the green real estate Asheville: GOING GREEN
By shifting to a sustainable and low-maintenance approach in landscape design, trading out plants that demand a lot of 
attention and substituting plants that seem to do well on their own, many of us around Asheville, NC have found more time to be "neighborly" . Many of us are way less exhausted on the weekend when we get together. The lawns are smaller, but the landscaping is mighty attractive with ground covers and shrubs, and mulch praising our efforts for sustainable landscape design, and some of this even is edible.
GREEN Living Tip Asheville: Low Maintenance Landscape Benefits
- REDUCED money, water, chemicals and labor.
- Wonderful wildlife habitat and viewing.
- Increased probability of a strong foundation that invites other wild plants to come in and grow.
- Increased time to live with and learn about each other and the plants used - adaptable, drought-tolerant, insect- and disease-resistant -
Less effort- =)
______________________________________________________________________________________
__~o
-\_<,
(*)/'(*) .......... ............ the green real estate Asheville: GOING GREEN: Mountain homes and land legacies, socially conscious investing, rolling into a sustainable world. Create it today for tomorrow. Find eco-friendly LAND. Build a green home. GREEN Real Estate, Retrofits and Relocation: ECO HOMES AND LAND. Serving Asheville's Eco-Friendly-Home, Relocation LAND Clients. The Eco-Steward Firm, ALL Eco-Certified® Real Estate Consultants! http://landlegacies.blogspot.com/
Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved the green real estate Asheville Journal
_________________________________________________________________________
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT
when Buying, Selling or Relocating to Asheville, North Carolina. 
This professional REALTOR'S® has an eye for extraordinary value
"My Team and I specialize in homes on the GreenSide- golf course, second and vacation homes,
in Mountain Homes and Land Legacies, golf course communities, and properties of enduring excellence.
stylish equestrian estates and land legacy acreages in the Greater Asheville Area." "
janeAnne "Asheville's Greenolina" Narrin, M.A., CSW, is a golf enthusiast and real estate consultant specializing in eco-sensitive golf communities, mountain homes and land legacies. She is the author of numerous articles on Asheville's Homes on the GreenSide and has served on the Green Experts Board for the New Life Journal.She currently co-chairs the ECO Committee at the Asheville Board of REALTORS®. She is an avid putter!
Media:: HGTV filmed her Eco-All-Star Team for a show on sustainable innovation for HGTV's Green Week. "Asheville's Greenolina" real estate media interviews and articles appear in various print and online publications. Her nonfiction titles: Authentic Communication on the Worldwide Web and A Curriculum for Practical Real Estate. Narrin ("Asheville's Greenolina") holds the highly-regarded designations of NAR GREEN®, ECO Certified ® Real Estate Consultant, EcoBroker® and e-PRO®.
828-776-0773
Wonderful! I really have to look for lower maintenance potted plants that adapt to wind, rain, sun.... I love my plants but some need too much attention and end up dying on me :(
I would love to have alternatives to my plain lawn, but does this mean that I would not get to compete with my neighbors for the greenest and most luscious lawn on my street.
janeAnne,
You have a little smile next to less effort, but it's true! How about less mowing? Less noise from the mower? Less gas wasted by the mower? Less toxins taken in walking behind a mower?
Actually, I have a push mower. I get fresh air, excersize. I had to hunt for the silly thing, found it on the bottom shelf at the hardware store - had dust on it!
janeAnne - Landscaping with native and low maintenance plants is a gift we give to the environment, our neighbors, and ourselves.
Absolutrely using native plants - I live in an area where there are a number of conservancies and wildflowers in one of the many areas I am drawn to
Very Very nice tips janAnne !!! Some alternatives to think about !
Cheers !
Sheldon
janeAnne, we had someone from the National Park Service come to a neighborhood meeting to talk about this. Even the choice of grass for the lawn can make a huge difference. I think this will catch on!
Jane Anne, I have used a product called ECOGRASS for both my homes. It is a mix of Ryes and Fescues that would naturally grow in the climate I live in. Once well rooted, you don't have to water it, you don't have to feed it, you hardly have to weed it, and you cut it about a quarter as often as regular grass. Makes sense to grow grasses that are indigenous to your area =)
Jane Anne: As a professional organic Gardener located in Whitby, Ontario I am in complete agreement with you on shifting to more sustainable and lower maintenance plant choices. Through proper soil preparation and growing techniques that list of plant choices increases dramatically. Even roses are quite drought tolerant, and carefull variety selection will yield you a low maintenance plant.