When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard.
Lakota

Autumn may seem like an odd time of year to consider green landscaping and gardening practices but as tons of leaves are carted away from properties across the country is a reminder of all the dangerous and expensive fertilizers that will take their place. A reminder of the mind set, the culture of waste, that has evolved in the place of many of our ancestors' values.

Climate change, and air quality are rooted more deeply in the way we treat our immediate property than in what remains of the remote jungles and rain forests of Africa, Asia, and South America. The EPA reports that approximately 30 percent of the water used daily by a family of four in the U.S. is devoted to outdoor uses such as watering lawns and gardens. The National Cancer Institute found that children who lived in households where outdoor pesticides were used regularly were 6 to 9 times more likely to develop some forms of childhood leukemia; when indoor pesticides were regularly used the number increased four times.

All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them.
Arapaho

It seems backwards that many gardeners and landscapers take pride in their use of non-native species which often require immense amounts of fertilizers and pesticides in order to thrive in our foreign setting, or complain when invasive species take over our gardens and cannot be held in check by native competition. Perhaps we all just want to be kings and queens capable of wasteful extravagance at any cost; but what if the cost includes our little princes and princesses?

There are many forms of and perspectives on sustainable gardening or landscaping from Masanobu Fukuoka Gardening, to organic and biointensive gardening.

All techniques can be understood easily by viewing the garden as part of a living organism. We can understand how lack of sleep can make us irritable, caffeine can make us more alert and later crash, and how fear or misery can make us sick to our stomachs. When viewed as a system, it makes sense that the introduction of fertilizers to our lawns to get it to thrive where it otherwise can't can create a cycle of dependency on these products. It makes sense that the use of non-native species can invite and encourage pests that these species have little or no defense against; requiring by extension the use of harsher and harsher pesticides (and deeper and deeper pockets) much in the same way the use of antibiotics can open us up to fungal infections.

When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.
Arapaho

A healthy sustainable landscape can not only reduce the use of dangerous chemicals but save a ton of money (and yes time also) all while reducing the impact of other water, ground and air pollutants! Now that is something to brag to the neighbors about.

Good resources for simple sustainable gardening include:

GreenScaping published by the EPA
Sustainable Gardening Tips
Recycle Works
Susstainable sites

If our culture is to survive we may need to return to old wisdoms, shift our locus of pride and recognize that mastery of our planet is in learning to thrive as it thrives. We must recognize that change must first take root in our own backyards; and we must learn to teach these values to our children. It is not enough to cross or fingers or to wait for someone to hurry up and do something.