NARI GUIDE


Eco-Friendly Landscaping: Growing a Green Planet, One Garden at a Time


BY PAM MCGROARTY


Eco-Friendly landscapers know that good soil produces healthy, disease- free plants, which, in turn, result in a sustainable ecosystem.


T


he methods homeowners use to tend to their lawns and gardens determine how much wa- ter they waste and affect the environment in


other ways as well. Tere are many things you can do to make the landscape around your home eco-friendly. You may not believe that you alone can make a differ- ence by composting or reducing waste, but when these changes are made on a large scale, the results can be huge, so why not set an example for your neighbors?


Photos courtesy of Landscape and Design Center, Pam McGroarty


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A good place to start is the soil. Eco-Friendly land- scapers know that good soil produces healthy, disease-free plants, which, in turn, result in a sus- tainable ecosystem. Not all soil is created equal, however, and yours may need some work. Plants need organic mater to grow. It is easier than you think to create your own by composting. You can either buy or build a home composter or simply buy compost material. Regardless of how you obtain it, all you have to do is till or dig compost into your existing soil. Te compost will insulate the soil, help


create | A REMODELING RESOURCE FROM NARI METRO DC


it hold water and add microorganisms that make fer- tilizer. Tis rich nutrient base will allow the micro- organisms and plant roots to connect, enriching the plant and the soil.


Another eco-friendly approach is to select plants based on the soil’s acidity or alkalinity, the amount of light an area receives, and the amount of water the plants will require (less is beter). Talk to a knowl- edgeable landscaper or local gardening store repre- sentative to learn how to choose native plants. Tese are more likely to survive extreme conditions locally than those from other climates and, in many cases, will require less water and maintenance than those that aren’t native to the area.


Indigenous plants are also non-invasive. Tey stay prety much where you put them, and can keep the weeds down. Tey also tend to enrich the soil, and help rainwater percolate into the ground, reducing runoff. Choose both woody plants—trees, shrubs,


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