for Your Garden?

Eliminate the Use of Toxic Fertilizers and Pesticides by Making All-Natural, Affordable, Effective, Homemade Preparations

Become a Conscientious Recycler! I’ll Show You Ways to Repurpose a Multitude of Items for Gardening Use That Would Normally End Up in a Recycling Bin

Whether you’re a novice or well-seasoned gardening enthusiast, I’ve put together a how-to guide that is brimming over with hundreds of creative ways to save money in all aspects of caring and tending for your the garden. I’ve also made sure to keep an emphasis on providing environmentally friendly and non-toxic gardening techniques, methods and procedures throughout the book.

In this information packed book you will be shown how to become a more successful and eco-conscious gardener while saving lots of money at the same time. The readers of my book will benefit from my years and years of extensive research on gardening techniques; from my participation in Master Gardener training; from my continuing attendance in a multitude of gardening workshops; and of course from my love for reading lots of gardening related articles and books.

Everything I’ve written about in The Shoestring Gardener has been pre-tested by me – though trial and error in my own garden. Believe me … I am constantly on the lookout for new ways, ideas and methods to find simple and easy solutions to my gardening problems. And I’ve passed these on in The Shoestring Gardener.

My focus is always geared towards finding…

I also want to get two FREE bonus ebooks with today’s purchase: GardenRack Growing and How to Attach a Trellis to Your GardenRack!

Have your credit card handy and click the "Add To Cart" button below to access…

This small tree is a symbol of our marriage. As it continues to grow and flourish with nurturing and care, we will continue to shape and mould it throughout the years, to make it even more beautiful than it already is today. (Apparently they live a long time).

I know that may seem a little cheesy to some of you, but I thought it was the most beautiful and thoughtful gift I had ever received! (Isn’t he a sweetheart?!)

However, as beautiful as it was, on the inside, I was freaking out! Here I was, charged with the care of a not only, gorgeous, but very symbolic gift and I didn’t have the slightest idea of how to look after a Bonsai tree!

I mean come on…who hasn’t heard of someone having a bonsai tree and killing it within a few weeks?! And I have the brownest of thumbs to start with!!

At first it seemed to be going along okay. It still had all its leaves and they were green and I was very happy with my efforts.

There really wasn’t much in the way of bonsai information back then, not in an easy to understand format for a beginner anyway, so I mostly had to rely on ‘trial and error’.

My husband had spent $68.95 on that tree! It was meant to symbolise our marriage and I had neglected it and ultimately killed it! I was a bonsai tree murderer!

I’m also happy to report that I managed to avoid becoming a…

Did you know that supermarket foods contain very strong chemicals that can be seriously unhealthy for your body? Over time these chemicals build up and can leave you feeling constantly tired, give you stomach cramps and leave you in a depressed state. On this very web page you are going to learn WHY you need to eliminate these toxins from your body and HOW to do this with 100% organic foods!

Hello, My Name is "Green thumb Jeff" and I have been producing my own 100% organic foods for 17 years now. I firmly believe that the toxic chemicals are directly related to many chronic illness’s and I want you to start giving your body the quality of food it deserves.

How would you like to have fresh, organic vegetables always available to you without costing a cent? The vegetables you buy from supermarkets may look bright and fresh but did you also know they are constantly sprayed with strong chemicals?

These chemicals are dangerous and who knows what they might do after years of exposure. I know for sure that I’m not going to expose myself or my children to these chemicals, you shouldn’t either! Now… You don’t have to!

A much better alternative is to grow organic vegetables at home. Using my methods you can grow amazing, healthy food WITHOUT the chemicals! Not only that, the food you grow is always available, won’t cost anything and because there are no chemicals seeping into the soil, it’s better for our planet.

Growing organic food is a talent and it didn’t come to me overnight. It actually took me a few years until I had a healthy garden all year round. I studied for weeks on end until…

I didn’t have a green thumb. To be honest with you, I had a reputation as something of a plant-killer. I could buy the best potting soil, follow instructions from a book perfectly, and still end up with a puny, malnourished plant almost every time. That always disappointed me, too. Like everyone else, I love plants. I appreciate their natural beauty and I am a big fan of tasty, fresh vegetables. Unfortunately, my "black thumb" was holding me back. That’s before I really learned about hydroponics, which is the process of growing plants without using any soil.

I am willing to wager that you answered "YES!" to at least a few of those questions. Most people would answer yes to all of them! If you answered "YES!" to any of those queries, it’s time for you to learn more about hydroponics. Look, there’s a hydroponics revolution on the way. This amazing system of growing plants is part of the future. Scientists are studying its ability to feed parts of the world beset by hunger. They recognize it as a means of decreasing pesticide use. The folks at the space agencies even think it might be part of our future in outer space. Those are all great BIG reasons to love hydroponics. However, you are probably more interested in what soil-less gardening can do for you.

Growing Without Soil: A Guide to Hydroponics provides you with everything you need to know to get started with hydroponics. It covers all of the bases so that you understand all of the essentials. Growing Without Soil: A Guide to Hydroponics doesn’t just focus on the advantages…

Best Of All, You Get To Play With Your Plants A Few Hours A Day Giving You A Perfect Lifestyle Business

If you are interested in earning a part time or even full time income from your gardening hobby, then this will be the most important message you read this year.

I will be straight with you right from the start. If you want to be a millionaire by next year, you may as well throw this in the rubbish bin now, and try something else. If you want to have the perfect work life balance, doing something you love please read on. I may just have some information for you which will literally change your life.

If you’re like me, you probably love plants. They are your passion. There is nothing you would rather be doing than gardening, taking cuttings and watching young plants start to grow in spring. This is a wonderful feeling. Just spending time around living plants is enough to relieve the stress, modern living fills our body and mind with. Imagine being able to feel like this every day, without working at the office. This would improve your life, am I right?

I know how it feels to work with plants. I have spent the past 20 years of my life growing and selling them. In that time I have done most jobs that involve plants. Gardening, Landscape Design, Mail Order, you name it, I have done it.

But I also know the frustration of doing something you don’t enjoy. Just over 10 years ago, I had to leave my family’s nursery business. I had worked there since I left…

In fact, the only REAL way to ensure you know exactly how the tobacco you are smoking is produced is to grow and harvest it yourself.

I am going to reveal to you exactly how to grow and harvest your own tobacco, which is both fun and satisfying, but first let me ask you a very important question:

Did you know that mass produced tobacco contains harmful by-products not present in tobacco that you grow and harvest yourself? It’s true!

Despite the harmful effects of mass=produced tobacco, the rising cost of cigarettes is astronomical! Soon, the average wage-earner in this country will not even be able to afford a packet of cigarettes off the shelf.

Did you know there was a way to have all the tobacco you ever need, and never have to pay for it? It’s true!

That’s right, you read correctly. People in the know have wised up and started growing and harvesting their own tobacco. And it is much easier than you might think!

The best part is that when you grow your own tobacco, you know that it is free from harmful additives, and it only costs you a fraction of what you’d pay for over the shelf products.

Have you ever grown a vegetable garden, or have relatives or friends that have grown their own fruit, vegetable or herbs?

Chances are if you’re like the majority of the people in this country, you answered a resounding "Yes!".

Now from the concept of growing your own fruit and vegetables end enjoying healthy fresh produce, it isn’t a…