Environmental Policies As a member of the green industry, we take environmental concerns very seriously. We use no pesticides or herbicides in raising any of our plants, instead relying on natural methods for insect and weed control. We are not officially organic since we do use artificial fertilizers - these have the same chemical content as their organic counterparts but come in clean, easy-to-use formats rather than piles of manure. We try to minimize irrigation run-off & use localised drip irrigation and water conservation techniques wherever possible to reduce water usage. We encourage the use of native plants and recommend to our customers the benefits of reduced lawn irrigation, composting, and organic forms of weed and insect control. Insect Control We rely totally on natural methods for insect control. If necessary, we will bring beneficial insects into our greenhouse, such as ladybug larvae for aphid control. However we generally find that nature takes care of things, so any problem plants are put outside to recover. We encourage all forms of bird and insect wildlife in the fields and display areas - you'll often find a praying mantis or ladybug going home with your plants! Weed Control None of the plants we raise are treated with any kind of herbicide to control weeds in the pots. Sometimes this results in a less-than-perfect presentation, but we do our best to keep things under control. Plants are hand-weeded when necessary and we use barrier fabrics in pots to control weed growth. These fabrics stop weeds from growing while allowing water and nutrients to pass through to the soil and are very effective in the landscape as well as in containers. Renewable Resources We try to minimize the use of non-renewable resources, such as peat moss which is dug from extremely old peat bogs. Where possible, we select soil containing alternatives such as coir (produced from coconut husks) which still functions well to keep good drainage in the medium. We also to use hanging baskets lined with angel moss - another renewable resource farmed in New Zealand. This moss has the ability to absorb vast quantities of water while keeping good air circulation around the plants, and we have found it to be a superior product, asthetically and functionally. Growth Hormones The standard plant industry is now heavily productionized with more of a premium being placed on uniformity, ease of shipping and packaging than on the inherent joy & value in the plants themselves. To this end it is standard practice to use growth hormones to restrain plants into a certain pot size or to create a perfectly rounded specimen (think fall mums). We believe in a more natural product and use no growth hormones. We prefer to see our plants tumbling out of pots or looking a little leggy than faking perfection. The world isn't perfect & we prefer character over chemicals. Recycling We welcome the return of pots and trays and will make every effort to re-use them whenever possible. We're also experimenting with using bio-degradable pots instead of plastic and have high hopes that they will perform well and be warmly received by our customers.