skip to main content
Newsroom
2007 DNRP archived news: this news release may include broken links and outdated information such as programs and contacts that no longer exist.
April 13, 2007

Spring gardening savings begin with Northwest Natural Yard Days

Local partnership promotes natural yard care product discounts, April 15-May 15

Beginning Sunday, April 15 everyone from Bellingham to Olympia can take advantage of savings of up to 25 percent on natural yard care products such as mulch mowers, bagged compost, bark mulch and water wands as part of the ninth-annual Northwest Natural Yard Days campaign.

The partnership between King County, the City of Seattle, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and 23 other agency members promotes environmentally friendly yard care by offering discounts on gardening products at 86 participating retail locations throughout the Puget Sound region.

“We continue to support the Northwest Natural Yard Days discounts every year because the reduced pricing encourages more people to practice natural yard care,” said Gerty Coville, of the King County Solid Waste Division.

Natural yard care products such as electric mulching lawnmowers save work, reduce air pollution and add nutrients to the lawn.

“A typical city lot lawn produces about 1,200 pounds of clippings a year. Using an electric mulching lawnmower eliminates the need to bag and haul all of that grass away,” Coville said.

While emissions from diesel sources and wood smoke remain the primary sources for harmful air pollutants in the Puget Sound region, gas-powered lawn mowers are far from guilt free, said Katherine Himes, Criteria and Toxic Pollutants Team Lead for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

“The good news is that affordable and powerful zero-emission electric lawn mowers are available and on sale through the Northwest Natural Yard Days program,” Himes said.

Northwest Natural Yard Days endorses the regional five steps of natural yard care:

  1. Build healthy soil
  2. Plant right for your site
  3. Practice smart watering
  4. Think twice before using pesticides
  5. Practice natural lawn care

For more information about natural yard care, contact the Natural Lawn and Garden hotline, 206-633-0224, or info@lawnandgardenhotline.org.

King County and Seattle have a variety of educational materials about natural landscaping available at no cost. The natural landscaping brochures and a full list of participating Northwest Natural Yard Days retailers are available at www.yarddays.com (external link).