16 May 2007

Indoor Air Quality

We struggle with our houseplants. Neither Tara nor I have terribly green thumbs, we just let the plant do what it does. Outdoors we've been far more successful with this technique than indoors but we keep trying. I've mentioned over on Blog Blog Woof Woof that we used Feng Shui as a guideline for interior color choices. Another common "cure" for household ills is the use of houseplants. In Feng Shui it relates to life generating chi and living opjects moving chi. And come on, who doesn't smile a little when you see healthy plants. Ecologically houseplants help purify the inside air as well as raise humidity levels which helps reduce dust and dirt. They can literally "cure" ills.

I inherited a spider plant from one of my previous jobs, it grew and grew at my office but when I took it home it stagnated. It's still alive but it has grown much over the past few years. Last year we bought a plant for almost every room in the house and struggle to keep them alive. We tried again and so far, so good; they all are healthy. There is one room where we have a larger plant or two and these are a constant struggle. We try to make sure they have light and water but they are always dropping leaves. If you have suggestions I would love to hear them.

15 May 2007

Principals

Working in a library gives me the opportunity to see all sorts of books I wouldn't necessarily know about. Just yesterday one came through that I have decided to check out in an effort to present you with solid, researched info on the topics at hand. The book is from 2001, it is called Green Living by Sarah Callard & Diane Mills.

In the introduction they present 5 principal changes we should all work to make in our lives in an effort to regain the balance of nature which we have most certainly upset. They are:

  • Decrease reliance on fossil fuels - say energy, choose plant-based materials, avoid petrochemicals
  • Reject all toxic pesticides - organic eating and gardening
  • Stop buying plastic - duh!
  • Recycle as much as possible - reuse, reject disposible stuff, & compost
  • Buy from sustainable sources - buy FSC wood products, bamboo, fair-trade

14 May 2007

Green & Black's Goodness

When I first started this blog I couldn't decide whether I wanted to call it Black & Green or Green & Black. I decided on Black & Green with the knowledge that some of the finest chocolates I have ever tasted come from Green & Black's I didn't want to take the chance of infringement. Of course, now that I am touting their glory maybe I can get some samples. Please?!?! Thanks to Marjorie for reminding me to mention them. And Marjorie I will share them with you if I get any.

If you are used to Hershey's, even their new found appreciation for dark chocolate, you have no concept of what a treat and shock you are in for the first time you try Green & Black's. Even knowing this I was flabbergasted when my adorable wife brought home some of their ice cream. You do not understand the glory of chocolate ice cream until you try some of this. Words do not suffice.

You must try Green & Black's!

From their website:
From those early days back in Portobello, London, it's unlikely Craig & Jo could have envisaged what a huge success Green & Black's would become. Today, we remain true to their original values of ethical trading & organic products and our aim continues to be the creation of chocolate products that gives a taste experience like no other. We believe every new creation has to be the best of its kind we've ever tasted & take time and care to bring out the intense flavor that has now become our trademark.

13 May 2007

Native Landscaping

Last summer Tara and I started a landscaping project. We tore down a decaying wood fence along the property line and decided to replace it with shrubbery. Like most novices we went to Home Depot and bought some shrubs we liked. I had done research and thought I was getting native Tennessee plants but I was WRONG. More to this later. Most didn't do very well, which we figured was because it was Summer when we planted. Winter came and we finally got around to planting our anniversary tree (we decided to give ourselves a tree for our 1st wedding anniversary). To do this we called a nursery Tara's Mom has used and loves, Growild.
Let me stop here and say I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. They made the whole process one of the most satisfying shopping experiences I have ever had. I went to them with a few trees in mind and they made alternate suggestions based on where the tree would be placed and which ones would fair better for us. Keep in mind that they handle native plants only.
We chose a variegated tulip poplar, a yellowwood and a purple robe. They were planted in winter so I was quite excited to see what they would look like in spring. Spring sprang and they looked great, the purple robe was especially spectacular and then we had the record lows and extended freeze around Easter. These three trees have recovered wonderfully, I swear the purple robe is 5 feet taller already. The shrubs are a different story. Originally we bought a few butterfly bushes, a few burning bushes and a few crape myrtles. The crapes have done the best out of the lot. In the meantime we got a card for an open house type thing at Growild. There were nature walks and hay rides and food and music and a big sale. We took one of our nieces and came back with 3 shrubs and some ground cover plants (I am actually attempting to landscape).

Now I'll go back to what I said in the first paragraph about buying what I thought were native plants. I had a couple of books on landscaping and gardening in Tennessee which is where I got the idea for the shrubs we bought last year. This year at Growild I find out that none of them are native species and what's worse, Butterfly Bush is a "Category 3" invasive (Kudzu is a Category 1). Burning Bush is invasive & Crapes are non-natives but are not invasive. I ended up with three Nine-barks to replace the Butterfly Bushes. My point in talking about this is that you have to be very careful where you get your info. My sources were legit but at the least misleading, at the most incomplete and/or inaccurate. Last week a ran an experiment, I took Growild's list of available plants to Lowe's to see which natives they carried and out of all the plants Lowe's had only about half a dozen were natives. If you want native landscaping you won't find much at the big box home improvement stores.

Why am I stressing the use of natives? Two main reasons:
1. they are easier to maintain, they belong here so you really don't have to work too much with them
2. we've already caused enough chaos and destruction in our environment why not promote the growth of something natural.
The other plants I bought are used in an attempt to beautify my air conditioner compressors; you know, the big ugly outdoor part of a HVAC system. I wanted something that wouldn't get in the way but something that would look nice. I got several eco-lacquer spider plants and three heucheras; 2 "Autumn Brides" & 1 Purple Leaf Hairy Alumroot or maybe its a purple palace, I forget. These spider plants are small but they apparently grow a lot and quickly. They are low growing so they won't really cover up anything but I won't have to cut grass and these are interesting little plants. We'll see how it all looks after they grow and then I will chance some other areas, I already have ideas.

That is the saga of a landscaping novice.