KEYNOTE

Val Wilson Editor-in-Chief

Ideas from the theme of this issue, “Green and Sustainable Building Practices,” may be in your near or distant future, but here are some things you can do right now to help our planet.

Beautiful and Edible From North Vancouver landscape architect Yong, “I decided to grow a nontraditional vegetable garden with ornamental plants and vegetables next to each other. It took a week to strip the yard of glacial till, moss, and chafer beetle-damaged lawn and replace it with rich garden soil. We save $1000 a year on herbs and vegetables and love sharing our organic produce with our neighbours. The garden has become a local attraction. People often stop to gaze at it, trying to identify the many plants it contains and to tell me how much they enjoy it!”

Brown and Sustainable From Jean: “Bark nuggets look so West Coast! There’s no lawn, no energy-using/polluting lawn mover, and no weeding, fertilizing, or raking necessary. In the Fall, the huge Bigleaf Maple leaves turn brown, descend onto the nuggets, and gradually disintegrate by the following late Summer . . . when thousands more leaves start the process all over again!” Recipe for Rich Compost Tea From Arlene: “This recipe for Compost Tea was given to me many years ago by two elderly ladies in North Vancouver. They had the most spectacular garden with oodles of blooms and glorious veggies. They fed their garden homemade ‘compost tea.’

“Using lots of water and a dedicated blender, I emulsify vegetable peelings, peels, and rinds, then venture to the garden to pour the compost tea around my shrubs, flower beds, and most-prized raspberry canes. The effort is well worth the reward received from incredible fresh vegetables and flowers . . . and there’s no smelly compost hanging around or frozen organic scraps to haul to the curb in a green can.”

We trust that this issue of the magazine will serve to educate and inspire you! s