The green product resource for your home remodel.

Rain Bird Corporation announced today that they have opened registration to win a $10,000 backyard makeover in their Why is it Always Greener contest.  One grand prize winner will receive a gift card to the home retailer of their choice, and a first prize winner will receive a $500 gift card.  The sweepstakes only requires you to fill out their form electronically and submit.   GetWithGreen.com thinks this could be a great way to get in on transforming your backyard to a greener solution — using products like automatic sprinkler shut-off sensors.

The deadline for entries is midnight on August 31, 2008. Winners will be announced in October 2008.

Additionally, the Rain Bird team is still accepting nominations for its Intelligent Use of Water Award.  This award is open to homeowners (and organizations) whose This post continues… »

Cyber-Rain’s wireless sprinkler control system was recognized by GetWithGreen.com as the Best Green Home Remodeling Product for 2007, and the Cyber-Rain team continues to have tricks up their sleeve to improve the product for all of us.

This week GetWithGreen.com caught up with Greg Nagy Cyber-Rain’s Director of Business Operations. Greg discussed upcoming upgrades that will soon expand the functionality of the new XCI systems, as well as upgrade your existing Cyber-Rain XCI system! In the coming months you will be able to securely access your Cyber-Rain from This post continues… »

Dark woods are in indoors, and this week Trex announced a new color to their Brasilia outdoor decking product: Espresso.

Trex Brasilia(R) decking and railing takes its design inspiration from the exotic look of tropical hardwoods. Building upon positive consumer response to this collection, Trex introduced a new color and a new fastening system to the Trex Brasilia collection at the 2008 International Builders’ Show (IBS).

Already available in Burnished Amber and Cayenne colors, Trex is debuting Brasilia in new Espresso, which resembles the dark brown hardwood look that is in style throughout all home living categories - including furniture and flooring. This deep and warm color offers minimal fading over time, which allows Espresso to maintain its richness. Like the existing Trex Brasilia color options, Espresso features subtle shading and This post continues… »

Yesterday, Pennington Seed unveiled ‘Smart Seed’, which they claim is the first environmentally-friendly grass seed. The seeds are coated with their ‘MYCO Advantage’, an exclusive blend of beneficial, all-natural root organisms that contribute to plant growth. The additional nutrients have been shown to result in denser and deeper root systems helping to achieve a thick, healthy, more drought resistant lawn.

According to Pennington, the average lawn requires 10,000 gallons of water in addition to what is provided by rainfall each year. By planting a new lawn or over seeding an existing lawn with Smart Seed, homeowners can conserve up to 3,000 gallons of water per year, so they can conserve water and save money.

Smart Seed is available in Tall Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Rye and Bermudagrass seed blends, as well as Sun and Shade, Fescue/Bluegrass and Dense Shade seed mixtures.

Have you or someone you know tried ‘Smart Seed’? Are you aware of similar grass offerings? We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a comment to share your experience.

Look out!  During your remodel your existing landscaping could be in for a beating!  

Construction workers, Bobcats, piles of lumber, nails, gravel, etc.  You can imagine, or maybe you already know what I am talking about.  Well there are precautions you can take to reduce the damage to your wallet, to your trees and plants, and to limit the impact on the environment overall for the energy it takes to replace them!

Here are a few things you can do to preserve:

• Agree with your contractor before the project starts that your landscaping is important.
• Install temporary fencing around roots, and trees.
• Don’t allow materials to be stacked under trees, as the weight can damage roots systems.
• Watch for washing of wheelbarrows in planted areas, as the lime in the mix can create harmful pH levels.
• Schedule waterings on weekends, or when workers are gone so they are not walking through wet soil.

There are many more ideas in Tom Dominguez’s recent article:  Tips for your landscape during construction projects.

The DIY Network and Carter Oosterhouse from Inside Job talks eco-friendly landscaping mulch in the form of recycled rubber tires in this video. 

As we covered late last month, approximately one tire is discarded per person per year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports 290 million scrap tires were generated in 2003.  GetWithGreen.com believes that you should definitely take a look at mulch that repurposes this rubber waste. 

Related Articles on GetWithGreen:

- Ground cover & playground material solves a waste problem
- Eco-friendly backyard playground equipment
- Weed herbicide product that is eco-friendly
- 10 Steps to a Better and Eco-Friendly Lawn
- Don’t Use Chemicals, Try this Weedblocker

When it comes to making their homes more environmentally friendly, most homeowners start inside the home first — choosing energy-efficient appliances and compact fluorescent light bulbs, or dialing back their thermostat.

But many opportunities also exist outside the home to ensure that we’re being responsible to the environment.  Follow these tips for environmentally-friendly landscaping:

• Shrink the size of your lawn and replace it with diverse landscape beds. Reducing the size of your turf saves mowing time and energy, reduces water consumption, and decreases the need for fertilizers.

• Plant regionally native plants to enhance biodiversity.  Check with your local or state native plant society to find some good examples of native plants.

• Reduce the use of This post continues… »

Traditional options for potted landscape has been clay pottery, or plastic.  There are now new options for your new deck, or new patio following your remodel.  You can now buy back- and frontyard pottery made from renewable grain husks that are:

- Made from natural by-products of renewable and sustainable crops
- contain no wood or petroleum ingredients
- deplete no natural resources
- naturally breakdown to easily decompose in landfills or into the earth 

These new types of plant containers can last 3-5 years under normal usage, are suitable for all climates, and are resistant to freezing and thawing damage.  The pots keep their shape until their end of life, and then when discarded into a landfill they decompose into organic matter. 

ecosource Home & Garden is one supplier of these new style of backyard pottery.  The company distributes three different lines.  The greenPots are made from a rice hulls (price range: $6-21).  The Enviro Collection are made from bamboo (price range: $4-12), and the new COIR line — just announced yesterday!    

COIR is the third line of biodegradable pots, and they are made from coconut fibers. The product was unveiled at the recent Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market in Atlanta where the company received This post continues… »