The house referred to as The Sustainable House, located in Minnetonka, Minnesota is a residential construction, research project conceived and managed by the Live Green, Live Smart Institute. This was actually a remodel of a 1948 rambler, and took two years to green up. Incorporated in the redesign are various eco-friendly home options such as sustainable energy systems, water saving devices, significant reuse of materials and extensive environmental landscaping.

The best part is you can tour the home, even if you don’t happen to be Minnesota bound. The home is featured online and has some nifty interactive features going for it. Clicking in specific areas will give you a run down of how they greened the space.

Check out the house!

[image via Live Green, Live Smart Institute]

If you’re planning an organic garden for spring, I hope you’ve been gathering ideas for non-toxic, healthy landscaping. If not here are a few eco-garden starter ideas.

Make your own non-toxic weed killer: Mix 1 ounce orange oil and 1 teaspoon liquid soap (I’d use natural) with 1 gallon of 10% white vinegar. Put some in a spray bottle and use it to spot spray weeds that pop up. Shake well before use.

Start collecting egg cartons: Use these for seed starting vs. plastic cups. You can also try composting or biodegradable seed starting pots.

Plan for crop rotation: Crop rotation is important for an organic garden. This keeps soil at a fertile level and inhibits disease and insects. So, if you’ve been planting your lettuce and carrots in the same places year after year, this season, sit down with a notepad and sketch out a new planting plan.

Save your coffee grounds: During the planting season you can sprinkle used organic coffee grounds into the soil to both enrich the soil content and keep pests like slugs and snails away. You can use non-organic, but organic is better due to the rich mineral content.

Get a better bag for leaves and debris: Snag some 100% biodegradable cornstarch-based leaf bags to gather the leaves and other debris from your yard then toss it straight into the compost bin.

Need more organic garden ideas?

• Choose the Greenest Plants for Home Landscaping
• Organic Garden Planning – Pick Up Organic Garden Seeds Now
• Tree Planting Where You Live
• Using Environmental Landscaping at Your House

You can plant almost anything when it comes to landscaping – BUT that doesn’t mean you should plant any old thing. Part of using environmental landscaping for your home means focusing on plants that make sense for your location and site. Right now is a great time to consider which plants to choose – before you buy organic seeds or plant starts.

Why bother choosing the correct plants?

• Your landscape and garden environment is more likely to thrive on its own. This cuts down on evasive care and nurturing.
• You’ll reduce fertilizer, water, and pesticide use if you choose plants that naturally thrive in your specific environment.
• Your plants will attract the helpful bugs, birds, and butterflies you want in in your garden and eliminate the pests you don’t want around. Native plants are much better at this task than weird non-site specific plants.

Tips for choosing the right plants:

I suggest starting at your local nursery. The folks at a local site know the area, know the weather, and know the water. A pro can help you find the best native plants and flowers.

Read Heat-Zone Gardening: How to Choose Plants That Thrive in Your Region’s Warmest Weather. This book will help you choose plants that will thrive in your area and is not only handy for warm weather regions but everywhere.

Better Homes & Gardens has an extensive regional gardening section, as does the National Gardening Association, and Gardenplace.com. You can also use basic Plant Hardiness Maps. All of the above resources allow you to make smart plant decisions – i.e find the best plants for your landscaping needs that cause the lowest eco-impact.

Tree Planting Where You Live can help you decide which trees to include in your landscaping plans.

What’s your gardening region? Does your region make it harder to plant what you like?

Some basic tips for earth-friendly landscaping:

Use tree placement wisely: Trees planted in the correct spot can act as wind blockers, and or can keep out the scorching sunlight of summer.You can even plant trees to create a funnel effect which can direct cooling winds to your home in the summer.

Vine usage: You can plant climbing vines on arbors on or right near the most sun exposed side of your house which can lower cooling costs in the summer.

Less grass: The less grass you have the less watering you’ll do. If you can, plan for extra patio space or flower beds vs. grass.

Go native: It’s good eco planning to plant native to your area plants. These plants are already well-adapted to your environment, and will require less care and resources than plants from other regions.

Plant shade; Even if you don’t use trees as energy saving applications for your home, they can be used to conserve yard-care resources. Trees and shrubs create shade, which in turn helps to maintain a cooler environment and saves water (less water is evaporated from say, flowers under a tree than flowers out in the open.)

Mulch: Mulching saves water, reduces the need for chemical soil amendments, and makes weeds pull out much easier.

For more organic eco-landscaping tips read:

• Green Audit Your Yard and Garden
• Quick Green Yard Tip – Push Mowers
• Natural Ways to Get Rid of Garden Pests
• Earthworms for Your Home Organic Garden
• Green Yard Renovations: Choosing the Right Plants
• Green Your Lawn