How the Garden
Grows

HARVEST THAT H₂O!
Cost-conscious gardeners are look-
ing to use less wa-
ter, and experts
say that the best
way to conserve
is cost-free “wa-
ter harvesting.”
“Contour the
ground so that
the water that falls on the roofline
gets directed to plants instead of
running off the property,” says Scott
Millard, owner of Ironwood Press,
a Tucson, Arizona–based publisher
of gardening books.

TREE-SAVING SIDEWALKS To save trees, more than 60 U.S. cities have installed rubber sidewalks made from recycled tires. The rubber doesn’t constrict tree roots like concrete slabs do, so root systems don’t pull up and crack sidewalks. The rubber sidewalks last twice as long as concrete and also are easier on human joints.

GRASS, BE GONE

More than 70 Canadian municipal-ities have passed laws restricting pesticides used purely for cosmetic purposes—e.g., on lawns.

In drought-stricken southern Nevada, local water authorities are paying home owners to remove