If you live in a region where snow and ice are common in winter, you probably already know you shouldn’t scatter rock salt to make sidewalks and garden paths safe for pedestrians. Sure, salt (aka sodium chloride) is cheap and melts the ice, but it can wreak havoc on plants—not to mention your poor dog’s feet and your own footwear. It also erodes concrete and corrodes metal gates, fences, and your car. What’s worse, salt in runoff harms aquatic life in our streams, rivers, and lakes, and does further damage after it contaminates the earth’s groundwater supply.

For advice on environmentally friendly ways to clear ice and snow, we talked to Andi Pettis, director of horticulture at the High Line, the beloved New York City park that opened in 2009 atop an abandoned elevated railway and which stretches for almost a mile and a half on the west side of Manhattan.

Avoid Compaction

Above: Snow collects on the branches of Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’, a witch hazel on the High Line. Photograph courtesy of the High Line.How do park staffers remove ice and snow from the High Line’s paths? According to Pettis, they do it the old-fashioned way. Step one: While snow is falling, they close off the park to keep people from walking on the paths and compacting the snow.

“The weather on the High Line is always more intense than at ground level,” says Pettis. “The park is essentially a bridge thirty feet in the air, so it freezes both from above and below. And the wind off the Hudson averages twenty miles per hour faster than at ground level.” That means that snowfall freezes quickly on the paths (made of pre-cast concrete pavers), especially if it gets compacted, and takes a long time to melt.

High Line caretakers are especially sensitive to issues of water pollution. “The grading is engineered so that precipitation runs straight into the planting beds,” says Pettis. “But any overflow drains into the city sewage system, and the less salt we put into that the better.”

Above: Snow collected on the ornamental grasses on the High Line after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Photograph by Jeanne Rostaing. For more, see Secrets to Surviving a Hurricane: NYC’s High Line Park.Of course, the staff on the High Line also needs to protect the plantings—the park is home to more than 350 species of perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees.

Shovels, Brooms, and Bobcats

Above: Photograph by Marcin Wichary via Flickr.As soon as the snow stops, the staff gets out to clear it away by hand using snow shovels and snow brooms. If it’s deep, they use a Bobcat (a small utility vehicle with a snow-plow attachment).

And what de-icing products do they use on paths? None! Pettis says they depend on the sun’s rays to melt the snow after the weather warms up. “As soon as the paths are clear enough for people to walk on, we open the park back up so visitors can enjoy seeing it in the snow,” she says, adding, “It’s really magical then.”

The High Line staff is also responsible for keeping access stairways clear of snow, as well as the sidewalks at street level around the entrances. Here, where safety is an issue, they do rely on a commercial de-icer.

Plant-Friendly De-Icers

Above: Safe Step Power 6300 Enviro-Blend Ice Melt is certified by the EPA as a Safer Choice; $19.99 for a 25-pound bag at Ace Hardware.On the High Line, “we use Blizzard Wizard, a Morton Salt product that’s more friendly to the environment than plain rock salt,” says Pettis. “It’s made of sodium chloride encapsulated in magnesium chloride, which apparently inhibits the corrosive effects of the salt.” For a list of snow and ice melts that meet the EPA’s Safer Choice standard, go here.

Here are more de-icing solutions—they’re easily acquired (some even free) and will melt ice fairly quickly without harming your plants or the water supply:

Coffee Grounds

Above: Photograph by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista.Coffee grounds: This waste product contains nitrogen and acids that help melt ice; the dark color absorbs the sun’s heat to speed the process. The grounds also add traction to make the surface less slippery. Unless you’re a caffeine addict, you probably won’t generate enough to serve the purpose, but many Starbucks stores give away free bags of used grounds, generally used as fertilizer. If your local Starbucks doesn’t participate in the program, ask around at other coffee shops in your neighborhood (or start collecting them at your office).

Sand or Gravel

Above: Photograph by Frankieleon via Flickr.Sand or gravel: This is the basic old-school approach. As long as there’s not too much ice buildup, this helps by adding grit to make the surface less slick. Cat litter has long been used for this purpose, but beware the newer clumping litter—when wet, it turns into a gloppy mess that’s even more slippery. Birdseed can also work, and the sparrows will thank you.

Ashes

Above: An ash bucket. Photograph by Pirate Renee via Flickr.Wood ash: If you have a fireplace, you can use the ash from your fires to help melt ice. Ashes contain potash, a gentle de-icer; the dark color absorbs the sun’s heat and the grit provides traction underfoot.

Alfalfa Meal

Above: Buy alfalfa meal from a nursery, or order it from a garden-supply site. A 50-pound bag of Alfalfa Meal is $29.99 at Wilco.Alfalfa meal: Surprisingly, this natural organic product, primarily used as a fertilizer, is an effective ice melter that also helps provide traction. Unlike many fertilizers, it actually smells fine, and your garden’s plants and earthworms will appreciate it come the warm weather.

Sugar Beet Juice

Above: And where’s the nearest beet juice emporium, you ask? You don’t have to stir up your own concoction; Snow Joe makes a mix called [product id=”994914″]Melt-2-Go Beet It Ice Melter[/product]. A 25-pound bucket is $21.93 at Home Depot.Sugar beet juice: It may sound bizarre, but combining salt with sugar beet juice (formerly considered a waste product) will melt ice and snow much faster than rock salt alone. In fact, a brine made from salt and beet juice is used to clear public roads in a number of communities in the snowy Midwest and Canada. There’s less salt in the product, so it’s less harmful to plants, animals, concrete, and metal. Plus it tends to stay put longer.

Above: Photograph courtesy of Timber Press. For more, see High Line NYC: The Inside Story by Landscape Designer Piet Oudolf.Back to shoveling: Be like the High Line caretakers and avoid walking on your paths while the snow is falling; that way it won’t get compacted and harder to clear. After the flakes stop falling (or sooner, if you’re expecting a big drop), grab your shovel and start digging out. Shoveling is good exercise, and avoiding commercial de-icers, with all their noxious chemicals, is best for the environment.

For more on the High Line, see 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from the High Line and Secrets to Surviving a Hurricane.

Design a safe path or walkway with tips from our Pavers 101 Design Guide and Hardscaping 101: Design Guide for Paths and Pavers.

N.B.: This post has been updated with new prices and links.

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Have you been swayed yet by the built-in sofa? They’re space-efficient, good for maximizing lounge opportunities in a big space or squeezing a wee settee into a tight spot. They make a visual statement. And they never need replacing.

Here, 13 variations on the theme from designers and architects the world over:

Above: Plantea Estudio designed built-in linen sofas in the living areas for this home in a small fishing town on the north coast of Spain. See more in Casa Guzman: A Family’s Generations-Spanning Coastal Home Gets an Inspired Update by Plantea Estudio; photograph by Germán Saiz. Above: “We designed this reading nook with an oversized plush cushion,” says designer Sarah Solis; the window seat is conveniently tucked between bookshelves. Photograph by Rennie Solis from Before & After: A 1924 Spanish-Style Villa in Laurel Canyon Gets an Update, 99 Years On.

Above: A good way to make use of unused corners, as seen in Geometry Prize: 12 Ideas for Tight Quarters (and Others) from Precision Design Stars Casa Josephine. Photograph by Pablo Zamora, courtesy of Casa Josephine Studio.

Above: A wrap-around sofa faces the garden in this project by designer Brem Perera; see A Rising Design Star Introduces Warmth and Familiarity to a Sweeping New Build in Melbourne. Photograph by Lillie Thompson.

Above: Guest rooms at Little Cat Lodge in upstate New York are fitted with built-in lounges. Photograph by Chris Mottalini, courtesy of LoveIsEnough, from “Born Into Yesterday”: 11 Quirky Ideas to Steal from Little Cat Lodge in Upstate NY. Above: A stripy version at Hotel Le Sud in France, as seen in Let There Be Light: A Guesthouse Inspired by Picasso.

Above: Built-in sofas, pink edition, via La Vie en Papotte: A 15th-Century Mill in Burgundy, France, Redone by Heju.

Above: France-born, Spain-based designer and collector Serge Castella turned a built-in bench into a combination seat (with cushions upholstered in vintage floral fabric, found in Hawaii) and log storage. See more in Spanish Eclectic: An Airy Stable Turned Guest House on the Mediterranean Coast. Photograph by Manolo Yllera, courtesy of Serge Castella Interiors.

Above: A bold built-in lends the feel of a retreat to an apartment in Rome by Studio Strato, as seen in Roman Holiday: A Top-Floor City Apartment That Channels Mediterranean Summer.

Above: And a curvilinear version, in a villa in the South of France designed in the late 1920s. Interior designer and stylist Lauren Olivia softened it with cushions covered in linen throws. Photograph by Sarah Button from Organic Architecture on the Côte d’Azur: A Jacques Couëlle Villa with a New Kitchen Extension.

Above: A large, low built-in sofa makes use of space in a loft in Portland, Oregon—particular with drawers underneath. See What’s Old Is New: A Pearl District Loft in Portland Gets a New Shell; photograph by Aaron Leitz, courtesy of Jessica Helgerson Interior Design.

Above: Low-slung and laid-back in a Hawaiian cottage; Hawaiian Summer: A Charm-Filled Stone Carriage House on the Maui Coast, Restored.

Above: A custom built-in sofa anchors a wellness expert’s NYC living room. See The Healthful Apartment: A Wellness Expert Finds Serenity on the Lower East Side.More inspiration from the Remodelista archives:

Archive Dive: 7 Wrap-Around Sink Skirts in the Bath Architectural Built-Ins for the Bedroom: 15 Favorites from the Archives Pretty in Pink: 9 Rosy-Hued Kitchens from the Remodelista Archives

Gardeners are acutely attuned to the crises our planet faces: We see the impacts of drought and intense storms firsthand. We notice when fewer monarchs or woodpeckers visit our yards. So it is no surprise that gardeners everywhere are looking for ways to garden more sustainably. We asked five landscape designers and professional gardeners who prioritize the environment to tell us what changes they’d like to see home gardeners make. Wherever you live, the experts all recommend planting native plants and ditching pesticides and other harmful chemicals—two practices we hope you’re already embracing. “Instead of viewing yards as isolated patches of cultivated land, we need to treat them as ecosystems, because biodiversity loss is unprecedented and we are living in an increasingly residential world,” notes Diana Nicole, founder of the ecologically-focused garden design and management firm It Takes a Garden in Los Angeles.

Read on for the rest of the ways you can tweak your gardening routine to reduce waste, improve biodiversity, conserve water, and more.

1. Plant more “super plants.”

Above: “[Goldenrod] grows wild all over the United States, but having a patch in your garden is great for pollinators, and the late summer flowers give a deep gold dye,” says Amanda de Beaufort. Here, she harvests goldenrod from her friend’s re-wilded garden for a natural dye. Photograph by Claire Weiss of Day19, from 5 Flowers to Grow for a Starter Natural Dyes Garden. Thomas Rainer, principal at Phyto Studio in Arlington, Virginia, encourages gardeners to include ecological “super plants” (aka plant species that support the broadest range of fauna possible). To find the best super plants for your garden, Rainier suggests you can search university entomology sites like Rutger’s “Finding Pollinator Attractive Plants or Penn State’s Center for Pollinator Research. Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke’s book The Living Landscape also has a section devoted to the ecological benefits of various plants organized by region. Rainier notes that high performing plants on the east coast include mountain mints (Pycnanthemum sp), native asters (Symphiotrichum/Eurybia sp), goldenrods (Solidago sp), and spotted geranium (Geranium maculatum).

2. Get to know your growers.

Above: The Berkeley Horticultural Nursery is Gardenista contributor Kier Holmes’ favorite place to browse for plants and inspiration.“Take a page from the local food movement and form relationships with the people who grow and sell plants,” suggests ecological horticulturalist Rebecca McMackin. Supporting local growers is environmentally sound and keeps money and jobs in your local community. “Conversations and even friendships with growers and local sellers can shape their inventory to consumers’ desires: prioritizing local ecotype plants, those grown without systemic insecticides, or even certain sizes and cultivars of your favorites,” she adds.

3. Avoid neonics.

Above: Photograph by Sara Morris, courtesy of Xerces Society, from Ask the Expert: Conservationist Matthew Shepherd on Protecting Beneficial Insects.If you care about the environment, you’ve likely already banned the use of insecticides in your garden. Take it a step further: McMackin and other experts we spoke to say that gardeners should purchase only plants grown without insecticides, too. “Pesticides like neonicotinoids work inside a plant, making the plant’s own tissue toxic for insects. Growers use them to keep plants pest-free in the nursery, but they can persist for years in plants and soils,” says McMackin. The best way to avoid these toxins is to ask growers and retailers if the plants were grown without pesticides. “If they can’t say for sure that the plants are safe, you’ve got to do the hardest thing imaginable, and leave those plants on the shelf,” McMackin says.

4. Become your own nursery.

Above: Photograph by Erin Boyle, from DIY: Grow Your Own Wheat Grass Eggs.This year, grow it yourself. In addition to propagating plants from cuttings or divisions, get into the habit of collecting seed from plants you’ve grown, says Marissa Angell, a landscape architect based in Brewster, New York. “These practices are doubly beneficial,” she says. “You can replenish your stock for free and it will help you avoid the plastic pots that are standard fare in retail garden centers.” (See Gardening 101: How to Sprout a Seed.)

5. Opt for green mulch.

Above: A border of geraniums edges a garden bed. Photograph by Amanda Slater via Flickr, from The Garden Decoder: What Is Green Mulch?.Ditch the bark mulch: Both Rainer and Angell want you to replace traditional mulch with “green mulch” (aka “living mulch”), such as clonal spreading native groundcovers. “Using ‘green mulch’ to cover bare ground around the base of your taller plants enriches the soil and suppresses weeds,” says Angell. “Plus, traditional shredded bark mulch doesn’t retain moisture as well and can remove nutrients from your soil as it decomposes.” Rainier points to native clonal spreading ground covers like groundsel (Packera sp.), Robin’s plantain (Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus ‘Lynnhaven Carpet’), and green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum var. australe), which are all spring-flowering, shade-tolerant species that grow under other bigger plants.

6. Put down the leaf blower.

Above: Photograph by Joy Yagid, from Ask the Expert: Doug Tallamy Explains Why (and How to) Leave the Leaves.“We’re encouraging our clients to leave leaves on the ground because they function as a temperature buffer, moisture regulator, and food and habitat for wildlife and soil organisms,” says Nicole. “The weekly practice of removing leaves from the garden with high powered blowers literally blows away biodiversity and interferes with the natural processes necessary for a native garden to be ecological or biodiverse.” (See The Rake vs the Leaf Blower: Which Is Better?)

7. Add a water source.

Above: Ample watering holes for birds and other creatures in the home garden of Todd Carr and Carter Harrington. Photograph by Todd Carr, courtesy of Hort & Pott, from Garden Visit: A Couple’s Lush and Romantic Sanctuary in the Catskills.“Wildlife habitat is increasingly disappearing and fragmented,” cautions Derek Brandt, principal and founder of Habitat Guild, Inc. in Fort Collins, CO. Plants alone can’t create a complete habitat in your yard, you also need a water source. A shallow bird bath not only gives birds a place to drink but it can also be used by pollinators, including bees and butterflies.

8. Plant some weeds.

Above: Self-sowing Plains coreopsis (the yellow flowers with maroon centers) joins other plants native to the Midwest in this Iowa garden designed by Kelly Norris. Photography courtesy of Kelly D. Norris, from Ask the Expert: Horticulturist Kelly D. Norris on the ‘New Naturalism’.Embrace native self-sowers often labeled as “weeds,” to fill empty gaps in your garden, suggests Rainer. “The idea is that if you include native short-lived species that seed freely, then you will be more likely to have these plants pop up in your garden rather than a noxious exotic species.” You can build populations of desirable “weeds;” for example, native petunia (Ruellia humilis), pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa), wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Blue mist flower (Conoclinium coelestinum), or Plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) are all ecologically valuable self-sowers that will move around in a garden and fill gaps.

See also:

Global Warming: 10 Gardening Ideas to Counter Climate Change Landscaping Ideas: 16 Simple Solutions for Sustainability Ask the Expert: Regenerative Organic Gardener Emily Murphy on How to Rewild Your Landscape