Herbalist and ethnobotanist Laura Shiels will lead a hands-on demonstration on how to plant your own backyard or lānai herbal garden, which can be easy to maintain, useful for making medicine, and can bring healthful benefits to food cooked in your kitchen.

Participants will take home an informational booklet and plant propagules to get started. The demonstration is set for 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday at The Green House, a sustainable learning center, 224 Pakohana St., in Pauoa Valley. Fee: $20, advanced registration required. Register online at www.thegreenhouse hawaii.com or call 524-8427.

ECO-FRIENDLY

SEVENTH GENERATION: IT'S ABOUT THYME

Thyme, a favorite fragrant kitchen herb, is also a natural cleansing agent. Thymol, a component of thyme oil, is in a range of eco-friendly household cleaners, including handy disinfectant wipes and recycled paper towels produced by Seventh Generation. They're green — and they kill germs.

While standard cleaners are good for removing grime from surfaces, tackling germs requires a cleaner effective against bacteria and viruses. Seventh Generation products register in the lowest of four EPA toxicity categories; the company says they are effective against the influenza A virus, including H1N1, and 99.9 percent of household germs.

Seventh Generation takes its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." The thyme-clean idea goes back thousands of years; the word thyme comes from a Greek word that means to fumigate.

Seventh Generation disinfectants and recycled kitchen towels are available at: Down to Earth, Safeway, Longs Drugs, Aloha Health Market and health food stores. Call to verify. www.seventhgeneration.com

— Chris Oliver