It was about this time of year in 1984 when I put my first home garden to bed. Sure, I gardened as a child-but in 1984, I made my own first 10-by-12-foot attempt. From that little plot, according to a journal I kept, came my first Big Boy tomatoes, some Black Seeded Simpson lettuce and a couple of respectable Connecticut Field pumpkins.

I haven't missed a chance to garden in the 29 growing seasons since. Some great inventions have come along; my personal favorite is the self-watering pot. I love the ergonomically improved pruners, rakes, and shovels. I am happy to have garden gloves for women and a low-weight electric string trimmer.

At the end of my first garden season in 1984, I had a thousand questions about how to garden better in 1985. Even after three decades, though, some questions remain unanswered. As Thomas Jefferson said, "But tho' an old man, I am but a young gardener."

I am more concerned these days with a different question: Have gardening and landscaping gotten any greener? Earth "care" practices have, after all, been decidedly uncaring in certain ways over the past hundred years. Let's look at eight reasons there may be cause for optimism:

Lawns: If my inbox is any indication, many homeowners want less lawn and all that it entails. I also hear from conservation commissioners who are looking for ways to convert park and community spaces to lower impact landscapes. Turf research is delivering new drought-tolerant, disease-resistant grass breeds and offering biological defenses against insects and blights.

Water management: Drip irrigation and water sensors help do the job a lot better than the sprinklers and hoses of 1984. I recently received an ad for a blue tooth-enabled sprinkler system that delivers water in a precise footprint from a Minnesota company called Irrigreen.

On the low-tech side, rain barrels seem to be used by a lot of home and public gardeners. Rain gardens have become common place, particularly in public gardens and commercial spaces. These simple spaces help manage storm flows, reduce erosion, nurture insects and birds, and keep water on site.

Composting: Numbers are hard to come by here, but Bruce Butterfield of the National Gardening Association says that compost bin sales tracked by their organization increased by 33 percent in 2013 over 2011. Maree Gaetani at Gardener's Supply in Burlington, Vt., says their support line has seen an increase of 30 percent in questions related to home composting over the past several years. Their company is a major supplier of home composting equipment.

Pollinator plants: Many a garden was devoted to these plants in the past few years for the sake of honeybees and monarch butterflies. In their unfortunate fight for survival, these creatures have raised public consciousness about the connection between the act of moving pollen among plants and the prices in produce sections in our grocery stores.

Native plants: The plants that evolved in our region are beautiful as any in the world - and they are critical to the survival of our native insects, birds and other species. In 1984, I hadn't even heard the term. Now I can find clearly labeled native plants in garden centers and can even visit native-only nurseries such as Earth Tones in Woodbury and Woodland Trails in Eastford.

Low-impact landscape products: Thanks to the quest for products to support organic food production and non-polluting lawns, among other things, we have lots of low impact product options. To identify the ones you need, visit OMRI.org.

Online information: In 1984, there was no Internet. Now, a quick visit to that resource offers instant access to the advanced work of botanists and plant scientists in an easy-to-use format. My own favorites include Wildflower.org and GoBotany.NewEnglandWild.org. Also, check out UConn's hort.Uconn.edu.

Community involvement: Thirty years ago, I never heard of soup kitchen gardens such as the Common Good Garden in Old Saybrook, school gardens such as those at Common Ground High School in New Haven, National Wildlife Foundation-certified habitats like the ones in Colchester, or urban farms such as Urban Oaks in New Britain. Now, these well-known examples have much company across the state.

Who'd have thought in 1984 that our small state would have upwards of 125 farmer's markets in 2014? There are even a dozen winter markets.

Sometimes, things get better. And given enough years, good practices do add up. For my part, I'll continue to wear that T-shirt that says, "Plant 'til you're planted."

KATHY CONNOLLY IS A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, GARDEN WRITER AND SPEAKER FROM OLD SAYBROOK. EMAIL HER AT KATHY@SPEAKINGOFLANDSCAPES.COM.