Green seniors articles
Gardening: An environmentally friendly activity for seniors

By Amandy Kilby

We all look forward to the spring season. With spring comes warmer weather and the gardening season. Keen gardeners understand that cultivating a beautiful garden or landscape takes time and energy, with a host of environmental benefits -- depending on the nature of the landscape, and if done conscientiously.

The first way to ensure an eco-friendly yard is to be aware of water consumption. Considering how much energy humans put into gardens, it is important to remember how much the earth also contributes. Water should always be viewed as a natural resource, not an endless source without limits or costs of use. Using Environment Canada guidelines, here are some tips on ensuring a water efficient landscape that will maximize greenery and minimize environmental strain:

• You might be surprised to know that lawns and gardens need only 5 millimetres of water per day during warm periods. Anything beyond that is unnecessary. Try putting a measuring cup in your yard while the sprinkler is running to see how quickly this amount accumulates, and water accordingly.

• Young trees and shrubs require much less; watering them only once a week is sufficient.

• Keeping a lawn over 6 centimetres will give your sprinkler a break: longer grass holds water better, and in fact looks greener because it provides shades for the roots.

• How to know when to water? Keep an eye out for grass that develops a black hue on the tips. At this stage grass recovers well when watered. However, brown or blanched grass is a sign of damage and will require significantly more restoration - best for you and environment to avoid this stage. On the other hand, green grass is already well hydrated, therefore more water is unnecessary.

• If you need to water your garden or lawn, aim for the evening or early morning, and avoid doing it on windy days to maximize moisture retention.

• Though it may seem like a good idea, over-watering gardens or lawns is of little benefit. Soil does not hold water for long, so avoid overwatering, even if you expect a water shortage.

• Although seedlings and new transplants need water more often, smaller amounts of water more frequently maximizes growth.

To make these guidelines easy to follow, create an eco-friendly landscape consisting of plants and flowers that are local or drought resistant. Replacing grass with native plants will benefit local wildlife and insects, and possibly rejuvenate native plants that have become scarce. Ask your local nursery about native plant ground covers to replace existing intensive and demanding gardens and lawns.

Rethink water as a limited resource, and consider your lawn or garden an independent consumer of that resource. You are the only regulator of that consumption. Using water efficiently and making garden choices that revolve around the environment will more than beautify your garden, it will conserve and protect a natural resource that neither us or our landscapes can live without.

Information from: Environment Canada website and City of Charlottetown website (water use tips).