Grass clippings make up a large percentage of the household waste produced each year. About 1,000 square feet of lawn in Pennsylvania can produce 200 to 500 pounds of clippings during the growing season.

A simple alternative to bagging grass clipping is "grasscycling." Simply leave clippings on your lawn where they break down in 7 to 14 days. The clippings act as top dressing fertilizer and help keep your lawn green and healthy.

Composting is a key component to any green garden .

A water garden can be a beautiful addition to any green space and a key part of a green garden.

A water garden on your property has a variety of benefits:

• A water garden is an efficient way to store water for watering your lawn and garden.
• A water garden will capture runnoff from watering your lawn and garden and let you reuse the fertilizer instead of turning it into pollution.
• The larger the water garden the less lawn there is to mow. A one acre garden pond will save at least $700 and 40 hours of labor per year compared with a similar sized lawn area.
• A water garden can double as a geothermal pond . A geothermal heat pump system is the most cost effective way to heat and cool a home. A geothermal pond type geothermal heat pump system is the least expensive method of all. This results in a huge savings over the life of the home.
• A water garden conserves water by capturing runoff from all the impervious surfaces on your property. Efficient, low voltage pumps can then pump the water to planters or for lawn watering. 

A water garden can be a beautiful addition to any green space and a key part of a green garden.

A water garden on your property has a variety of benefits:

• A water garden is an efficient way to store water for watering your lawn and garden.
• A water garden will capture runnoff from watering your lawn and garden and let you reuse the fertilizer instead of turning it into pollution.
• The larger the water garden the less lawn there is to mow. A one acre garden pond will save at least $700 and 40 hours of labor per year compared with a similar sized lawn area.
• A water garden can double as a geothermal pond . A geothermal heat pump system is the most cost effective way to heat and cool a home. A geothermal pond type geothermal heat pump system is the least expensive method of all. This results in a huge savings over the life of the home.
• A water garden conserves water by capturing runoff from all the impervious surfaces on your property. Efficient, low voltage pumps can then pump the water to planters or for lawn watering. 

Almost everyone thinks a nice garden is better than a plain lawn. People balefully look at other people's gardens and say, "if only I had the time and money to do that."

Most people are suprised to find that a garden takes less money and time to maintain than a lawn.

Gardens have many financial advantages over a lawn if properly planned.

The key to planning an garden that will save both time and money is to use techniques and plants that take advantage of the local environment and conditions.

Labor Intensive Yards and Gardens:

A typicial 1-acre lawn costs $700 per year in fuel, fertilizer, pesticides and so forth.

Cost Intensive Yards and Gardens:

A typical 1-acre lawn takes at least 40 hours per year to maintain.

Since time is money this means a typical 1-acre lawn costs about $1500 per year to maintain. Plus you have an initial cost of buying lawn mowers, fertilizer and pesticides and other equipment.

By using native plants and other green gardening tricks you can have a much nicer greenspace for a fraction of the time and money. 

Mediterranean climate is a climate that resembles those of the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

In the United States, the California coast Has a mediterranean climate.  Large population centers including greater Los Angeles and San Francisco have various Mediterranean climates.

Key characteristics of  Mediterranean climates for growers and gardners:

• Almost all rainfall is in winter months
• Summers are very dry
• Very mild winters
• Mild to warm summers
  

Many great garden plants and flowers come originally from Mediterranean climates.  A great example is the california poppy . These plants have beautiful golden blooms and thrive in other Mediterranean climates as well.

Floral arrangement is the art of creating bouquets and compositions from flowers, foliages, herbs, ornamental grasses and other botanical materials into floral designs; often the terms "floral design" and "floristry" are considered synonymous.

Ikebana is a Japanese style of floral arrangement that is over 1400 years old. Ikebana is very different from western style floral arrangement. While western style floral arrangements emphasis a large number of flowers, Ikebana is a minimalist style.