abluegirl:

Living Wall

These vegetated surfaces don’t just look pretty. They have other benefits as well, including cooling city blocks, reducing loud noises, and improving a building’s energy efficiency.What’s more, a recent modeling study shows that green walls can potentially reduce large amounts of air pollution in what’s called a “street canyon,” or the corridor between tall buildings.

For the study, Thomas Pugh, a biogeochemist at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, and his colleagues created a computer model of a green wall with generic vegetation in a Western European city. Then they recorded chemical reactions based on a variety of factors, such as wind speed and building placement.

The simulation revealed a clear pattern: A green wall in a street canyon trapped or absorbed large amounts of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter—both pollutants harmful to people, said Pugh. Compared with reducing emissions from cars, little attention has been focused on how to trap or take up more of the pollutants, added Pugh, whose study was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

That’s why the green-wall study is “putting forward an alternative solution that might allow [governments] to improve air quality in these problem hot spots,” he said.Compared with reducing emissions from cars, little attention has been focused on how to trap or take up more of the pollutants, added Pugh, whose study was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

That’s why the green-wall study is “putting forward an alternative solution that might allow [governments] to improve air quality in these problem hot spots,” he said.

Full Gallery

(via mamisgarden)

Not all organic fertilizers are created equal, as is apparent with these Hydrangeas growing in over-sized olive jars. 

For those of you who have been following along for a while, y’all know I’m a big fan of an organic tea from Authentic Haven Brand, made from cow manure. (Regular “users” fondly refer to it as Moo Poo Tea.) 

I’ve been using cow manure tea on a number of container gardens, houseplants and bulbs for some time now - with fabulous results - and this year, it will become an ingredient in every single container garden for spring, so if you’re one of my clients, here’s what you have to look forward to! 

Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew provides 100% natural soil nutrients, and it’s free of antibiotics, growth hormones, GMO/GE feed, herbicides and pesticides. The company, founded in 1924, is owned and operated by Annie Haven, an American rancher who inherited the company from her father. Her livestock is raised on permanent, native grass pastures at the Haven Family Ranch in California. Annie is committed to raising grass-fed livestock and providing a product that enriches the soil organically for herbs, vegetables, flowers, houseplants, bulbs, seeds, and anything else you’ve got growing in the landscape.  

What makes this organic tea so different from others? It is harvested ONLY from the by-products of Haven-owned livestock. It has no odor (a common concern for people inquiring about the product), and it is easily “brewed” in a bucket with water from the garden hose. Not much effort to get results like this! 

Link to: Authentic Haven Brand products.