August 13, 2008
Green landscaping

Just a bit from this story about hard times in the landscaping business that caught my eye:


Lately [John Catapano, who owns Houston's Western Horticultural Services, has] used more environmentally friendly products to help cut costs.

Two years ago, he began converting his 30 vehicles to biodiesel, saving him about 5 percent on his fuel costs. More than three years ago, he began to use organic instead of synthetic fertilizers. And he plants drought-resistant greenery.

"Going green does save money," he said.


Well, since the point of "going green" is to use less energy, and using energy costs money, that would be a true statement. Sure, you may have some up-front costs, depending on the method by which you choose to go green, and some investments will show a return faster than others, but basically this is saying "if you use less energy, you'll spend less money". I hope by now that should be obvious to everyone.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 13, 2008 to Bidness
Comments

Well, it does sort of depend on your definition of "green"

In the context of landscaping, xeroscaping and using native plants definitely saves on water and often on pesticides.

However, going with organic fertilizers often costs a whole lot more, especially in the context of commercial landscaping where you aren't doing your own composting. Organic anything (milk, lettuce, or fertilizer) generally costs more.

Posted by: Kent from Waco on August 13, 2008 2:57 PM
Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)