Green is Green, a Common Sense Approach.

I know that in today's world people seem to use words to describe activities that help them categorize the activity better. For instance, Sustainable, Green, Organic and Natural are all words we use now to talk about methods of activity that have been around for thousands of years. The world was Green and Organic until about 250 years ago then the industrial age created a need for more food to be delivered faster. As a result, man got busy and technology, industry, and the age of doing things faster and bigger came into being. One of the by-products of the farming boom over the last 200 years is a myriad of products on the market for the home gardener.
At any typical garden center or hardware store you can find an array of products on the shelf all labeled with use me, feed me to your plants or spray me to get rid of the bugs.. etc. Some are plant or bug specific, rose systemic, aphid killer, garden vegetable food! They also come with warning labels and if you happen to spend time reading the fine print you may want to run screaming from the store.
Personally I ignore all of that stuff and do what I have always done! I never use anything on my plants but sunshine, water and a composted mulch. If an aphid wants to visit, fine, but if 1,000 of his buddies also want to visit I reduce the population with a shot of water from the hose and that usually takes care of the problem on that particular plant for the day. If you use common sense in the garden just like we should with our own bodies we know that feeding our plants natural food is wisdom. Look at the natural forests of the world! Who waters? Who feeds? Who sprays for bugs? Mmmm, how on earth did that forest make it thousands of years without your intervention? Talk about Sustainable! The forest survives natural disasters, bad weather, fires and not one person had to do a thing and yet it is filled with beautiful plants!
Some garden plants come as they were created and are usually labeled wildflowers or species, but most are cultivars bred to perform a particular way and far from the original plant or plants the breeder started with. Here is where a little research and common sense makes a huge difference to success or failure of a plant! Pick the right plants for your garden and they will not need much more then that good old dirt, sunshine, adequate water and good mulching. Another key is smart placement. I have shade and moisture loving plants in the front of the house where they are in shade most of the day and sun loving plants out around the patio where they receive at least 6 hours or more of sun. Drought resistant plants like Flax live happily at the very end of a sprinklers range so they are never too wet. Learning placement and soil requirements and what zone a plant likes to live in is more important then anything else when planning and maintaining your garden! No amount of artificial fertilizers or pesticides will help you if you put a sun loving plant in deep dark shade and wonder why it does not thrive! If you take a trip to Portland and fall in love with a gorgeous plant at a garden center, make sure it will also survive a sub zero winter unless you plan to bring it into the house with you in the fall! I do have a pot of Agapanthus that I overwinter in the garage. I love the plant but there are times when it seems like such a hassle to move it in and out. I also have tried many varieties of rosemary in the garden to no avail so I keep it in a pot also that goes in and out yearly.
Sustainable? Well, in Central Oregon, if you want a landscape that takes care of itself, I think rocks are in order. You do have to water unless you live in a place with a stream coming through your yard. Even a completely xeriscaped garden requires some water upon occasion. I am much too partial to daylilies and other perennials that need more water than is naturally available so we have an irrigation system in place that uses our field irrigation water. Thick mulch has always been the recommended method of keeping moisture in the ground so I top dress with compost every spring. The natural decay of the composted mulch adds nutrients and humus to the soil and gives the natural soil microbes a good meal. Healthy soil, moisture, sunshine and the right plants for your area will give you the greenest garden you can imagine!