What if the water you’re trying to capture needs to go uphill? At first glance, that might sound like a problem. Rain falls on the roof. Downspouts carry it toward the ground. Gravity wants to take it downhill and away. But in one of our residential landscapes, the best place to collect that water was […]

Shades of Green has a slightly different relationship with weeds. We don’t automatically pull them. In fact, one of the first things we teach people when they start working with their landscape is to slow down and observe before doing anything and that includes weeds. The word “weed” doesn’t actually tell us much about a […]

If you’ve ever considered installing a rainwater harvesting system, chances are you’ve asked yourself this question: “Can I even collect rainwater from my asphalt shingle roof?” Quickly followed by, “Don’t I need a metal roof?” It’s a fair question. After all, if you’re collecting water to irrigate vegetables or fruit trees, you want to know […]

The Dangers of Pesticides Walk into any garden center, and you’ll find aisle after aisle of products promising quick solutions to pest problems. A spray for aphids. A dust for ants. A treatment for caterpillars. The message is simple: identify the pest, eliminate it, and your garden will thrive, but nature is rarely that simple. […]

I’m excited to have our friend Ben Portwood of Asheville Drainage, Inc. (www.ashevilledrainage.com), a stormwater and drainage contractor serving Western North Carolina. Together, we are working to bring rainwater harvesting, infiltration, and green infrastructure to more properties across the region. Thanks for guest starring Ben!   Here in Asheville, we’ve been in a drought for […]