April 22, 2016 is Earth Day.  For the next 10 days I am going to share the history of the day and one way to help you live greener. Today is day “10” in the countdown.

Bumblebee Cares ® is committed to educating homeowners on living green.  Our commitment focuses on information about environmentally friendly home maintenance practices to provide information that produce greener living, low maintenance and sustainable living.  One practice is green landscape ideas to conserve water and energy, reduce pesticide and fertilizer use, and to recycle landscape wastes. Unfortunately, some of these principles can be difficult to implement in an established landscape especially if the owner does not wish to make drastic changes to the existing design and plantings. Over the next 10 days I will share ten practices that can easily be implemented to transform an existing landscape into one that is Earth-Beautiful.

 History: Earth Day kicked off the Environmental decade with a bang. During the 1970s, a number of important pieces of environmental legislation were passed, among them the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Another key development was the establishment in December 1970 of the Environmental Protection Agency, which was tasked with protecting human health and safeguarding the natural environment—air, water and land.

Tip of the day: Mulch adding and maintaining a three-inch layer of plant-derived mulch, such as native hardwood, will significantly reduce the amount of water required in the landscape.