Environmentally Friendly Landscaping

Can we all agree that it would be a good thing to reduce the amount of chemicals that we put into our sensitive mountain environment? I think it would be a safe bet that most people when asked would say that they want to live in a clean environment. As with everything, we cannot control most big picture things but we can control what we do at home.

Is It Really A Problem?

Most leaf spot fungi on trees, shrubs and flowers are a nuisance in our gardens but do not harm plants. This means the use of pesticides is not necessary when we have some spots on our leaves. The majority of times plants will recover.

It is true that sometimes insects eat the leaves on our trees, shrubs and flowers. However many times these insects are actually really good insects. For instance Gulf Fritillary butterfly larvae feed on passion flower vines. Monarch butterfly larvae feed on milkweed. Learn more about butterflies and their plant hosts in NC State's Butterflies Your Backyard publication.

Learn To Tolerate Some Plant Damage

In an effort to avoid adding pesticides to the environment, I have learned to tolerate some insect and fungal damage on my landscape plants. I have also learned to appreciate the beauty of fungi and insects that we once considered pests in order to reduce my contribution to pesticides that are put into our mountain environment.