Greenhaven Home :: A Smarter Way of Living

EAST COBB - The star of HGTV's "Ground Breakers" television show, Justin Cave, was in Cobb over the weekend to give tips to local gardeners.

He was also in town to lend his green thumb to east Cobb's Greenhaven in order to transform the grounds of the home into drought-tolerant and eco-friendly landscaping.

Cave, a landscape expert, and his team at Sierra Consulting incorporated indigenous plants and water saving techniques and technologies to create a lush landscape that will withstand Georgia's hot and dry summer months.

Greenhaven is located in Chelsea Landing, east Cobb's first eco-friendly designed subdivision off Johnson Ferry Road near the intersection of Oak Lane. It's metro Atlanta's first eco-decorator's showhouse. It will be open to the public beginning in July.

On Saturday, Cave conducted a free workshop series at Greenhaven. He educated homeowners, industry professionals and beginning gardeners about how to install rainwater reclamation systems, sustain lawns, erosion control and drainage and organic vegetable gardening among other things.

"It's little things like that, that people take for granted," Cave said.

He said it took a week and a half for his team to install such things as a water harvest system to collect rainwater from the roof of Greenhaven. The landscape project was an effort to make the house self-sustainable, he said.

Marietta-based homebuilder Richard Feis' company, Pace Homebuilders, constructed Greenhaven. He said the home's location near the Chattahoochee River presented a unique opportunity to address water conservation issues.

"We're excited to partner with Justin Cave to raise awareness of these issues and educate homeowners and industry professionals on the importance of eco-friendly landscape methods to help Atlanta's overall conservation efforts," Feis said.

Because Sunday's workshops were cancelled because of the weather, the "Green Landscape Tour with Justin Cave" will continue on Saturday and Sunday at Greenhaven. The event is free and open the public. Lunch is provided by Atlanta Outdoor Kitchens.