I am a groundskeeper who is trying to manage my grounds in a more ecological manner. I currently mulch (chop into tiny bits with the lawnmower) my leaves and leave the mulch on the lawn. I’m wondering would it be better for me to leave the leaves whole and let them blow around where they may. Or perhaps collecting them and dumping them into nearby non-lawn naturalized areas? Any insight you can provide is very helpful.
Eco-Answers
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Designing Complementary Sun and Shade Gardens
I can’t figure out how to have a shade bed complement the sun bed directly across from it – it’s not that things have to be matchy-matchy, but the brickwork makes them a symmetrical pair of beds. I am having trouble finding shade plants that I can combine into an ecological design, except low groundcovers and short woodland plants, and I am having a hard time visualizing what would work right across the bed of climbing roses, lambs ears, baptisa, gaura, japanese anemones, euphorbia, and salvia. ANY suggestions would be so, so appreciated. I am completely stumped!
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Native Evergreen Groundcovers for Sun
I am looking for a native groundcover recommendation for my yard. It is a slope between wetlands and uplands that gets full sun exposure. Ideal plant would be perennial evergreen that will help suppress weeds and is low maintenance and drought resistant. Thanks for any recommendations!
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Dreaming of an Eco-lawn
I would like to have an “eco-lawn” (some sort of fescue?) for my Martha’s Vineyard home. My goal is to have something that looks like a lawn, requires little mowing and water, ideally requires no fertilizer, can thrive in sandy soil, and handles salty air. Am I a crazy dreamer?
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Alternatives to Grass on a Hillside
I am on the board at a 64 unit condo community in St. Paul, MN. We have a huge hillside with regular grass, which means weekly mowing. The hillside is…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Fall Food for Hummingbirds
Do you have suggestions for late-season blooming native plants in the Northeast for humming birds? The hummingbirds in my gardens have been very active on the early and mid-season monarda…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Mulched Leaves and Drought
How are you using chopped or composted leaves to mitigate the effects of drought? How effective have your strategies been?
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Controlling Pond Weeds
Does anyone have a suggestion about controlling floating weeds in my pond (duckweed, etc.)? The problem seems to be excessive nitrates. I have tried mechanical harvesting (weeds return rapidly), and…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Controlling Invasive Bamboo
I live in north central Arkansas and have an issue with an invasive plant. There is a large stand of running bamboo along my back fence line that is expanding…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Urban Pollinators
I work on a golf course in the middle of a city, (Newark, NJ). I am always looking to put in natural areas and promote pollinator plants. My question is…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Bee Tubes in Spring
The mason bees filled most of the tubes in the house this spring and the ends were sealed with the mud. Now in August, the mud seal is gone and…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Carbon-conscious Planting
I am on a landscaping committee for a community that sits upon approximately 20 acres. We want to (probably gradually) turn our landscape into one with native plants that support…