It is common knowledge that a dog makes not only a great pet but a great contribution to your overall mental and emotional well-being. But could plants have the power to do the same? The truth is, plants play many roles in the natural environment, and by removing them from our homes we deprive ourselves. Not only do plants contribute to our lives in the ways already mentioned, but they are key in maintaining the healthy environment of any home.

Plants have always been used to create a relaxing, beautiful environment, and humans seem to have a natural connection with them, which makes sense as they were once a dominant part of our world before we built our own world. Big businesses purposefully use them to keep workers at work and working harder as well as draw in customers.

It is best to get an indoor environment as close to an outdoor environment as possible. Having plants well-positioned throughout the living quarters has long been known to reduce stress and greatly improve indoor aesthetics. Various studies reveal that working with plants, whether in the home or in the garden, is one of the best things for you physical and mental health, and even being around plants in a sedentary state helps you to relax.

But our veggie friends don’t stop there. Though great for improving your state, plants also greatly improve the quality of indoor air. NASA has proven plants are natural cleaning machines, using complicated natural processes to clean the earth?s water, soil, and air by culturing microbes which biodegradable molds and mildew. When they are placed in an indoor environment they even learn to biodegrade many of the toxic chemicals often found inside human structures.

Experts suggest trying to have 2 or more 14-16 inch containers per every 100 square feet of living space, but the more the merrier. To further back up the recommendation, ouses with plants have been shown to have more than 50 percent less bacteria and mold than houses barren of organic life, regardless of humidity levels. And their transpiration processes adjust humidity levels by letting off or taking in moisture. In the winter, when humidity is often low, we can be more likely to get colds and viruses because our respiratory systems dry out, but plants maintain a proper balance.

Thus, while most people are afraid to go near houseplants when they have allergies, it may actually be a great idea. Just be sure to not over-water or leave wet carpet to mold if you have issues with allergies. Using soiless gardening methods is another way to reduce harmful microbe exposure.

Using better building materials eliminates many toxins before they ever make it into the air, but plants will clean it up and keep it fresh indoors. For all the benefits our carbon friends bring to our home, it is safe to say they can do as much for our well-being as owning a dog. So before you lock yourself in the house to wait out the cold season, make sure you lock a bit of the outdoors up with you.

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One of the best ways to save money and eat healthy is to have a garden. Even a small garden on a roof or balcony can give you a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables for very little effort. But any good gardener will tell you that keeping the garden watered is key to success. Using a hose or water can works very well but there are more efficient ways of watering that can save you money.

Drip Irrigation is a system of pipes that is worked through a garden and is designed to drip water directly on the roots of a plant instead of misting the top of a plant and hoping the water reaches the roots. The advantage of this type of system is you can use a significantly smaller amount of water directly to where the plant needs it. Water savings of up to 70% versus traditional watering are not unheard of.

One thing that deters people from this type of system is cost. It has been relatively expensive to buy all of the valves, hoses, lines and tapping the system into your existing house pipes to make it a viable alternative. That is not the case anymore. Orbit Irrigation Products now sells a low cost irrigation system that connect to your existing hose faucets at places like WalMart, Lowes, and Home Depot. For $30 you can get a Starter Drip Irrigation Kit for gardens and a 50 ft supply hose which will allow you to install a drip irrigation system for a garden as large as 50 square feet.

There are several advantages to this type of system over traditional irrigation systems which are usually installed underground. First, you don’t need to have a plumber or irrigation specialist install it for you. Just connect it to your hose faucet, lay the lines, and go. Second, since the lines are not buried it is easy to move and expand the system. If you are a renter, you can install and remove this system as needed. Or say you start with the garden and decide you want to add on sprinklers for your flowers or drip watering for your potted plants. With this system all you need to do is buy the hoses and parts to do that then just extend it to what you already have.

Finally, this type of system allows for all the features of a normal irrigation system with the flexibility to change. If you need a smaller system as time goes on, just reduce the number of pipes used. If you want to totally automate your watering, you can easily add a timer to the system. If you live in an apartment with only potted plants, you can connect the system to your washer connection and run the lines to your plants.

Drip Irrigation in a low cost form has finally come home in a way that everyone can enjoy. It makes your gardening life easier, saves you money on water bills, and won’t break the bank to install.

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You probably already know that bottled water is not green. The production and distribution of bottled water uses energy, produces pollution, and has minimal (if any) benefit over the potable water currently available to all Americans. Plenty of other bloggers and major publications have addressed this issue. You can find excellent articles about it here, here, and here. You are probably tired of reading about it. I know I am.

So why did I buy an Aquafina last week?

Even though we know bottled water is foolish and bad for mother earth, many of us still buy it occasionally. And when we are at work or at the doctor’s office, we head for the water cooler to fill our glass, not the bathroom tap. My own business has four water coolers, strategically located around the office, and because of them I probably drink half a gallon of bottled water a day.

When encountering hypocrisy, especially within ourselves, it is important to ask “Why?” in an honest, non-judgmental way. We already know the facts. Why do we ignore them?

I performed an informal survey among my green colleagues and friends and came up with the following two answers:

1. Bottled water (and the water cooler tanks) are convenient,
2. And they taste better, or seems healthier and safer, than the available tap water.

There were many variations on those answers, but those were the two major categories.

We all know about the convenience problem. I go on many spur-of-the-moment hikes up Camels Hump or Mount Mansfield. When I don’t have time to dig around and find, wash, and fill my Nalgene, I grab the $1.79 liter bottle from the Quick Stop. And safety or taste? When I do bring the Nalgene from home, after I finish it I am not going to fill it up in the restroom at a public gas station! It just doesn’t seem safe and clean, and any hint of a bad taste is going to make me dump it.

These self-effacing stories reflect what I hear from my friends and colleagues. Most people are willing to admit that the convenience problem is their own fault, and that they should do better to change their lifestyle. But when it comes to taste, health, and safety, people are less interested in claiming personal responsibility.

Sometimes, we just don’t trust the tap water. Or we don’t like the taste. Or we feel it has too much chlorine. Or we’ve heard rumors about lead or mercury. Maybe we live in a part of town where the streets are dirty, and that mysteriously makes us mistrust the water. And the water cooler we keep in the corner? It is relatively cheap and easy to maintain. The guy with the truck brings a new tank every week. When Vermont Pure or Vermont Heritage brings in their glistening, transparent tank, it feels like a healthier, smarter choice.

I encourage everyone to stop judging people who feel that way. We’ve all said it from time to time: “I’m not filling my canteen up at the smelly rest stop!” Instead of judging, I encourage everyone to ask “Why?” again carefully, and then ask, “Don’t you think you should do something about that?”

Here’s the real reason I’m writing this article: If you don’t trust your tap water, you have a problem. You either have a psychological problem, or you have a problem that (according to the articles I linked to above) over a billion people on this planet have. If you are an American, then you live in the richest country in the world, a country where safe tap water is considered a right, and a massive industry and governmental body is in place to guarantee you that right. In short: if you don’t trust your tap water, you should find out if your distrust is justified. And if it is, you should do something about it. And fast. Similarly, if a community thinks their tap water tastes bad, they should do something about it. And that something is not buying more Gatorade or Poland Springs. Chances are, however, that your water is just fine.

Turn the problem on its head. The next time you are thinking of buying the $1.79 bottle of Aqua-whatever, ask yourself why you aren’t asking for the restroom key instead. And come up with a real answer; the question is not rhetorical. All over this planet, people would be happy for a faucet that delivers any kind of safe water, and the family living next door to the gas station might not be able to afford that $1.79 every day. Is the right to “good” water determined by socioeconomic status, then? And are you okay with that? And are you willing to continue damaging mother earth, wasting a valuable natural resource, and polluting the environment because you can afford the plastic bottle? What does that say about our culture? About our water supply? What can you do to change that?

By the way, after sharing the three articles that I linked to at the top of this post, two of my colleagues agreed to join me in switching to the tap. (They were particularly interested in the proof that bottled water is rarely healthier and safer than the tap.) Spread the word, and if you have a problem with your community’s water, seek out the truth!

Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the US – over 80 million households (3 out of 4) have participated in indoor or outdoor gardening in the last five years. And it’s no wonder – gardening is a family activity that beautifies your living space, connects you to the Earth and lets you grow the flowers, vegetables and plants that you love.

But while gardening may seem to be the ultimate of environmentally friendly activities, you can actually wreck havoc on your ecosystem if you don’t use sustainable practices when building, planting and maintaining your garden beds. By evaluating your gardening practices however, you can conserve water, reduce your use of chemicals and grow plants that work for your community.

The tips below are relatively easy to implement in your home garden and will save you water as the summer heats up and your plants demand more and more to grow their fruits and flowers.

• Install a drip irrigation system in your gardens. By burying drip irrigation hoses at the base of your plants, you allow water to flow directly to the roots and prevent runoff and evaporation that occurs with hand watering and sprinkler systems. Home gardeners can install micro-drip irrigation systems for not too much money – about $40-$100 for every 100 square feet of garden. These systems can also be automated so that your plants are watered evenly and on a set schedule. Check out Alexandra Brandon’s presentation, Installing Drip Irrigation in This Old House to learn step-by-step instructions on installing this kind of system in your gardens.

• Place rain barrels around your yard. Rain barrels allow you to collect excess rain water and use it to water your plants during dry times. Many communities offer rain barrels at discounted prices through their public works departments, you can build your own rain barrel, or you can purchase rain barrels online. Keep in mind that if you install a rain barrel that does not have an attached hose, you will need to haul your water to your garden using buckets. If this is the case, make sure you set up your barrels close to your gardens!

• Learn to love mulch! A good organic mulch, spread about 3 inches thick around your plants, will reduce your need to water and keep your plants hydrated. With mulch covering your soil, you retain water by preventing its evaporation and runoff. When soil is left exposed to the sun and wind, water runs off, blows away or dries up as the sun heats the soil. Mulch keeps your entire garden moist throughout the day, and is also great for cutting down on weeds, and adding nutrients to your beds.

• Grow drought-resistant plants. Plants that tolerate dry times – such as echinacea, irises and rosemary require less water when the summer hits its hottest peak and the rain stops falling. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has a great article that explains the benefits of using drought resistant plants in your garden and offers extensive lists of drought tolerant shrubs, perennials, herbs and other plants. Drought tolerant plants are also great alternatives when building gardens in areas with limited rainfall. Make sure you consult your hardiness zone and regional growing requirements when selecting drought tolerant plants.

There are plenty of other ways of greening your garden that I plan on addressing in future posts. In the meantime, let me know what you do to green your gardens – I always like to hear how fellow gardeners manage their beds!