A LANDSCAPE TO SAVE YOU MONEY, WRITTEN BY ECOLOGIST JACK PIZZO
No this is not the weed-patch of the long-haired, aged hippie living off the grid. Natural landscapes are cost effective, functional and beautiful. You may know that creating natural landscapes helps the environment in many ways - native plants help stabilize soil, prevent erosion, increase water quality, provide a habitat for songbirds and butterflies and provide beauty all year long, too. What you may not realize is that one of the real advantages of a natural landscape can be "the bottom line." Once established, your savings in maintenance costs can pay a huge dividend, by reducing maintenance costs. While we understand the need for sustainable landscape, we do not advocate removal of all lawn and traditional landscape, what we do advocate is creating an energy efficient, cost effective, and radiant landscape when the need for a new, retrofit or problem-solving installation arises.
Native plants are flood, drought and disease tolerant, and require no watering, fertilizers or insecticides. These factors will significantly reduce maintenance costs when compared to conventional landscaping. Add the savings of not running a mower over your turf 4 to 6 times a month in the summertime (that’s 29 times a year!), and the dollars really start to add up. You use less fuel, spend fewer hours mowing, breathe cleaner air (lawnmower, weed-wacker and leaf-blower engines are among the worst contributors to urban air pollution), and your neighborhood is filled with the sounds of nature not machines. And, the landscape surrounding your office, home or community is suddenly the favorite habitat for songbirds and butterflies. Add pathways, and a native landscape becomes a beautiful place to take a walk or a break from the daily grind. Businesses can benefit as well. In addition to the cost savings, all things being equal, businesses will find that employees are more likely to join or stay with a company that demonstrates an interest in the environment by making a visible commitment.
Natural landscapes can be used in many places. There are five categories: New, Retrofit, Restoration, Reclamation and Stewardship.
New: When we start from bare earth, the clean pallet allows us to design with more freedom. This is mainly new construction, but can also be when agricultural fields are converted.
Retrofit: When we create a natural landscape within an existing traditional landscape, typically we retrofit open areas of Bluegrass lawn that are rarely used or storm water basins that routinely flood. We also retrofit eroding shorelines with the deep-roots of wildflowers to create a permanently stable shoreline. This is dramatically cheaper (and prettier) than installing a rocked shoreline, which has to be replaced periodically.
Restoration: When we find a remnant natural system such as a prairie, woodland, wetland, stream or lake on the property. We fully research what the system was and then restore the missing parts. These remnants are by far the most beautiful and bio diverse.
Reclamation: When we are called in to take on a failed natural landscape or an un-managed planting, all too often “Prairie Mixes” and “Wildflower Mixes” are planted and ignored. These areas have a 100% failure rate. Sometimes they are sold as no maintenance areas that will “blossom” in a few years, but only grow disappointment. We create and execute a plan to deliver on the promise that these areas will be beautiful, functional and cost-effective.
Stewardship: When we manage a natural landscape. Natural landscapes are low maintenance, but not “no-maintenance”. Regular visits by knowledgeable foreman and trained crews are required for the site to blossom. There are many invasive species that can destroy a natural landscape quickly if un-stewarded, but stopping them when there are just a few is easy. Stewardship budgets can drop over time as the wildflowers become so dense they out-compete the weeds. So, when was the last time you heard of landscaping getting cheaper to maintain?
How to use Natural Landscaping:
- Permanently fix an erosion problem by using the deep-rooted native wildflowers and grasses.
- Permanently rid your site of giant flocks of Canada Geese with wildflower drifts strategically placed in the landscape.
- Solve your algae problems as the wildflowers use the fertilizers before they get into the water and cause algal blooms.
- Convert high cost lawn to wildflowers. Mow only the lawn that you use!
- Add four-season color to drab landscapes. Winter is even beautiful, believe it or not.
- Invite the songbirds and butterflies in with the plants they need to survive.
- Create that get-away space that is within walking distance.
- Try a sustainable lawn such of Buffalo Grass. It is mowed only 4-8 times per year, does not need watering and needs fertilizing typically only once per year.
On a personal note I practice what I preach at my home and business. I am not asking you to do anything experimentally. I and my staff live and love what we are recommending to our clients.
When you add up the benefits of natural landscaping, it clearly is the landscape of choice. See you in the great outdoors! pm
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Photos courtesy Jack Pizzo
Jack Pizzo is the President and Senior Ecologist of Pizzo & Associates. His firm has delivered over 20 years of service to the environment and has received over 40 awards for their natural landscapes and natural area restorations. You can email him at jack@pizzo.info
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