LANDSCAPING AROUND YOUR HOME NOT ONLY PROVIDES A GREEN BORDER -- IT COULD ALSO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT.
YOU CAN DO THAT BY PLANTING TREES, GRASSES, FLOWERS AND SHRUBS THAT USE LESS WATER, FERTILIZER AND PESTICIDE.

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Allison Watkins / Horticulturist -- This plant is called Russian sage, and it's a great earth-kind plant because it's low water use.

ALLISON WATKINS IS A HORTICULTURIST WITH THE TOM GREEN COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE. SHE SAYS LOW WATER USE IS JUST ONE ASPECT OF THE EARTH KIND APPROACH.

Allison -- Another part of the earth-kind plan is a lot of compost instead of fertilizer to provide nutrients, and you're going to mulch over a good three or four inches, and then use drip irrigation. So this plant is doing beautifully with compost and drip irrigation as opposed to sprinklers that waste a lot of water.

THE EARTH-KIND APPROACH ALSO FOCUSES ON MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY WAYS OF GETTING RID OF PESTS.

Allison -- You're going to start with beneficial insects, using ladybugs, things like that, avoiding spraying harsh pesticides that will kill your beneficials because then you'll have secondary problems come up after that.

THE GOAL IS TO LANDSCAPE WITH ATTRACTIVE PLANTS WHICH THRIVE IN THIS CLIMATE. SHE SAYS IT'S LESS STRESSFUL ON THE PLANTS, AND LESS STRESSFUL FOR THE PERSON TAKING CARE OF THE PLANTS.

Allison -- Earth-kind planting is definitely less labor intensive than exotic hard to manage plants.>>