Make Your Lawn Naturally Beautiful

Image Gallery Some lawn care chemicals are toxic to wildlife, including birds, bees and fish. You can make your yard "greener" by choosing natural alternatives. ISTOCKPHOTO/MICHAEL WESTHOFF

Is your lawn chemically dependent? Every year, many of us treat our yards with pesticides and fertilizers in hopes of creating a healthy and attractive lawn. The problem is that many of the products we use on our lawns aren’t good for us or for the environment. The good news is that there are simple, nontoxic alternatives that can keep your lawn healthy naturally. Some of them can even save you money!

What’s wrong with the usual fertilizers and pesticides?

Unfortunately, improperly used fertilizers can contribute to water pollution by contaminating groundwater and by encouraging algae growth in streams, which disrupts aquatic ecosystems. Pesticides cause problems, too — many are toxic to bees, birds, fish and other forms of wildlife. (This report from Beyond Pesticides has a great summary of environmental effects of different pesticides.)

Another cause for concern is that many common pesticides (and that category includes insecticides, herbicides and fungicides) have well-documented health risks including suspected roles in a number of kinds of cancer, as well as damage to the nervous system and developmental disorders. Even the common herbicide Roundup is associated with a number of health risks. Two good sources to learn more about the health risks of specific pesticides are the pesticide factsheets of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides  (NCAP) and the National Pesticide Information Center.