Landscaping with Green Materials
Go Green Gadget When you are searching for these green materials, you can rest assured knowing their benefits. For example, water-porous products recycle water directly into the land, rather than let rainwater flow directly to the street drainage system. Forest Stewardship Council-approved wood products ensure that your wood did not contribute to deforestation or harm of old-growth forests. Imitation lumber made from recycled plastic reduces the trash mound [source: Green Your]. |
As you read on the previous pages, landscape shading and landscaping windbreaks are both methods of landscaping that you can use to help reduce your energy bills because of the effect they have on the inside of your house. In addition to these internally-effective techniques, landscaping with eco-friendly materials has many direct external effects for your land.
The most common landscaping material needs are concrete, bricks, stone, wood, wood chips and mulch. There are ways to make sure these materials pass the "green test," so don't grab just any traditional materials you see in a store.
Standard concrete is not good for the environment because of its carbon-dioxide heavy manufacturing process. If concrete is an essential material to your landscaping needs, you should consider broken, reused concrete or concrete pavers. Recycled glass pavers also serve the same function but release fewer greenhouse gasses during production [source: Green Your].
Bricks from the U.S. are made in natural gas kilns, rather than pollution-heavy wood-fired kilns. Adobe and terra-cotta bricks are greener than normal bricks because they do not require any kilns. In regards to stone, companies who take stones from quarries near bodies of water are the least eco-friendly. Seek out a company who finds their stones inland, or better yet, look in your own soil for rocks.
In order to avoid toxins, it is best to avoid treated lumber products, but if you must use wood, look for ammonium copper quaternary treated wood. With wood chips and bark mulch, make sure to avoid artificially dyed mulch and rubber mulch [source: Green Your].
So all that new foliage can make a difference in the summer -- but what about the winter? Read on to discover how to control snow with green landscaping
