12 Days of Christmas for Eco-Friendly Gardeners

Written by Betsy S. Franz

On the first day of Christmas my garden gave to me
An eco-friendly native tree – (Native plants are often excellent choices for eco-friendly gardens, since they require less chemicals and less water to maintain)

On the second day of Christmas my garden gave to me
Two new loves – (when you look closely enough, every day in your eco-friendly garden will bring you something new and wonderful to love.)
And an eco-friendly native tree.
On the third day of Christmas my garden gave to me
Three full bins - (kitchen scraps, leaves and garden discards keep my compost bins full)
Two new loves
And an eco-friendly native tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas my garden gave to me
Four hummingbirds – (planting the right plants and eliminating chemicals make hummingbirds regular visitors to my garden)
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree.
On the fifth day of Christmas my garden gave to me

Five less wat-er-ings - (eco-friendly gardens conserve water with adequate mulch, drought tolerant plants, and rain barrels)
Four hummingbirds
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my garden gave to me
Six trees a swaying - (Trees protect water quality, clean the air and provide wildlife habitat.)
Five less wat-er-ings
Four hummingbirds
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree
On the seventh day of Christmas my garden gave to me

Seven barrels brimming - (rain barrels not only conserve water, but help keep harmful pollutants out of our waterways)
Six trees a swaying
Five less wat-er-ings
Four hummingbirds
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree
On the eighth day of Christmas my garden gave to me

Eight monarchs milking - (Okay. Monarch butterflies don’t really “milk” milkweed, but their tiny caterpillars need these native plants to grow into beautiful butterflies)
Seven barrels brimming
Six trees a swaying
Five less wat-er-ings
Four hummingbirds
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree
On the ninth day of Christmas my garden gave to me

Nine ladies dancing - (Painted ladies are another beautiful butterfly that you can attract to your DC area garden by planting the right plants for them)
Eight monarchs milking
Seven barrels brimming
Six trees a swaying
Five less wat-er-ings
Four hummingbirds
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree
On the tenth day of Christmas my garden gave to me

Ten worms a creeping - (Worms help aerate the soil while producing valuable nutrients)
Nine ladies dancing
Eight monarchs milking
Seven barrels brimming
Six trees a swaying
Five less wat-er-ings
Four hummingbirds
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree
On the eleventh day of Christmas my garden gave to me

Eleven pipes a piping - (we direct all excess rainwater, and overflow from our rain barrels, into the grass and other permeable surfaces)
Ten worms a creeping
Nine ladies dancing
Eight monarchs milking
Seven barrels brimming
Six trees a swaying
Five less wat-er-ings
Four hummingbirds
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree
On the twelfth day of Christmas my garden gave to me

Twelve weeds succumbing - (chemical free weed control helps keep our weeds under control)
Eleven pipes a piping
Ten worms a creeping
Nine ladies dancing
Eight monarchs milking
Seven barrels brimming
Six trees a swaying
Five less wat-er-ings
Four hummingbirds
Three full bins
Two new loves and
An eco-friendly native tree

Katie O'Malley - First Lady helping to keep environment first

Followers of the Metro DC Lawn and Garden Blog know that I've mentioned several times what a great idea I think it would be for Michelle Obama to create a butterfly garden at the Whitehouse. Although I think teaching kids to plant their own vegetables is a great way to get them outside and eating healthy, my personal opinion is that encouraging them to get up close and personal with nature provides the added benefit of creating a new generation of environmental stewards.

Well, move over Michelle Obama. First Lady Katie O'Malley has beat you to it - she's working towards getting the entire city of Annapolis certified as a National Wildlife Federation Community Habitat. If successful, Annapolis will become the Chesapeake Bay's first Community Habitat.

A NWF Community Wildlife Habitat is a region that provides habitat for wildlife and practices sustainable gardening ─ in individual backyards, on school grounds and in public areas such as parks, community gardens, places of worship and businesses. The objective of NWF’s Community Habitat program is to create partnerships and help the City of Annapolis raise citizen awareness about watershed challenges and issues, and build ownership of local waterways─ with the ultimate goal of engaging more individuals and organizations in stewardship practices. In addition to providing a positive impact on the environment, creating a friendly environment for birds and butterflies is bound to draw more kids outside AND turn them into great environmental stewards.

Receiving certification as a NWF Community Habitat is no easy task. It requires property owners, schools and businesses to join together to work towards earning the points necessary for achieving certification.

Kudos to First Lady Katie O'Malley for taking this positive step for the city of Annapolis.


“Our Bay is one of our State’s most precious natural treasures,” First Lady  O’Malley said. “Martin and I have a garden at home, and we use it to demonstrate what each of us can do to improve our health and protect our environment by growing fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs. I am very proud of our communities, schools and businesses for coming together to encourage environmental stewardship and realizing the importance of saving our Bay.”

The Government House garden now houses a bee hive for honey, a water fountain to attract birds and bees, three water barrels, a natural setting of trees, brush and shrubs to provide shelter for animals and insects, a food garden, and natural landscape to reduce water usage and maintenance costs.