Gardener: Phipps Conservatory — one of America's greenest gardens

Green living doesn't end when we step into our homes from the garden. Whether we are concerned about recycling, composting or using fewer chemicals in both our homes and gardens, green gardeners continue to explore ways to live a more ecologically responsible life.

Have you considered the inside of your home? Whether you are exploring energy efficiency in terms of keeping the cold air outside, using paints with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or purchasing more energy-efficient appliances, you have taken one more step toward helping our planet.

This year, while touring the country filming organic gardeners and eco-friendly places for my public television show, "Growing a Greener World," we featured Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The people at Phipps are dedicated to sustainability utilizing many innovative and eco-friendly features throughout the gardens, indoor conservatories and the buildings.

"When Henry Phipps gave the conservatory to the city of Pittsburgh in the late 1800s there were a seemingly unlimited amount of resources such as water and energy," says Richard Piacentini, executive director. "Now we need to find more sustainable ways to maintain the conservatory. Over the last decade we've created a facility that's been recognized by many as one of the world's greenest gardens."

When the cold winter winds and snows hit Pittsburgh, the crew doesn't need to apply de-icing chemicals or use air-polluting, gas-powered snow-removal equipment to clear walkways. They added a snowmelt system to their front walkway, which takes advantage of waste heat in steam condensate that would otherwise have been lost underground on its way back to the steam-generating plant. The water-hogging standard grass in the front lawn was replaced with drought-resistant grass varieties. In the entry area, new gardens were planted on a berm designed to feature more sustainable plants.

The Welcome Center is the first LEED-certified visitor center in a public garden. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the U.S. Green Building Council's rating system that awards points in categories such as energy efficiency, using local materials, minimizing toxic materials and construction waste, and providing natural daylight and ventilation for occupants. The more points you get, the higher the LEED rating, with platinum being the highest.

Phipps built the Welcome Center with non-VOC paints, adhesives, carpet and furniture components. Its earth-sheltered design and low-E glass walls, which reflect heat back to its source, are just a few of the sustainable practices at work inside this LEED-Silver structure. It features high-efficiency bathroom fixtures such as low-flow toilets and automatic sensor faucets.