Best for the Garden: Nurture your Corner of Nature

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Hot House Flowers

Want a low-water strip garden that can take the heat? High Country Gardens’ Inferno Strip Pre-Planned Garden is a collection of tough, low-growing perennials that need minimal water and thrive in sun-scorched areas. The garden’s variety of species, such as agastache, penstemon, dianthus and artemesia, blossom in shades of purple, pink and red.

"High Country Gardens is committed to the principles of xeriscaping," spokesperson Randy Schultz says. And the company practices what it preaches. "At its Santa Fe headquarters, High Country boasts a state-of-the-art rainwater-harvesting system that provides irrigation water for the plants the company raises and sells," Schultz says.

Inferno Strip Garden: $145. (800) 925-9387 

Make a Reel Difference

If you prefer the scent of fresh-cut grass to mower exhaust, make the switch to a reel mower by Sunlawn. The pollution- and carbon-emissions reduction will be enormous.

"When you replace your gas mower with a push model, it’s like permanently taking 73 cars off the road," says Sunlawn’s Gretchen Heine. "Reel mowers are kid-, pet-, earth- and neighbor-friendly because they’re clean and quiet."

For each Sunlawn mower purchased at participating retailers, the company dedicates a percentage of proceeds to a tree-planting carbon-offset program. The company also makes
rechargeable, battery-powered lawn trimmers.

Sunlawn MM-2 push mower (25 pounds, 16-inch cutting swath) for all thick, turf grass: $200. (970) 493-5284  

Raise Your Garden Right

If you dig the idea of raised beds for your veggies or flowers but don’t know what to frame them with, consider recycled milk jugs. Durable Plastic Design uses high-density polyethylene (HDPE)—mostly from recycled milk bottles—to make Orcaboard plastic lumber. "It’s nontoxic, maintenance-free and totally inert, and it doesn’t offgas," says co-owner Marc Lagen. "It also reduces waste going into landfills." Orcaboard isn’t treated with chemicals, and the plastic "timbers" come with a 50-year warranty.