Eco-friendly gardening gets a green thumbs up

It used to be that one would get green with envy when ogling the perfection of a neighbour’s garden. That may still be true today, but these days it’s also better to just simply get green, period.

According to some, just because gardening gets you close to nature, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for nature. Just look at all the environmental issues waiting in the weeds. The most obvious one is carbon emissions from equipment such as lawn mowers and leaf blowers. According to Metro Vancouver, lawnmowers account for three to five per cent of Canada’s air pollution overall.

Less obvious factors that make gardeners’ thumbs less green than once thought include high water consumption, excessive tilling and even the paper consumed to produce gardening catalogues.

This article from thespec.com presents practical tips like using a push mower to reduce emissions, going organic, planting native vegetation, and many more, in case you think your garden could use a touch more green.