WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE GREEN?

Everyone and everything is going “green” these days. But what does that mean for your yard or the space around your office? Any landscaping is environmentally sound, right? If you fix up your yard (plant a garden, etc), you’re helping the environment. Not necessarily. A yard or garden may be beautiful – but dead, ecologically speaking.

Environmental or Sustainable Landscaping is a way of creating an environment around your home or commercial building so that it is an integral part of the environment rather than an intrusion. It does not mean letting the property go to weeds – nor does “green” mean a golf-course lawn. You can have the golf-course lawn, but there are more environmentally friendly ways of getting it than the usual heavy pesticides and aggressive mowing.

It means being an integral part of the local environment, using native plants and materials as much as possible. It produces an outdoor space that is welcoming to local wildlife. It denotes the use of organic-based methods of weed and pest control. Every site has its own unique character that, when combined with sustainable landscaping practices, can be a beautiful, healthy outdoor space.

ADVANTAGES

Conservation of precious natural resources is a main advantage of ecological landscaping. This includes water, soil, native plants and animals and non-renewable resources (like gas for your mower and trimmer). This type of environment is also much more disease, pest and draught resistant than traditional landscaping. Also, it decreases the amount of pollutants entering the environment (i.e., chemical pesticides).

All of that is great, but what’s in it for you?

First, less maintenance, depending on what type of landscape you choose to create. If you decide to go without grass entirely, for instance, you won’t be mowing, edging and fertiziling. Local plants in their natural environment generally need less attention than exotic species from elsewhere. Instead of spending your time on up-keep, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your outdoor space.

Save money. Sustainable landscaping uses less water. This is especially great in times of draught when municipalities are rationing water. You will also use less gas for mowers and trimmers. Use the money for propane for your grill.

Ecological landscaping can create outdoor rooms that are more interesting and unique than traditional landscapes. Whether you choose an elegant style or something more flowing and simple, sustainable landscaping can match your lifestyle. With new environmentally-friendly materials coming on-line all the time, such as permeable concrete, you can still have a basketball hoop if you want one. It can also make those problem spots into desirable features.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Don’t bag that grass! Grass clippings don’t cause thatch (see “Let the Clips Fall Where They May” by the Virginia Cooperative Extension). Use a mulching mower. If you must remove them, use them for organic fertilizer in the garden.

Compost your leaves and organic waste. New methods of composting can even allow you to include grass clippings if you insist on bagging them! Your garden will love you.

Use environmentally-friendly pesticides such as Dutch trig®. Try to attract the natural enemies of your pests to your garden by adding plants and other features that are welcoming for them.

Include plants that are friendly to native species, such as milkweeds for Monarch butterflies, cosmos for humming birds and black-eyed Susans for honey bees.

Collect rain water rather than letting it stand on your lot or run off entirely. You don’t need to use an old fashioned rain barrel; there are lots of more modern containers.

WHAT A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER CAN DO

A local landscape designer knows your native climate, soil and plants. Ecological landscapers combine this experience with knowledge of environmentally friendly practices to keep your outdoor space in tune with the environment around your home or office. They are design professionals who can examine your space, visualize its potential, and create something beautiful, working with what is already on-site as well as new materials. They know what plants, rocks and other features are native to the area and they know where to find them.