We integrate ecologically responsible landscape practices that move a site from a considerable outlay of cost, manpower and resources to a more sustainable, closed loop system, and achieve the following :
Take advantage of a property’s immediate natural environment (microclimate and plant communities);
Incorporate local plant communities and other suitable plants that:
Are adapted to the available rainfall and have low or no additional water demand;
Are adapted to the local soil conditions
Attract birds and insects that increase the biodiversity of the landscape
Are compatible with the cultural constraints of their location.
Manage and reduce the water budget for a property, using water-saving techniques, low water use plants, and soil water retention practices;
Reduce maintenance costs through savings in mowing, pruning, fertilizing, and importing mulch and compost;
Reduce the negative impacts of stormwater runoff, through best management practices;
Reduce the carbon footprint of the property by reducing the amount of fossil fuels and petro-chemicals required to manage the property;
Move landscape maintenance from “mow and blow” to environmental stewardship.
We offer large properties such as homeowners associations, business campuses, and commercial properties Sustainable Landscape Rehabilitation Plans and Sustainable Maintenance Specifications. The plans firstly inventory all the attributes of the existing landscape, and then prepare a master plan for staged rehabilitation, sometimes over several years. The maintenance specifications spell out the sustainable practices that should be employed during the regular course of maintenance, and are often accompanied with an educational component for the maintenance crews. We usually create a team, including some or all of the following expertise, as required: horticulturalist, arborist, irrigation consultant, and soils testing laboratory.
ECOLOGICAL GOOD SENSE IN PRACTICE
These are some of the ways we practice "being green":
Water Management and Conservation:
* weather -dependent irrigation systems
* stormwater retention, runoff & erosion control
* biological filtration systems
* stormwater and graywater harvesting
Architectural Elements:
* recycled and re-purposed materials
* permeable paving
* radiant heat exchange pool heating
* green walls and roofs
* solar heating and photovoltaic power generation
Lighting:
* new technologies in low power output fixtures
* long life lamps and fiber optics
Planting:
* appropriate plant selection
* lawn reduction and lawn substitutes
* solar heat gain reduction
* edible fruits, berries and plants
* planting to attract beneficial birds, butterflies and insects
* planting for habitat
Site Management:
* defensible space and fuel reduction strategies
* recycling waste construction materials
* recycling organic waste
* Sustainable Landscape management specifications
