Quality Handyman Services

An organic garden brings a vibrant and colourful touch to any eco home. But instead of just the run of the mill vegie patch out the back, having a garden professionally conceived by a landscape architect can add a unique aspect that highlights your own green passion.

“Landscape architecture is a combination of science and art,” says landscape architect Steve Batley from Sydney Organic Gardens. To Batley, the process of designing a sustainable garden for an eco home involves a world of creativity while employing good practical design that works with nature.

A well designed garden is a living ecosystem that encourages animals and people to interact with nature. Children love connecting with the earth and gardening is a great way to teach them to cherish the environment.

Here are some handy tips to consider for your own organic garden:

Eco Home Tip #12 – Save water – Use water wise plants that are native to the area. Water tanks are also great water saving devices.

Eco Home Tip # 13 – Organic smorgasbord – Mix in your vegies with native plants. Including edibles with native plants is “good for pest management,” says Batley.

Eco Home Tip #14 – Passive solar for the greens – consider passive solar principles in your garden. Make the most of sunnier areas for plants, while shady spots are great for benches and relaxing.

Eco Home Tip #15 – Farmer knows best – Farmers periodically rotate their crops to maximise the use of the soil. You can do the same in your vegie patch, try rotating your vegies through different parts of the garden to make the most of the nutrients in the soil.

With the right planning and care, your garden can be the perfect organic haven for both you and native wildlife. Find more great organic gardening tips in the Green Pages <a onClick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(’/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.thegreenpages.com.au”>green</a> directory.

Tags: green home renovations by Jerry
Comments Off

Setting up a good green home starts with energy efficiency. Traditional incandescent light globes lose almost 90 per cent of their energy in generating heat – only 10 per cent of the electricity used is actually going into lighting your room. And because of their various filaments and parts, incandescent bulbs generally have a much shorter life span than their more energy efficient counter parts.

Installing energy efficient globes is one of the most cost effective and easiest options available for a good green home. Some companies had even traditionally given out energy and water saving “packs” for people to try out. Nowadays, these energy saving globes are available everywhere – so the question becomes, which light fitting is right for you?

Eco Home Tip # 36 – The lowdown on CFL – Compact Fluorescent (CFLs) are the most common energy saving fitting. CFLs use just about 20 percent of the energy required for the same amount of light from an incandescent globe and last 10 times as as long. All in all, a CFL will help reduce the cost of lighting your home by as much as 60 %.

Eco Home Tip # 37 – Keep your CFLs close, if shaded – a British study last year revealed that CFLs produced a small amount of UV radiation when used unshaded and in close proximity. Open globes were of note, which “encapsulated” globes were considered safe. So if you’re using a work lamp with a CFL, keep it shaded of opt for an encapsulated globe instead.

Eco Home Tip # 38 – Recycling your CFLs – The typical CFL contains a minute 4 mg of mercury sealed in its glass tubing. Some manufacturers have lowered its CFL mercury content to as little as 1 – 2.5 mg. Handle your CFLs with care and take advantage of recycling programs for CFLs to keep mercury from ending up in landfill.

Eco Home Tip # 39 – Leading by example with LEDs – Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are another popular energy efficient lighting option, especially to replace halogen globes and downlights in your home. The small cluster of diodes can be arranged in a number of configurations and sizes to suit your home. LEDs have been traditionally found in electronics including clocks, and have a variety of uses in terms of producing a broad spectrum of bright coloured light. LEDs are the perfect substitute to the more heat intensive halogen globes and last for over 50,000 – 60,000 hours and uses 70 percent less energy than standard halogen globes. LEDs are also mercury free.

Lighting a home can account for as much as 20 percent of a home’s energy use. Energy saving lights are simply a bright idea for your green home.

Looking for more eco home tips and ideas? Visit the Green Pages directory for more great eco home tips and ideas!

Tags: green home renovations by Jerry
Comments Off

Just painted green metallic color (dark hunter like green) from Ralph Lauren, was going to put lighter green in between but ended up liking the green and white together.The two greens was going to be to dark for me. What color should go under the chair rail? Leave it off white as well? PLEASE help haven’t put together dining room in 3 weeks cause i cant decide.

Tags: green home renovations by Jerry
4 Comments »