Annuals are for the birds… As I mentioned in my article on Easy Green Lawns, I love having one of the nicest landscapes in the area, but I also enjoy having the freedom to take shortcuts, which in turn, allows me to spend more time on enjoyable tasks.

In this post I would like to give you some tips on how to do a chore once, and not yearly.

Lets start with flowers. We want to have manicured, flower ridden beds as soon as it first hint of warm weather arrives. But why do more work than you need to? Work smarter, not harder. …read more of Lazy Gardener Flowers and Herbs here

Want a beautiful lawn and garden while using sustainable practices, saving money, saving hundreds of hours of work that will make you the envy of the neighborhood?  Well, do some of my lazy/green techniques that you’ll be singing about in your spare time.

To have the best lawn, we have been sold a bill of goods. Either by chemical companies, father-in-laws or others who just have not tried to do it the easy way. Many people believe that to have a great lawn, you have to do a lot of work. This is a myth, so save yourself some labor:

1. Don’t seed it
2. Don’t water it (unless you live in a desert climate)
3. Don’t fertilize it with chemicals

You don’t need to do any of those things. It will be beautiful if you simply take these steps.
…read more of Easy Green Lawn here

From Pooh Bear’s obsession with honey to the popularity of the novel (and movie), The Secret Life of Bees, and the animated Bee Movie starring Jerry Seinfeld, you would think that these striped insects are living the high life.  In actuality, it’s been no picnic being a honey bee lately.

A couple of years ago the buzzword Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) surfaced to describe the unexplained disappearance of millions of bees from their hives. While CCD is turning out to have multiple causes and there’s still much to be figured out, one teensy insect, the varroa mite, is a major player.

Unfortunately, it looks like the destructive varroa mite is here to stay but researchers have found some strains of bees with partial resistance to this parasitic mite.

I wondered what I could do to help honey bees …read more of Helping Honey Bees here

Cattails are so prolific and the uses for this plant are curiously endless.

Native Americans have used them for food, clothing, shelter, medicines, arrows and for weaving baskets. The seed-down, which is very soft and doesn’t compress or mat, is used for padding and insulation.

They also made jelly and marmalade from the roots. The pollen, rich in vitamins and minerals, can also be used for baking and making bread. America had at least 140 thousand square miles of cattail swamps around the Second World War where we used millions of pounds to make insulation for wallboard and clothing. …read more of Cattails provide food, down, oil, reeds and so much more! here

Maintaining health is a huge undertaking and half the battle is to have a healthy diet rich in nutrients. When I look at the green delicacies served in Boston or through Whole Foods stores, I am amazed that more people do not just pick their own.

Since I grew up in Maine, I say to myself, maybe I have an advantage of knowing and embracing nature more than others. But I would like to take the mysticism out for all of you and show you a few items that we all know and can identify with, as well as give you resources to find out more if the subject pulls you.

There are basic plants we can use to beautify, eat for taste and nutrition, not to mention the plants that are available to make tea. Most having high medicinal values and pull toxins from our bodies, making them all the more desirable! …read more of Native Edible Plants that Detox here