This Earth Day, households across the North Shore will be mailed a 20 page, full-color Greenscapes Guide full of useful landscaping and gardening tips, discounts on purchases of plants and other materials, and information on an upcoming free workshop series.

Greenscapes are beautiful landscapes that protect our region’s water resources. Eighteen North Shore communities are participating in the Greenscapes program, a multi-faceted campaign to educate citizens on how to have attractive lawns and gardens without using excess water and chemicals.

The Greenscapes Guide includes information on topics such as alternatives to pesticides and fertilizers, proper mowing techniques for lawns, recommended low maintenance plants, information on automatic irrigation systems, how to create a rain garden, and how to do urban gardening on asphalt. The Guide also offers discounts on rain barrels, sprinkler timers, irrigation system checks, and private consultations with a landscaping professional.

An exciting feature of the Greenscapes program is a 15% discount on Greenscapes-recommended plants and organic products being offered by many nurseries and garden centers across the region. Participating nurseries include Chapman’s Greenhouse in Beverly; Corliss Bros., Ipswich; Harbor Garden Center, Salisbury; Marblehead Garden Center; Northeast Nursery, Peabody; Nunan Florist and Greenhouse, Georgetown; Paisley Farm and Greenhouse, W. Boxford; and Wolf Hill Garden Center, Ipswich only. DiLisio Bros. in Salem is offering discounts on pervious pavers and organic compost.

The first workshop in the free workshop series will be held Saturday, May 5, 2007 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at the Ipswich Public Library. Peter Phippen, landscape architect and coastal coordinator for the Eight Towns and the Bay Committee, will present “Gardening with Native Plants on the North Shore.” Pre-registration is required at www.greenscapes.org.

The Greenscapes program is being coordinated by the North Shore Greenscapes Coalition, a partnership of Salem Sound Coastwatch, the Ipswich River Watershed Association, the Eight Towns and the Bay Committee, and the Massachusetts Bays Estuary Association.

"Greenscapes North Shore gives residents the information they need to become stewards of the water right in their own backyard, said Emily Levin, Restoration Program Manager for the Ipswich River Watershed Association “We are thrilled to partner with communities to get the message out about ‘greenscaping’ methods that not only protect the environment, but also save time and money," she continued.

Free copies of the Greenscapes Guide will be mailed to single family households in: Andover, Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Georgetown, Gloucester, Hamilton, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Middleton, Newbury, Newburyport, Peabody, Salem, Topsfield, and Wenham. Copies of the Guide will be available for pick-up in Salisbury. Additional copies will also be available in each of the communities at City or Town Halls, public libraries, participating nurseries and at www.greenscapes.org (click on “regions” for the North Shore Guide).