You know your TALL, top layer of pretty, blooming perennials that fall over every summer? Staking is a pain. Now is your last chance, the perfect time to cut them in half! Really. This is the last, best week to give your perennials a midsummer cut. Each stalk will...
I often feel a whole new garden begin in July at the Healthy Home Habitats house. The cool pink, blue and purple colors of most spring flowers fade to the hot oranges and many, striking, almost rhythmic versions of not-exactly-red that begin to sparkle along the...
I couldn’t agree more Lloyd Alter, in your recent Treehugger article “Why are there so many fist pumps for heat pumps these days?” Reducing demand is the challenge, the goal and so very achievable with daily decisions and choices that value the health of our planet...
It’s National Pollinator Week. I say “thank you” pollinators. Thank you for this lovely pea pod that will share the nutrients from a seed, blossomed in our soil, wonderfully transformed by sunshine to my body, giving me energy for another day. I used to think that an...
Invasive plants are removed from part of the shady north side of the property -good. It’s a rainy, early summer morning here -also good. It has rained recently so the ground is already moist -even better. I’ve bought these native, woodland plant seeds from a reputable...
This lawn spiral is just one experimental way to inspire homeowners to mow less, leave areas of unmown, more diverse plants in their yard. It’s a fun way to gain these five benefits!; #1 You’ll help the bees. “A study by the USDA Forest Service found that cutting the...
It's summer. Yay! And daytime temperatures are now exceeding 85 degrees. 🙁 So now we start the summer, energy-efficiency, window dance to begin at the Healthy Home Habitats house. Yes, the solar panels & heat pumps here provided 90% of our heat this past winter...
For years, many homeowners in our Monadnock region have struggled to create and maintain a coveted, green lawn in the frequently sandy, thin, acid soils of our Granite State. Now as concerns mount regarding the unintended damage of lawn maintenance chemicals, the...
Oh boy, no rain again today... “Wait Mommy, I’ll turn on the rain for you!” my young daughter said as she ran to one of the rain-barrels along the dripline of our roof years ago. “In 2012, the top 1 percent of rainfall events in the northeast carried 71 percent more...
Dear Healthy Home Habitats, Our water bills are rising and droughts are back again this year. I think I’m finally through with the “best lawn in the neighborhood" competition. But I’m not ready for the cost, expense and effort of creating a meadow. I need my yard to...