The Green Man
The Green Man articles were developed as features for the Gazette Newspapers and have appeared from 1998 to the present as either the Green Page or Green Man column.   A great many articles from prior years have not yet been reformatted for web publication, but will hopefully appear within the next several months. 

Helping Your Garden Survive the Drought
Homeowners are heading into an unpromising spring and summer after the driest six months in well over 100 years.  A severe drought has settled in across the state and the region, forcing gardeners to make some important decisions in the weeks and months to come.

IPM Tips
A new page DEP is developing with safe and easy methods for controlling weeds and pests without toxic chemicals.  We're just starting out, but will be adding hundreds of tips and organizing them during the days and weeks ahead.

Landscapers Using Organic Methods
A partial list of landscaping companies in the Washington Metropolitan area who specialize in organic controls and Integrated Pest Management for common pests and weeds in lawns and gardens.

Native Grasses
A table listing grasses, primarily from the Piedmont region, which are suitable for attractive landscaping projects, and which are probably better suited to our local environmental conditions.  Note that many ornamental grasses, often and erroneously described as "native," are NOT native and are often invasive.

Native Trees & Shrubs
Still under development, we offer a partial list of native trees and shrubs commonly (or often) found in the Piedmont region, all of which can provide beauty and wildlife habitat for your property.  More information on each species will be added in the future, including local and mail-order/Internet sources for trees.

Native Vines
Still under development; a list of native vines better suited for landscaping projects than the commonly used invasive vines which often overwhelm our natural areas and reduce much-needed wildlife habitat.

Outdoor Water Conservation Tips
During drought periods, it's important to prioritize watering chores and learn who needs water first, who doesn't, and how best to meet those watering demands with dwindling water resources.

Selecting Tough Plants for Tough Times
There are tough days ahead for area gardeners.  We are already suffering through record-breaking drought conditions, emergency water restrictions, and sweltering heat.  But wait, meteorologists are warning that El Nino is on the way, and we might feel its impact as early as mid-summer!  Such tough times call for tough plants and a creative new plant palette.

Stalking the Wild Amaranth
Book Review.  Subtitled "Gardening in an Age of Extinction," Janet Marinelli’s Stalking the Wild Amaranth is a sweeping and thoughtful study of gardening traditions and philosophies set against the dramatic canvas of evolution and extinction, "islands" of biodiversity, and gardening’s necessary role in ecological restoration.

WaterWise Irrigation
While the first step toward creating a water-efficient landscape is to select plants which will thrive under the conditions provided by our region's typical precipitation, it is virtually impossible to expect a yard and garden to get by without some additional watering.

WaterWise Landscaping
The solution to dry soils and drought is not to run a hose and run up a huge water bill. Watering is very often the most wasteful and expensive of solutions -- with improper watering or overwatering leading to even more short and long-term problems for the landscape. To keep your corner of the globe green, it is best to become water-wise.

Xeriscape Plants
A list of native plants appropriate for use in dry, sunny locations in the Maryland Piedmont area.