Breathe Easier

Having plants around is great for where you live and where you work. Not only are they lovely to look at, they improve the air you breathe! The following air-purifying plants look great, produce oxygen, and can even absorb contaminants like formaldehyde and benzene (commonly off- gassed from furniture and mattresses). The best part? Nary an electrical cord, nor a battery in sight. Ahhhh.

*Spider plant

*Peace lily

*Snake plant

*Elephant ear

*Weeping fig

*Rubber plant

*Bamboo palm

Keep Your Garden Green

*Plant some bamboo. Bamboo contributes to the balancing of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

*Don’t use a leaf blower. The horrible noise is reason enough to avoid these machines. Compost instead, and never burn leaves!

*Plant a garden using xeriscaping-no water needed. Find out more at ecolife.com/garden/natural-lawn/xeriscaping.html.

*Capture rainwater for gardens.

*Fertilize with grass clippings.

*When watering your garden, turn on the water early in the morning to minimize evaporation.

*Try not to fertilize before a storm to avoid the fertilizer being washed away.

Breathe Easier

Having plants around is great for where you live and where you work. Not only are they lovely to look at, they improve the air you breathe! The following air-purifying plants look great, produce oxygen, and can even absorb contaminants like formaldehyde and benzene (commonly off- gassed from furniture and mattresses). The best part? Nary an electrical cord, nor a battery in sight. Ahhhh.

    *Spider plant

    *Peace lily

    *Snake plant

    *Elephant ear

    *Weeping fig

    *Rubber plant

    *Bamboo palm

Plant Flowers in Abandoned Lots

    May Day was a sacred celebration of Spring in ancient times and remains a special day for common folk. I have attended several marvelous festivities complete with garlanded Maypoles; one held by Z Budapest is a treasured memory. I have my own tradition for this merry month, which is a really simple and easy way to celebrate spring: I plant flower seeds in neglected plots of land all around the Bay Area, particularly nasturtiums, which thrive on neglect and can bloom anywhere and under any circumstances. I could give a driving tour of San Francisco and the East Bay and show you the brightly colored patches that are the result of my Johnny Appleseed-style scattershot approach. You can even eat them! I always have a lot of nasturtiums growing in my garden and I collect the seeds once they have flowered in plastic baggies. I joke to my friends that I would like my legacy to be that I was "Fiesta Brenda," the name of a mix that yields a riot of color that can turn any former parking lot or weed patch into a pocket of red, yellow, and orange sunshine. I will add that some of my tenth-generation crop mutated into a lovely variegated leaf, which only adds to the glory. This bit of freeganomics feeds my should like almost nothing else. I would say it is a sensible act of beauty.

Ditch the High-Maitenance Front Lawn and Plant Natives

    As a Northern Californian experiencing a serious drought, I am thrilled to see more and more gardens being cultivated with plants that need no water. This method is called xeriscaping and is gorgeous and has enormous variety. If you're tired of the constant mow/water/fertilizer cycle of your lawn, consider getting rid of it altogether. It's not as bizarre as it sounds. Some water conservationists estimate that up to 40% of a household's water usage during the summer months is spent on outdoor watering, so ditching the lawn altogether can save you time and money, not to mention a precious resource. One eco-friendly option is to replace that turf with plants indigenous to your region, which will require less water and look far prettier than any ol' square of green grass could ever. Start a xeriscaping movement on your street

Breathe Easier

    Having plants around is great for where you live and where you work. Not only are they lovely to look at, they improve the air you breathe! The following air-purifying plants look great, produce oxygen, and can even absorb contaminants like formaldehyde and benzene (commonly off-gassed from furniture and mattresses). The best part? Nary an electrical cord, nor a battery, in sight. Ahhhh.

    *Spider plant

    *Peace lily

    *Snake plant

    *Elephant ear

    *Weeping fig

    *Rubber plant

    *Bamboo palm