How to Plan a Green Landscape

We all know that conservation and environmental awareness has to begin at home. There are numerous things we can do to take the next step to having a "green" homestead. Keeping a few simple rules in mind will help our choices for greenest part of our surroundings make less impact on our resources and our environment.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Think "close to home." Use local nurseries and gardening supply outlets. Driving long distances or mail ordering adds to the carbon footprint of your plants and supplies--that means that the gas and oil used in transportation counts.

2. Look for native plants. Flowers, trees, shrubs and grasses that grow wild in your area have adapted to the climate. They require less watering and fertilizing. That means that you can use less water and introduce fewer chemicals (or imported organic matter) into your environment.

3. Check out in-ground irrigation systems if you need to water your landscape. They are more efficient because they can be programmed for the exact amount and direction of watering in each section of your landscape. They can also be programmed to run in the wee hours of the morning when evaporation is at a minimum but the possibility of mildew is decreasing. Many can be installed by homeowners and the latest systems have weather sensors that bypass cycles when it's raining.

4. Use the topography and mini-climates in your landscape. The area next to the brick wall by your sun porch gets much hotter than that low area out under the lilacs. Consider such factors as natural versus constructed surfaces, pavement, elevation and exposure when deciding where to place plants and features such as pools, fountains, retaining walls and walks. You can minimize the needs and maximize the lifespan of plants if they have a hospitable environment.

5. Propagate, don't populate. Those TV landscaping shows are impressive, but buying 40 of anything to stick along your front walk may break your bank. Choose perennials in preference to annuals. Start with a few specimens (plant 3 of each variety to start) and mulch carefully. Next season, your natives will reward you with children, and the following year you should have enough to start re-positioning the babies to fill in.

6. Plan your hardscape with the same thought that you plan your plantings. Use local or recycled building materials. If bricks are made locally, fine. Non-local bricks add the fuel consumption of transportation to the footprint. Landscape lumber made from recycled materials (including old plastic bottles) is sturdy and doesn't have the formaldehyde present in most treated lumber.If you live near a fresh water marsh, you don't want Hoover Dam in your backyard. If you really have to have a BIG water feature, try to use local materials and match its scale to your area.

7. Accept the fact that "green" is the future and the future is here. Gardeners used to have patience and share snips over the back fence. Our affluent parents wanted instant, maintenance-free beauty. The way to strike a "green" medium is to plan carefully, encourage your family to participate and get to know your neighbors.

Tips & Warnings

• As with any landscape, plan what you want before going out to buy plants. Complete soil amendments and feature construction before planting and you'll have less to move (and coddle with more water and fertilizer).
• Before you plant things next to each other, you check to make sure that they can co-exist peacefully and are good garden "companions."
• Even choosing native plants and minding our carbon footprint sometimes ends badly. Check with your local ag extension or natural resources department to make sure that you aren't hosting any prohibited plants--imported species that have adapted so well that they tend to crowd out everything else.

Resources

• Companion planting
• Native plants
• Native and invasive plants