It's that time again ... If you live in th City of Frederick, you'll be setting out bulk trash for pickup over the next week or two. (Click here for info and guidelines.)

Before you dump all your unwanted furniture on the sidewalk, consider donating usable items to a local non-profit. Many organizations are in need of office furniture and other necessities.

Just this weekend, we sent two truckloads of office furniture to the MET, who have recently expanded. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to get rid of some clutter, and it was a great way for them to fill their new space.

As far as I can see, it's a win-win-win situation. My house is clean, a local non-profit has more money to spend on the stuff they really need, and there's less crap in a landfill.

	Photo by Jessica Hibbard Cleopatra, one of the avian residents at Grasshopper Perennials.

A couple weeks ago, I paid a visit to Grasshopper Perennials, a small but delightful nursery in Knoxville (near Brunswick).

Annie Hall has been in the landscape business for 25 years, but only recently began welcoming shoppers to her nursery. Her foray into propagation and growing began as a supplement to her landscape business -- Turns out the unique plants she wanted to use for her installations were too hard to come by at area nurseries, and she needed a more steady supply.

As with most gardening-related endeavors, one thing led to another, and Annie soon had her own nursery. Today, she grows 90% of the nursery's stock herself, from seeds, cuttings, and plugs. Grasshopper Perennials is transitioning to become Certified Naturally Grown, so Annie's plants are grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

Interested in paying Annie (and her spunky brood of chickens) a visit? The nursery is open by appointment only, so call 301-432-5428 in advance. I took a few photos when I was there, so you can also visit virtually.

	Photo by sunset.com An inspiring makeover from Sunset magazine: This dresser was purchased on Craigslist for just $25 and transformed with some fresh paint and hardware.

Doing some spring cleaning? I'm sure you already know that any clothing or household items that are in decent shape can be Craigslisted, Freecycled, or donated to Goodwill.

But what about all that other stuff?

If you have electronics that have kicked the bucket, don't add them to your household trash. This weekend, take it to St. John's Regional Catholic School for the first annual community computer & electronics recycling event. eEndUSA will be on hand Saturday, May 3, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to properly dispose of your computers, cell phones, VCRs, printers, and more ... For just $15 per carload. For more info, call 301-662-6722 or download the PDF flyer.

A few weeks later, you can take your household chemicals to the County's residential hazardous waste drop-off on Saturday, May 31, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Public Safety Training Facility (8349 Reich's Ford Road). Here's more info, from the press release:

Frederick County residents may bring fuels, thinners, solvents, insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, household cleaners, pool chemicals, stains, sealants, household batteries, fluorescent bulbs, pharmaceuticals, mothballs, and photogrpahic chemicals for free disposal. Pharmaceeuticals will be accepted in original containers only. Paint, radioactive chemicals, biomedical waste, firearms, ammunitions, explosives, recyclables, freon tanks, tires, vehicle batteries, and hazardous waste from businesses will not be accepted at this event. For more information, call the Department of Solid Waste Management at 301-600-1848.

Of course, getting rid of all that junk always feels good. But it's even more satisfying to repurpose something you already own instead of throwing it out and buying something new. If you're looking for inspiration, check out these stylish new creations made from old clothes and the spruced-up Craigslist finds featured in the latest issue of Sunset magazine.

	Photo by freshairechoice.com Freshaire Choice, a new VOC-free paint available at Home Depot

Ok, raise your hand if you've ever given yourself a headache while painting inside the house. (If you didn't raise your hand, you're lying.)

Those fumes that make you feel yucky are VOCs -- Volatile Organic Compounds -- vaporized chemicals that can come from any number of sources, including paint and carpet backing, and contribute to poor indoor air quality.

I don't know about you, but the thought of a house full of nasty paint smell has (more than once) delayed home improvement projects in my house. Luckily, there are new VOC-free paint options popping up all over the place.

A couple weeks ago, Jen emailed to say that she'd just used Bioshield Paint in her hallway, attested to its lack of stinky paint smell, and gave it rave reviews. (According to the company's web site, Bioshield Paint is "made primarily from naturally-derived raw materials including citrus peel extracts, essential oils, seed oils, tree resins, inert mineral fillers, tree and bee waxes, lead-free dryers and natural pigments.")

And just today, I saw a post on Re-Nest about Freshaire Choice, a new option at Home Depot. The product is the first tinted paint without VOCs. (Looks like they're offering some free samples.)

So, the next time you paint, treat yourself to a fume-free experience.

	Photo by Jessica Hibbard Our rain barrels, made with repurposed containers from good ol' McCutcheon's.

The biz section is at it again, with an interesting story about eco-friendly ideas for the garden. This time, it's rain barrels.

Rain barrels are incredibly inexpensive to make yourself, and the project is not very difficult. For our own barrels, we purchased two containers from McCutcheon's that had originally been used for something apple-flavored. After cleaning them out, we found some instructions online, and purchased some hardware, silicone, and  mosquito screen. We also needed a couple of new gutter/drain pieces to redirect water into the barrel.

The whole project probably cost us less than $20 per barrel. Now, if we get more than a quarter of an inch of rain, both barrels are full. That's over 100 gallons of water that we can use for watering plants or filling bird baths. (Please note: It's not safe for drinking or cooking!)

During last year's water ban, the supply in our barrels really came in handy. Even when the city's water supply is at normal levels, we still enjoy knowing that we don't have to pay for our rain barrel water, which would have otherwise just washed into our lawn area ... Or worse, down a storm drain.

Of course, there are more attractive options than the blue plastic barrels that we made. Wooden barrels are available at many garden centers. Or you could cover yours with a screen or vine, like this barrel I spotted on Apartment Therapy yesterday.

The FNP Business section does a great job, but it's not often that I have the pleasure of linking to a biz story with a home & garden angle.

If you missed Jon Stewart's "Back to Basics" story on page A-15 in today's FNP, click here to read it online.

It seems the Emmitsburg Business and Professional Association has been hosting monthly Green Living Forums. This week's event featured presentations by Pax Gardens and Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The topic? Native plants and DNR's Backyard Buffers program.

Despite several attempts to find a useful link to Backyard Buffers on DNR's web site, I came up short. To learn more about the program, which offers free seedlings to qualified applicants, call 301-416-7261 or 301-791-4010.

	Photo by wikipedia.org Common domesticated honeybee

Two recent news stories caught my attention:

• Last week, on NPR's Morning Edition, they mentioned Haagen Dazs' $250,000 contribution to research projects at Penn State and the University of California. Many of the company's ice cream flavors require ingredients that are pollinated by honeybees, and the poor little critters are disappearing. Click here to listen to the story.
• Just this morning, The Baltimore Sun's political blog reported on a proposed bill to proclaim a special Pollinator Week in June in the State of Maryland. (I know you're probably laughing about this, but 75% of our flowering plants rely on animals to do pollination work. That includes all the fruit, vegetables, and grains we eat every day. Without pollinators, we'll all starve to death.) Here's the post.

So what does this mean for gardeners? Well, there are several ways you can make your garden more attractive to pollinators. It's fun to watch them at work in the garden, and you'll benefit from increased fruit & vegetable production. Here's how:

• Reduce (or preferably, eliminate) the use of pesticides -- Bees and other pollinators are super-sensitive to chemicals.
• Plant native flowering plants (trees, shrubs, and perennials) to provide nectar -- Bees seem to love plants in the aster family (daisies, asters, sunflowers) and the mint family (mint, lavender, salvia), but there are many great choices. Shop for plants locally and ask a helpful employee to make recommendations for your garden.
• Create habitats -- Place bat boxes and bee nesting blocks in the garden. If you're really into it, you can take a course in beekeeping and set up your own hives.

There's a huge list of links to online resources at pollinator.org. Locally, you can contact Maryland Cooperative Extension's Frederick County office for information about beekeeping and other garden-related inquiries.

	Photo by dominomag.com This treehouse is pretty, but a little extreme. I'm thinking electricity and running water are pretty much out of the question?

Green, sustainable, eco-friendly ... The buzzword for this super-hot trend has many incarnations. Regardless, environmentally-conscious home design has finally earned a reputation for its aesthetic advantages as well as its ethical and practical benefits.

In case you missed it, our very own FNP offered up a great story earlier this week. (On the front page, even!) Click here to read Adam Behsudi's "How to go green in the historic district."

Looking for more? The current issue of Domino magazine has a green theme, and Design*Sponge's Grace Bonney offers the swanky shelter mag an online exclusive of her favorite affordable** eco-friendly accessories.

If you're into sustainable solutions that are a bit less frou-frou, there's always Treehugger, Home By Sunset, EcoSpace, The Green Life, and This Old House.

** "Affordable" is a term used loosely in this case. I don't think $76 for a bowl made out of a log is that much of a deal. But there are still some neat ideas to glean from this roundup of products.

	Photo by amazon.com "The New Green Christmas: How to make this and every holiday an environmental celebration" by The Evergreen Alliance

I was looking for something on my bookshelf when this little paperback caught my eye. My parents bought it in the early '90s, and somehow it wound up in my own personal library.

Now that we're approaching 2008, reading it is sort of a trip down memory lane. But in light of recent water restrictions and public discussions about waste, energy, and recycling, many of the ideas are surprisingly up-to-date:

• Low-flow aerators that screw on to bath and kitchen faucets are the perfect size for stocking stuffers. Bonus: The recipients will reduce water usage by 50%, an average of 300 gallons per month for a family of four ... Plus, you know you love the thrill of shopping for Christmas gifts at the hardware store.
• Make your Christmas cards edible -- Bake an extra-large cookie and write your greeting in icing. Bonus: Since there's no waste, the recipients can completely avoid the incinerator vs. recycling debate with this one.
• Give a down comforter (and a good night's sleep) to someone special. Bonus: The recipient will feel comfortable enough to click the thermostat down a few extra degrees at night, which saves money and fossil fuel.

And, if you'd really like to know what my semi-hippie childhood was like ... Try one of these DIY projects, both of which received my mom's wholehearted endorsement:

• Cut the tops off laundry soap and cereal boxes and reuse as magazine holders. If you're feeling fancy, cut at an angle and cover with colorful paper.
• Make some snazzy firestarters using pine cones: Melt a bunch of old candles in a double-boiler, and use the hot wax to half-fill the cups in an old muffin tin. Add a cotton string wick and a pinecone to each cup. After the wax cools, stick the entire tin in the freezer for a few minutes, then pop out the finished product. Eat your heart out, Martha!

	Photo by Jessica Hibbard Our own small yard in Frederick is now a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

It's always this time of year, when the trees start to look bare and the temperature drops, that I start thinking about all the critters outside who don't migrate south for the winter. Their needs for food and shelter are even greater than usual at this time of year ... And if you know what they're looking for, you can create a backyard habitat that's a magnet for some pretty entertaining wildlife!

Over the past couple years, we've added native plants, a birdbath, bird feeders, and other elements to our own yard that make it more enjoyable for us and our wild friends. We've seen a Monarch butterfly laying eggs on our Asclepias incarnata, and Goldfinches eating the seeds from our Echinacea purpurea.

Earlier this spring, we realized we had all the elements required to register our yard as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. According to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), we're not alone. Since 1973, over 75,000 homes, schools, and businesses have been certified as wildlife habitats.

Wondering where to get started? Here are the essential elements:

• Food sources (seeds, fruits, and nectar)
• Water sources (birdbath, pond, stream, water garden)
• Places for cover (rockpile, birdhouse, bat house, shrubs)
• Places to raise young (shrubs, nesting box, pond)
• Sustainable gardening practices (mulching, composting, rain gardening, eliminating pesticides and synthetic fertilizers)

To learn more, check out these online resources:

• NWF: Garden for Wildlife
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• US Fish & Wildlife Service: Bayscaping

	Photo by ecoble.com Sprial Island, built in 1998, was later destroyed by a hurricane. Plans are in the works for a second island.

This came to my attention via an email sent to my husband's workplace: Apparently Richie Sowa, a man with access to an extremely large number of soda bottles, built his own floating island off the coast of Mexico.

Here's the story: Sowa collected 250,000 empty soda bottles, which he netted and suspended from a bamboo frame. He added sand, plants, a two-story house, solar oven, composting toilet, and rain collection system. Voila -- DIY floating island!

The original 3500 sq. ft. island was destroyed by a hurricane, but Sowa is starting work on a new island.

Intrigued? Read the story on Treehugger or watch the YouTube video.

P.S. -- If you click through all the links above, you'll see that there's some question as to the sustainability of this project. However, since Sowa clearly intended it to be an experiment in eco-friendly living, I'm still categorizing it as such.