Our time is finite. We have absolutely no control over the amount of time in each hour, day, week, month or year. What we can control is how we spend that time. As the author of this column and a landscape professional I can honestly tell you the less time I spend working in my yard the better. I would rather spend time enjoying my yard rather than working in it. Sustainable landscaping is a pathway towards less work and more joy.
Creating a sustainable landscape incorporates an attractive area that is in harmony with the climate and requires minimum resources. Sustainable landscapes assist in the process of restoring habitats, clean the air, increase energy efficiency. They have many other economic and environmental benefits as well. Over time a sustainable landscape will reduce the necessity of fertilizer, water and most importantly your time.
Developing a list of goals that are in line with sustainability will help you jump start your project. Commonly achieved goals include: improving the health of your soil, minimizing the amount of water needed, reducing the amount of lawn in your yard, creating shade, protecting your home from wind, and reducing pest and insect problems on your plants.
As with most projects the first step in creating sustainable landscaping is evaluating your current situation. Questions that you may want to begin with could include the following:
Which plants require an excessive amount of pruning?
Are there certain plants that I have to consistently water?
Is an area of my yard subject to erosion?
Do I have to annually spray any flowers, shrubs or trees to protect them from disease and insects?
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you may want to start small and remove a few of the plants that are a drain on your resources.
Increasing the health of your soil is a slow multi-year project. Its importance, however, cannot be overstated. Just as a healthy diet is crucial to our overall well being, a healthy soil is what provides our plants with nutrients. A healthy soil contains 25% air, 25% water, 45 % minerals and 5% organic matter. Incorporating organic matter into soil is the best way to improve soil aeration and permeability. This can be done through soil amendments such as peat moss and mushroom compost.
Auditing your current methods of watering will often result in identifying areas where improvement is needed. Currently installed irrigation systems should not be resulting in a wet sidewalk, driveway or even the street. Drip irrigation systems are a very efficient way to put water directly in contact with the roots of flowers, shrubs and trees.
When selecting new plants to incorporate into your landscaping pay particular attention to the environmental conditions in which they grow best. ‘Right plant, right place’ is a succinct way to sum up the importance of citing a plant correctly within the scope of a yard. Planting the right plant in the right place will also minimize the chance that a plant will become stressed.
Stressed plants are more susceptible to insects and diseases.
Native plants play an important role in any sustainable landscape plan. They are often well suited for the climate and require very little care once they are established. Native plants are those that were found to be growing in an area before new plants were introduced. Not all native plants are naturally suited for growth in residential areas. As with all plants, please research characteristics of the plants before introducing them to your yard.
In addition to providing much needed shade during our hot summers, trees absorb as much as 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. In our area, the sun shines brightest on the south and west sides of our home. Maple, honey locust, or linden trees planted correctly will help cool the home in the summer. Evergreen trees on the north or northwest side of the home can protect it from strong winter winds that often seep inside our homes.
Through the development of a sustainable landscape plan, I hope that you can create more time to spend with family, friends and nature.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
