It’s always good to keep sustainability in the back of your mind. No matter how little the step you take be a little “greener” around the backyard, it can make a big difference.

Check out some of these creative, eco-friendly landscaping ideas from ProudGreenHome.com

• Gather leaves, tree debris, and dirt into a corner of the yard to create a compost pile. With the help of your lawnmower, you can also shread leaves and use them as mulch to fertilize your flower beds. Extra leaves can be buried in your vegetable garden, so that as the leaves breakdown, the nutrients they release will nourish the growing plants.
• After trimming your trees and shrubs, you can make a DIY fence with the branches. Known as a “wattle fence”, you can use the makeshift divider to separate segments of your garden. Think of it as a more decorative way to compost!
• As you prepare fruit for your next fruit salad, make sure to scoop out the seeds and save them for planting in the upcoming season! Just soak all of the seeds in a cup of water, gather the ones that sink to the bottom, and refrigerate them until you’re ready to plant.

If you have a lot of landscaping around the pool area, think about different ways you can incorporate non-recyclable home items into planters and pots. Turn this project from FourGenerationsOneRoof.com into a learning experience for the kids and get them to think of items lying around in the garage that can be dusted off, spruced up and prettied with a few plants!

DIY Chair Planter

Start with your chair and find an outdoor planter that you would like to use.

Turn the planter upside down on the chair and trace the edge with a pencil.

Once you have your circle, drill two pilot holes. This will allow a starting point when you use your jigsaw to cut out the circle.

Use a 1/2 inch drill bit to drill two pilot holes.

Be sure that you have a sharp newer blade in your jig saw to ensure a clean edge. Cut in 1 inch from the inside of the circle so the planter doesn’t fall through the hole. If you are not comfortable doing that, simply cut directly on the pencil mark and use a larger planter to place in the hole.

Follow around the inside of the circle with your jig saw to cut out the middle.

Use a sanding block to sand down the rough edges and smooth it out. This is covered by your plant holder but it’s always nice to have a smooth edge!

Place your planter inside the chair and you now have a recycled chair planter.

If you’re going to leave it outside on your patio, or next to your pool, you could spray with with an all purpose weather sealer.

Shasta Pools is a Phoenix pool builder who provides a variety of services including swimming pool remodeling, commercial pool building, and pool service and repair. Since its establishment in 1967, Shasta has helped over 80,000 families realize their dream of pool ownership. By providing exceptional value, quality craftsmanship and superior customer service, the Shasta team continues to fulfill the corporate mission of astonishing and delighting their customers and exceeding expectations. You can learn more about Shasta Pools & Spas by visiting them online, or by connecting with them on Facebook or Twitter.