My mother introduced bamboo into our backyard about 50 years ago...it was exotic and I had endless fun creating fishing poles and lattices and other crafts.  However, it took over the backyard flower garden!

With today's interest in sustainable materials and plants, bamboo has risen in popularity, both as a building material and as landscaping material.  This "grass" is definitely a plant on "steroids!"

Controlling Bamboo tips are available on the website of  ...

American Bamboo Society

Controlling Bamboo:  While we really are in favor of planting bamboos, rather than eliminating them, we do need to tell people how to get rid of a bamboo when somebody has planted the wrong variety, or the right variety in the wrong place. One of the most common letters we receive starts out “My neighbor planted a bamboo, and now it is coming up all over my yard. I have sprayed it with (product name deleted) and it doesn’t work. What can I do?"

The first thing to remember is that there are many different species of bamboo. In general, however, one can divide bamboos into “Runners” and “Clumpers”. The Clumpers don’t invade. To remove a clumper, just dig it out (and transplant it.) Runners can be well-behaved in cold climates, but some kinds when in a warm climate, and given plenty of water, can become a serious problem. Don’t plant a runner in a small yard in a warm climate, unless you put a barrier* around it.

THIS Landscaping Society provides a wide variety of information about growing and controlling bamboo, as well as source lists and frequently asked questions and events.

American Bamboo Society
www.americanbamboo.org

pamalex effects tree table collection

A completely original category of outdoor furnishing, perfect for both the urban garden or estate setting, and useful everywhere from the tiniest terrace (26” bistro) to the most expansive pool deck (50” x 78” Leaf). The jardin tree table is perfect for areas covered by awnings or in naturally shady spots, as it uses lower growing plant material. bistro tree table Perfect for those small terraces, or just outside a door. The slightly taller profile makes it just right for resting a drink during the cool pool party.

Table overall dimensions: 32" h x 26" dia.

Table shown features a sturdy galvanized steel armature on round ceramic container base. The table top is ground glass, 26" diameter, accommodates 4"-6" caliper tree in 6" round hole Price for table as shown: $720.00 plus tax and delivery

So Innovative!

What a great way to add trees to urban landscapes.  Flower to the People in Los Angeles provides a variety of "tree tables" on their website, as well as living roofs and other sustainable outdoor living solutions.  Check them out!

Flower to the People

Simply speaking, a green roof is a living roof. While green roof design has its roots in ancient civilizations (think hanging gardens of Babylon), as American cities have become more concerned about managing quantities of stormwater runoff, air quality, and building heat transfer, large modern green roofs have been appearing on commercial properties across the country. Now, FLOWER ot the PEOPLE, Inc. has green roof solutions specifically designed for Southern California private residences. Here the Beverly Hills green roof at Greystone Manor Estate is still growing strong more than two years after its installation. Succulent-covered roofs, like the one at Greystone and the green roofs pictured here, even provide a fire-retarding alternative to traditional shake or stone roofs.

A living roof provides superior energy efficiency for any building (saving on energy costs), extends the life of the roof membrane, is beautiful to look at, provides the local environment with beneficial air-cleaning, cooling and storm water reduction, and promotes greater biodiversity.

Green Roof Section View

1 roof flashing

2 EPDM waterproof membrane

3 root barrier

4 drainage mat

5 "L" sheet metal edge

6 1/2" pea gravel

7 nonwoven separation fabric

8 planting media

9 plants

10 gutter (optional)

It's delightful to discover a thriving treasure-- whether it is a garden or a business!  Flower to the People is such a treasure right in my own community!  Visit their website for a delightful array of garden designs that bring nature and sustainable gardening solutions to the urban landscape.  Their "Exterior Design Portfolio" in particular is expansive and a bloomin' delight!

Flower to the People is located in West Los Angeles, CA at:

11409 Charnock Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90066

FLOWER to the PEOPLE is a sustainable exterior design and outdoor lifestyle firm. Their residential and commercial clients rely on them to create unique environmentally-friendly exterior spaces that suit their contemporary lifestyles.

What is Edible Forest Gardening?
Edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodlandlike patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a garden ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts. You can grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, other useful plants, and animals in a way that mimics natural ecosystems. You can create a beautiful, diverse, high-yield garden. If designed with care and deep understanding of ecosystem function, you can also design a garden that is largely self-maintaining. In many of the world's temperate-climate regions, your garden would soon start reverting to forest if you were to stop managing it. We humans work hard to hold back succession—mowing, weeding, plowing, and spraying. If the successional process were the wind, we would be constantly motoring against it. Why not put up a sail and glide along with the land's natural tendency to grow trees? By mimicking the structure and function of forest ecosystems we can gain a number of benefits.

Why Grow an Edible Forest Garden?
While each forest gardener will have unique design goals, forest gardening in general has three primary practical intentions:

• High yields of diverse products such as food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, 'farmaceuticals' and fun;
• A largely self-maintaining garden and;
• A healthy ecosystem.

These three goals are mutually reinforcing. For example, diverse crops make it easier to design a healthy, self-maintaining ecosystem, and a healthy garden ecosystem should have reduced maintenance requirements. However, forest gardening also has higher aims.

As Masanobu Fukuoka once said, "The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."

SOURCE:  www.edibleforestgardens.com

The Performance Information and Visualization and Outreach Tool (PIVOT) module for the National Estuary Program (NEP) highlights common habitat degradation and loss problems faced by National Estuary communities around the country.

PIVOT's interactive graphics, maps and photos are designed to help users better understand the issues and visually track progress toward achieving habitat restoration goals in the 28 National Estuary Programs.

An interactive graphic shows how everyday human activities along the coast increase pressures on natural habitat and can impact the health of our estuaries in other ways as well.

Links are provided to information about watersheds, maps, and performance measures useful for reporting progress toward improving the health of coastal watersheds.

Performance Indicators Visualization and Outreach Tool (PIVOT)

The National Estuary Program works with local communities to improve the health of our nation's estuaries. Community support and involvement is fundamental to the success of these efforts. Through an extensive stakeholder planning process, NEP communities develop comprehensive conservation and management plans, or CCMPs. These plans serve as documentation of the communities' environmental goals for their estuaries and watersheds as well as blueprints for achieving those goals. As this is a long-term process, keeping the community well informed and connected with plan activities and progress is critical to keeping the plan a vital, living process for the community.

Performance reporting is not only essential for garnering and maintaining community support, it is often mandated. Enabling legislation or other laws—federal or local—may require responsible agencies to report on what progress they are making toward established goals. For the National Estuary Program, several pieces of federal legislation weigh in on performance reporting.

28 National Estuary Programs

Each of the 28 National Estuary Programs was charged with developing and implementing a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) which establishes priorities for activities, research, and funding for the estuary. The CCMP serves as a blueprint to guide future decisions and actions and addresses a wide range of environmental protection issues including water quality, habitat, fish and wildlife, pathogens, land use, and introduced species to name a few. The CCMP is based on a scientific characterization of the estuary and is developed and approved by a broad-based coalition of stakeholders.

Comprehensive Estuary Conservation and Management Plans

Invasive species means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

Threat to Freshwater Ecosystems

Invasive species are one of the largest threats to our terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems, as well as being a major global concern.

Invasive species can affect aquatic ecosystems directly or by affecting the land in ways that harm aquatic ecosystems.


Threat to Biodiversity
 
Invasive species represent the second leading cause of species extinction and loss of biodiversity in aquatic environments worldwide. They also result in considerable economic effects through direct economic losses and management/control costs, while dramatically altering ecosystems supporting commercial and recreational activities.

Effects on aquatic ecosystems result in decreased native populations, modified water tables, changes in run-off dynamics and fire frequency, among other alterations. These ecological changes in turn impact many recreational and commercial activities dependent on aquatic ecosystems. Common sources of aquatic invasive species introduction include ballast water, aquaculture escapes, and accidental and/or intentional introductions, among others.

Ballast Water Carries Invasive Species

A major concern is the introduction of invasive species through ship ballast water carrying viable organisms from one waterbody to another. All mainland coasts of the United States - East, West, Gulf, and Great Lakes, as well as the coastal waters of Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands - have felt the effects of successful aquatic species invasions.

Over two-thirds of recent non-native species introductions in marine and coastal areas are likely due to ship-borne vectors, and ballast water transport and discharge is the most universal and ubiquitous of these.

EPA is working in conjunction with our Federal and State partners to address this source of aquatic invasive species both domestically and internationally.

• Useful Links to Ballast Water Related Information

Solutions For Landscapers

We don't think about how our purchasing habits affect natural systems.  But heavy global traffic on the oceans directly affects the invasive species on both water and land.  In the water, we are finding clams, water plants are hitching a ride.

These same ships bring containers that contain seeds and eggs for snakes, spiders, even parrots that escape their confines and invade areas with little or no natural deterrents such as wildlife that eats them for food, or bacteria that control their growth and reproduction.

A simple solution is to buy local, native plants whenever possible.  Even tools and equipment bought locally or in the US is a move to reduce ocean traffic to a manageable level.

When international trade is essential, it is important to work with reputable distribution systems that have safeguards in place and have stringent control systems that are explained to you...and measured.

Over the years, hundreds of thousands of miles of river corridors and millions of acres of wetlands have been damaged throughout the nation. Restoration seeks to return some of these ecosystems to their approximate pre-disturbance conditions.

The ecological and societal benefits of river corridor and wetlands restoration are substantial:

Rivers transport water, sediment, and nutrients from the land to the sea, play an important role in building deltas and beaches, and regulate the salinity and fertility of estuaries and coastal zones. Rivers serve as corridors for migratory birds and fish, and provide habitat to many unique species of plants and animals, including federally endangered and threatened aquatic species. According to the 1985 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife -Associated Recreation (U.S. DOI, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1988), 38.4 million fishermen spent $17.8 billion for non-Great Lakes freshwater fishing in 1985, with 45 percent of reported anglers fishing in rivers and streams.

Wetlands provide food, protection from predators, and other vital habitat factors for many of the nation's fish and wildlife species, including endangered and threatened species. In addition, wetland ecotypes have economic value associated with recreational, commercial, and subsistence use of fish and wildlife resources and they remove pollutants from overland flows before they reach our lakes, rivers and bays.

Wetlands intercept storm runoff and release floodwaters gradually to downstream systems. When wetlands are converted to systems without water retention capacity, downstream flooding problems increase.

From 1982 to 1992, a total of 768,700 acres of wetlands were gained as a result of restoration activities around the nation (USDA, 1997). Likewise, numerous miles of rivers and streams were restored in our nations watersheds over the same time period. When properly planned, executed and managed, restoration works; its success can be attributed to the hard work and dedication of practitioners, scientists, and others who seek to heal damaged natural systems and improve our communities.

Learn more about restoration of wetlands:

EPA Wetlands, oceans & Watersheds

Learn! Explore! Take Action!

Celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation's ecological, economic, and social health.

May, American Wetlands Month is also a great opportunity to discover and teach others about the important role that wetlands play in our environment and the significant benefits they provide - improved water quality, increased water storage and supply, reduced flood and storm surge risk, and critical habitat for plants, fish, and wildlife.

In organizing its activities this year, EPA is placing special emphasis on encouraging Americans to:

1. Learn about wetlands. This is a great time to better understand what a wetland is, where wetlands can be found, and the importance of wetlands. Activities may include reading and studying about wetland areas, drawing maps or illustrations of wetlands, and identifying native species found in wetlands. Information on wetlands and the important benefits they provide is available on this website, through EPA's wetland fact sheet series, or by visiting the websites of our partners.
2. Explore a wetland near you. Unless you live in the most extreme climate zones, there is a good chance a scenic wetland exists nearby for you to visit and explore during American Wetlands Month and throughout the year. To find a wetland near you, consult your local parks department, state natural resource agency, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (http://www.fws.gov/refuges). If you live in the Washington, DC area, a guide has been created to highlight wetlands and wildlife sanctuaries.
3. Take action to protect and restore wetlands. Support and promote wetlands informing community members about wetlands' vital roles, "adopting" a wetland, joining a local watershed group, or participating in a wetland monitoring, restoration, or cleanup project. There are many other actions Americans can take to help conserve wetlands.To learn more about what you can do to help protect and restore these valuable natural resources in your state or local area, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/awm/#you.

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released a new water resources data management tool called the Integrated Water Resources Information System (IWRIS).

Web-based Geographic Information System for Water Management

IWRIS is a Web-based Geographic Information System application that allows users to access, integrate, query, and visualize multiple sets of data from diverse sources.

Some of the databases currently accessible through IWRIS include DWR’s Water Data Library, California Data Exchange Center (CDEC), United States Geological Survey streamflow data, Local Groundwater Assistance Grants (AB303), and data from local agencies. The system will be expanded with additional data sets and functionality in the future.

Improve Water Data Management for Integrated Regional Water Management

DWR developed IWRIS to improve water data management and scientific understanding in support of Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM).

The California Water Plan Update 2005 identifies IRWM as a key initiative to ensure reliable water supplies through the year 2030.

The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs.

RESOURCE:
Integrated Water Resources Information System
Department of Water Resources
Division of Planning and Local Assistance
901 P Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
www.iwris.water.ca.gov

America is under siege by many harmful non-native species of plants, animals, and microorganisms.

More than 6,500 nonindigenous species are now established in the United States, posing risks to native species, valued ecosystems, and human and wildlife health.

Natural Disaster of a Living Kind

The current annual environmental, economic, and health-related costs of invasive species exceed those of all other natural disasters combined.

USGS provides the tools, technology, and information supporting efforts to prevent, contain, control, and manage invasive species nationwide.

USGS plays an important role in Federal efforts to combat invasive species in natural and semi-natural areas through early detection and assessment of newly established invaders, monitoring of invading populations; improving understanding of the ecology of invaders and factors in the resistance of habitats to invasion; and development and testing of prevention, management, and control methods. USGS invasive species research encompasses all significant groups of invasive organisms in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in all regions of the United States.

Research components of the  USGS Invasive Species Program include:

• Prevention
• Early Detection and Rapid Assessment of New Invaders
• Monitoring and Forecasting of Invasive Species
• Effects of Invasive Species
• Control and Management of Invasive Species
• Information Management

INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT RESOURCES

For a list of the most current Invasives program research projects, visit the USGS Invasive program's Highlighted Projects page.

The Invasive Species Information Node (ISIN) is a data management portal for invasive plants, animals, and pathogens in the United States and a thematic node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). I

The Global Invasive Species Database, now easier to use, grants access to quadruple the number of invasive species than when the database began.