Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Now that you’ve been seeing those crocuses in your yard and around the neighborhood, and the daffodils are poking through the ground too, are you starting to think about your garden?

The National Wildlife Federation‘s website has a superb section on gardening tips and resources that includes how to attract birds, butterflies and other wildlife to your yard, how to use native plants (and even a map that helps you find plants native to your region), as well as tutorials on building bat and bee houses and many other interesting and useful articles designed to help you create a sustainable haven for wildlife in your neighborhood.

And once you’ve made your garden the favorite gathering spot for all the furry and feathered friends in the neighborhood, you can register your yard as a certified wildlife habitat, and share your photos with the National Wildlife Federation’s Flickr group.

Photo by Craig Pitts

According to Scientific American, our homes and offices account for more than one-third of all greenhouse gases caused by human activity (most of it from heating and air-conditioning). Their “How to Green Your Office” in-depth report gives tips and information on new, easy and sometimes quite cheap ways to make our home and work environments more eco-friendly.

Don’t miss their slideshow, “A Magnificent Seven,” of green buildings from around the world.

Pictured above is a London skyscraper that uses 50 percent less energy than a conventional skyscraper through solar heating and natural ventilation. It also consists of materials that can be easily recycled.

We told you about the Google PowerMeter service and other devices to measure energy use in your home. Joe Hutsko of the New York Times has this piece on the Energy Detective, yet another green gadget that helps you understand your personal energy consumption. The device retails for about $145.

The biggest lesson Hutsko learned when testing the Energy Detective? Turning his heat down just a little in the winter could cut his bill to a third.

Do you own one of these tools? Has it helped you reduce your electric bills?

Image: New York Times

Check out this terrific A-Z Guide from Real Simple Magazine on how to recycle or freecycle many different household items.

Photo: James Baigrie

Since 2005, Green Depot, a Brooklyn-based supplier of environmentally-friendly and sustainable building products and services, has been offering ways to make green living accessible and affordable to all. This week, they opened their flagship retail store on the Bowery in New York City, where you can find cleaning products, light fixtures, rugs, books, and an entire section for your green nursery, among many other items.

What makes products “green” according to Green Depot? Their five criteria are: improves indoor air quality, conserves resources, stimulates the local economy, saves energy, and is manufactured responsibly. Green Depot developed an icon system to give shoppers a better understanding of what they’re buying:

Don’t live near New York City? No worries. Green Depot has all of their products on their beautiful and comprehensive website, in addition to showrooms in Brooklyn, Newark, Philadelphia, Boston, Greenport, Chicago, Albany (2009) and Newark, DE (2009). They also offer services to design and building professionals, and tips for how to green the rooms in your house.

To visit the Green Depot flagship store:

222 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
212.226.0444

Photo courtesy Apartment Therapy.