garden-office / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

The Archipod
Tiny house

Have a backyard home office delivered by truck

I'm sure we can all agree that as the cost and inconvenience of commuting to work continues to escalate, the advances in networking technology are making the possibility of working from home a viable alternative to schlepping ourselves to the office. When we consider eliminating the daily commute, the benefits are clea...

Healthy Home Offices - Natural Biophilic Design Ideas
Interior design and furnishing

How do you create a healthy home office? With Biophilic Interior Design

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have daydreamed on more than one occasion of having the luxury of being able to work from home. Oh, the thought of not having to deal with the daily commute, of being able to put your laundry on before the weekend rolls around and being able to spend your lunch break in the luxury of ...

building with recycled shipping pallets
Recycled and Reclaimed Materials

Building with recycled shipping pallets

b sq. Design Studio Inc. is a Toronto based landscape design and build firm that endeavours to create elegant and modern landscapes with a focus on sustainability and longevity for their work. “Plug and Play – the Pallet Garden” is their 5th feature garden installation for the annual Canada Blooms Garden Festival. ...

Shipping container homes, Good or Bad?
Architecture and plan design

Are shipping container houses environmentally friendly & good or bad to live in?

Shipping container homes are gaining popularity globally, especially as Tiny Houses, as they can be seductively attractive with their modern looking lines, colours and shape - but one question we've been asked consistently is: "Are shipping containers Good or Bad as homes - and for the Environment?"  Like many great id...

Urban farming
Landscaping

Urban Farming turns beautiful gardens into a grocery store!

How to grow vegetables & fruits in a garden Plants survived long before humans were around to water them, so we aren't talking about reinventing the wheel here, but rather a sensible choice of plants and basic water management. Native species of plants in a given region have adapted to their own climate and can usu...

House built by Matthew Smith of Mapleridge Homes
LEED Homes

LEED comes to the gatineau hills

Developer Luc Bélisle will be partnering with Matthew Smith of Mapleridge Homes to build the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified housing project in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec. Phase 1 will have 12 lots available, but the developer has 470 acres total on which he hopes to build about 1...

Living green wall
Healthy indoor air quality

Living walls: what they do and don't do

It is well-documented that indoor air is filled with contaminants, mostly due to cooking (specifically burning) and improperly vented combustion appliances (woodstoves, gas water heaters, gas ranges, etc.). Following that would be formaldehyde, VOCs and other chemicals in building materials and furnishings. All these f...

Keyhole Garden
Landscaping

The Keyhole Garden: An Introduction

A keyhole garden is a circular raised garden bed with a compost basket at the center and a keyhole-shaped path that allows access to the entire garden. The compost basket can be fed throughout the season and will continually break down and deliver nutrients to the bed for the duration, as will the chunky bits of organi...

The Elegant Farm hydroponic bottle garden
Landscaping

Hydroponic bottle gardener launches kickstarter campaign

More and more people are informing themselves on various forms of urban farming to counteract the heavy ecological footprint of industrial agriculture. However, there are very few options for the increasing number of people wishing to get involved but who don't necessarily have the time, the means, or the expertise for...

The Pros & Cons of Lasagna Gardening for Growing Food
Food production

Lasagna Gardening: the pros & cons of a lasagna garden

As with any easy gardening technique, there is a lot to consider regarding lasagna gardening that specifically relates to its many benefits and ease of application. One of the main ‘pros’ of lasagna gardening is that it can be an easy way to smother out weeds and grass while enhancing soil over time, which is an ideal ...

Indoor hydroponic vegetable garden
Food production

Growing food indoors

Introducing BioCity's indoor vertical veggie garden. This beautiful installation made with reclaimed wine bottles allows you to grow arugula, chard, strawberries, cherry tomatoes and more all year round in your very own home. Thanks to the craftsmanship and innovation of the folks at Montreal based company BioCity, gro...