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In a 2003 study, the National Gardening Association found that US consumers spent a total of $38.4 billion on their lawns and gardens. The study also revealed that eight out of ten (84 million) US households engaged in one or more categories of do-it-yourself lawn and garden activities. The lushness of these personal landscapes, however, come with an environmental cost.[1]

Lawns

There are about 31.6 million acres of turf—almost 50,000 square miles—in the US. Lawns (including residential and commercial lawns, as well as golf courses) could be considered the single largest irrigated crop in America in terms of surface area, occupying three times more land than is devoted to irrigated corn. About 200 gallons of fresh water per person per day would be required to provide adequate water for the nation’s lawn surface area.[2]

A lawnmower used for one hour creates as much air pollution as a car driven for 20 miles. Each year in the US, $5.2 billion is spent on fossil fuel-based lawn fertilizers; 67,000,000 pounds of synthetic lawn pesticides are applied; and 580 million gallons of gasoline are used in lawnmowers. Depending on the city, 30 to 60 percent of fresh water in urban areas is used to water lawns.[3]
Learn more at GreenYour Lawn

Landscaping

Landscaping your property—whether it’s a small city courtyard, suburban lot, or rural acreage—can increase your home's energy efficiency, save water, sequester carbon, improve the air and water quality, and foster wildlife. Choosing the right trees, shrubs, hardscaped surfaces, decorative mulches, and other landscape materials—and putting them in the right place—can help make your yard green in more ways than one.

A well-designed landscape can greatly reduce the amount of energy used for home heating and air conditioning. Properly positioned trees can save up to 25 percent of energy consumption for home heating and cooling. US Department of Energy (DOE) computer models show that just three properly placed trees will save from $100 to $250 in yearly energy costs.[4]

How we care for our lawns and landscapes also affects air quality. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that gasoline-powered landscape equipment, including mowers, trimmers, blowers, and chainsaws, are the cause of over 5 percent of urban air pollution.[5]
Learn more at GreenYour Landscaping

Gardening

According to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), American homeowners use 10 times more pesticides per acre than American farmers.[6] In the US from 1982 to 2001, the total yearly spending on home and garden pesticides increased from $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion.[7] The Environmental Working Group found agricultural weed killers—including atrazine, cyanazine, metolachlor, and acetochlor—in the tap water of 28 of the 29 cities tested. In 13 cities, average levels of weed killers in the tap water exceeded federal standards.[8]
Learn more at GreenYour Gardening