Preparing Your Bee-Attracting Garden for Winter

/
Preparing Your Bee-Attracting Garden for Winter

Guest post by Clara Beaufort

Bees, unfortunately, are disappearing at a rapid rate. Those of us who are already gardeners are doing their part to sole the problem by setting up a bee-friendly series of plants. The Honey Bee Conservancy offers some tips for those who are not aware of what makes a garden attractive to pollinators like bees. Bee-friendly gardening is a year-round task, and with fall approaching it’s important to prepare. Winterizing your garden and planting cool weather-blooming species that will keep the bees coming back are crucial steps in making fall adjustments.

Read More

Companion planting: how to do it, mistakes to avoid

/
Companion planting: how to do it, mistakes to avoid

Companion planting is a small-scale method of intercropping, which refers to the practice of planting one kind of plant next to another or others that help it thrive. It is often associated with small-scale organic gardening (the type of gardening I have exclusively done for the past 18 years) or other biodynamic planting methods, and it is a favorite technique of farmers seeking to produce more yield in less space.

Although popular literature touts the benefits of intercropping over monocropping, there is a lot of debate, and consequently, confusion over which plants go well together, and whether some of the reported benefits of companion planting are consistent or coincidental. This is partly a debate between using scientific methods (usually in controlled, laboratory stings) and using personal experience to determine how to companion plant. There are benefits to both methods, though admittedly, I prefer to rely mostly on experience (my own and that of successful gardeners I know) with a smattering of science to help me understand why certain combinations have seemed to work well in my own garden, while others don’t seem to have much effect one way or another.

Read More

Sick Building Syndrome: a hidden cause of stress at your workplace?

/
Sick Building Syndrome: a hidden cause of stress at your workplace?

Guest post by Toby Dean

A workplace involves a myriad of stressors, and each individual in the same office environment copes with the same stress differently. Apart from stress coming from human beings and situations, there could be unexplained health issues at the workplace that could be creating a problem in your life. This is especially likely if you have shifted to a new office building, have been transferred to a different place, or changed your job. If you have experienced sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, runny nose or blocked sinuses, itchy eyes and skin, etc. as soon as you enter your office building, and if these symptoms subside on their own when you step out of the building, then you are suffering from Sick Building Syndrome. 

Read More

How to Build A Bug Hotel (Infographic)

/
How to Build A Bug Hotel (Infographic)

Guest post by Eamon Fennelly

For the environmentally-conscious gardener, building a bug hotel can be a wonderful and rewarding DIY project. Not only do bug hotels provide an attractive garden feature, but they also attract beneficial insects that provide natural pollination and pest control. What’s more, building a bug hotel is a fun activity that the whole family can enjoy, and is a great way to teach children about the natural world.

Constructed from plant materials and common garden odds and ends, bug hotels offer a cost-effective and fun way to help preserve local wildlife by giving nearby insects a safe place to shelter. When it comes to designing a bug hotel, there aren’t any set rules, meaning you can get as creative as you want.

Read More

Container Gardening 101: Small Spaces, Big Yields

/
Container Gardening 101: Small Spaces, Big Yields

This summer I’ve been blogging about container gardening quite a bit (that is, when I managed to blog! We’re undergoing some big changes here at Green and Prosperous that have taken up most of my blogging time, including developing an online course on container gardening for beginners and experienced growers alike). This post continues our summer theme, with a focus on how you can grow more in less space.

Read More

5 Tips to Bring Nature Indoors`

/
5 Tips to Bring Nature Indoors`

Guest post by Lana Hawkins

It’s common knowledge that nature has a positive impact on people and can help us relax and get in touch with our inner selves. Having this in mind, it’s not surprising that more and more world-famous interior designers are incorporating numerous elements of nature into their projects. So, if you want to follow in their footsteps and decorate your home according to the latest trends, take a look at the list of 5 tips on how to bring nature indoors which we’ve prepared just for you. Enjoy and get inspired!

Read More

How often Should I Clean That?

/
How often Should I Clean That?

Guest post by Kat Buckley

Some of the basic household tasks we will generally get done but other places in the home can go months or even years without being cleaned. This infographic from HappyCleans looks at how often you need to get all the different items around the house cleaned. For example, the fan vents are one area of the house that rarely get cleaned. The problem is that if they’re left too long dust, pollen, and other allergens will end up clogging them, and in some cases, can cause particles to be released into your home from supply registers.

If you have ceiling fans, they are another area of the home that can get really dusty and these can be quickly dusted with a pillowcase. Of course, if they’re high up you need to be extremely careful not to injure yourself. Using a duster with a long handle that is made for such hard-to-reach areas is usually the best way to tackle the problem.

Read More

Addressing the Global Water Inequality Crisis – Infographic

/
Addressing the Global Water Inequality Crisis – Infographic

Guest post by Tom Murphy

In a planet that’s 70% water, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there was more than enough of this precious resource to comfortably sustain its population. However, when you think through how much of this water is fit for human consumption, you realize that maybe there isn’t a whole lot to go around for more than 7 billion inhabitants. In the Western world, water scarcity certainly isn’t a problem for most (with some exceptions in pockets of the US, the EU, and Australia ), but delve deeper into impoverished Third World/Global South nations and it will soon dawn on you just how shocking the disparity of water availability is on this planet.

Read More

Room to Grow: 8 things you need to do to make your container garden thrive this summer

/
Room to Grow: 8 things you need to do to make your container garden thrive this summer

Updated August 7, 2023

Whether you have already begun your container gardening adventure or are just getting started, you’ve probably realized that container gardening presents many advantages over traditional in-ground gardening. Aside from being a great way to grow some of your own food in small spaces, as a container gardener you can exert more control over a number of variables that can sabotage an in-ground garden, like weather, pests, and soil quality. I covered these and other matters in last month’s post on container gardening. This post addresses some of the practical matters involved in not only starting your container garden, but helping it to thrive. Here are 8 things you should be doing to keep your container garden healthy, happy, and productive well into the fall season.

Read More

Installing and Maintaining a Japanese Zen Garden in Your Backyard

/
Installing and Maintaining a Japanese Zen Garden in Your Backyard

guest post by Craig Scott

Zen gardens were originally created by Buddhist monks as a place for meditation and contemplation. In earlier times, they became known as a space for the ruling elite in Japan – a place where they could find calm and peace while the country was in the midst of war or strife. But with the passing of time, Zen gardens became associated with a way of life deeply rooted in Japanese culture.

A traditional Zen garden is a miniature landscape of mountains and water. It is created using artistry infused with tranquility that can inspire a homeowner as well as visitors seeking peace and comfort in their lives. Installing and maintaining a Japanese Zen garden in your garden will not only add beauty to your premises, but will also add value to your house. Here are the steps you should take in building this type of garden in your home.

Read More

Eco-Labels Around the World (Interactive Infographic]

/
Eco-Labels Around the World (Interactive Infographic]

Guest post and infographic by Customlabels.net

Nowadays, people are more aware of the impact their purchasing decisions can have on the environment. In order to reduce their ecological footprint and negative impact on the natural world, a growing number of consumers have decided to buy products that will do less harm to the environment. They avoid buying bottled water, use their own grocery bags and choose eco-friendly products as much as possible.

Today, various products can have an “eco-friendly” or “green” inscription on their packages, but sometimes these statements can be false. So if you want to be sure that you are buying a product that is produced with a more controlled, less detrimental impact on nature, you should look for eco-labels on its packaging.

Eco-labels are certificates that mean that higher standards of environmental protection are upheld during all stages of the product's life cycle. Eco-labels are often mixed up with environmental labels, but they are actually a subgroup of environmental labels.

Check out the infographic below to learn more about eco-labels. It will give you an interactive overview of their meanings, managing organizations, and the industries they apply to.

Read More

Short on outdoor space? Why you should try container gardening

/
Short on outdoor space? Why you should try container gardening

Spring is here! For some of us, spring is finally here. Although the crazy weather patterns we’ve been experiencing in the mid-Atlantic region where I live have left many of us anxious to go out and dig around in the dirt, others may only be thinking about making this the year they grow some of their own food (or the year they grow more of their own food). If you’re ready to stop thinking about it and start doing but are challenged for space (maybe you live in an apartment of condo, or maybe you have a tiny yard, or your yard doubles as your dog’s bathroom), this post is for you. Maybe you have a healthy growing operation in place already but are starting to suffer from back problems because of all the bending involved in maintaining your garden. If so, this post is for you, too. Or maybe you’re just interested in trying something new or adding new elements to your garden. This post is for you, too.

Read More

Why Are Today’s Homes Still Unhealthy?

/
Why Are Today’s Homes Still Unhealthy?

Guest post by Will Sandford

Do you think your home offers a clean and healthy living environment? If you answered yes, you are thinking like the majority of people. However, unfortunately, you are wrong. Even in 2018, many houses and apartments are unfit for living, and we will explain why. So, let’s begin.

Read More

Can you really go green when buying new electronics?

/
Can you really go green when buying new electronics?

Guest post by Zack Gallinger/Revolution

I’m going to level with you. If you’re buying brand new electronics, which is a necessity in our day and age, it’s almost impossible to really go green.

Electronics are complicated items, containing thousands of different components constructed of hundreds of different elements. They are literally the most complicated stuff we know how to build and are also inherently difficult to recycle. So how can we do our best to keep it green? How can we minimize our impact and be good stewards of this Earth while still having the newest, fastest, highest resolution and most powerful handheld device ever conceived?

Read More