Your garden practices affect the larger landscape—neighborhood, meadows, deserts, forests, waters. Take the quiz, add 1 point per "yes," find your score meaning at bottom.
DESIGN
- Paving: Permeable paving (gravel, decomposed granite, pavers with spaces)?
- Irrigation: Drip system with automatic controller? Regularly reprogrammed for seasonal demands?
- Watering zones: Group plants by water needs? Major areas survive on rainfall after second season?
- Water features: Pondless waterfalls/small recirculating fountains, or dry creekbed/paving mimicking water, or no water features? Infiltration pit or rain garden to catch/filter rainwater?
- Trees for shade: Deciduous trees sited for summer cooling shade, winter sun?
- Materials/furnishings: Sustainably harvested woods (ipe, bamboo) or recycled (Trex)?
PLANTING
- Appropriate plants: Well-adapted to climate (natives/appropriate non-natives)? Locally grown? Disease-resistant varieties of fruit trees, roses, tomatoes?
- Lawns: Unthirsty grass (buffalo grass) or no lawn?
- Plants for wildlife: Feed/shelter birds, butterflies? Flowers attracting beneficial insects (ladybugs, lacewings)? Perennials (echinacea, lavender, penstemon, salvia) attracting pollinators (bees, hummingbirds)?
MAINTENANCE
- Composting: Regularly compost all green/brown waste (leaves, seedless weeds, clippings, spent flowers, vegetables)?
- Fertilizing: Leave grass clippings to refertilize turf? Use natural fertilizers (aged chicken manure, liquid fish emulsion) for veggies/annuals?
- Mulching: Regularly mulch with organic materials to suppress weeds, conserve water?
- Nontoxic controls: First try soft controls (water jets for aphids, corn gluten for weeds, handpicking/copper for snails)? Educate on pest/disease/weed products before use? Avoid garden chemicals before/during/after rains?
- Recycling: Recycle (not toss) brick, broken concrete, nursery containers? Properly dispose of chemicals via local agencies?
- Soils: Refresh beds each season by tilling in generous organic amendments (aged compost)?
- Tools: Use hoes, reel mowers, rakes instead of gas-powered tools causing dust, noise, air pollution?
- Watering: Water efficiently—no runoff/waste (slowly, deeply, infrequently, early morning/evening, never windy)? Irrigate established trees slowly/deeply with soaker hoses/deep-root irrigators in heat? Capture rainwater in barrels for later use?
- Weeding: Pull weeds before they set seed/spread? Ensure new plants aren't invasive in your area (English ivy, buddleja in NW; pampas grass, Scotch broom in CA; grasses, Kahili ginger in HI)?
Scoring
- 1–6: It's a start.
- 7–15: Good job; keep it up.
- 16–24: High five—nearly there.
- 25–32: Congratulations! True steward of the land.
