Lawn and Garden Choices for a More Natural Environment
There is an increasing trend in residential landscaping to move away form manicured lawns and groomed garden, and toward more unstructured yards that use plants that are indigenous to the area. Part of the reason for the move in this direction is that various levels of governments are beginning to see long-term cost and health benefits, and are therefore encouraging the change. The trend, often called “natural landscaping”, is catching on in home gardening as well because of a combination of environmental, cost-saving, and convenience benefits.
What is Natural Landscaping?
Natural landscaping is the modification of land using native plants
to meet human objectives with minimal detrimental effects to the
environment. It is sometimes referred to as ‘native landscaping’,
‘beneficial landscaping’, or ‘gardening for life’. It’s worth
understanding that our culture of green lawns and structured gardens
has been largely inherited from European landscapes where the moist
climates are ideal for maintaining healthy short grasses. But by and
large, in North America, this type of greenery is not naturally
maintained, because our continent has such a diverse climate range. Yet
we spend a king’s ransom to mimic estates found in England and Western
Europe!
The Benefits of Natural Landscaping
Think of how much time, energy, equipment, expense and effort is
put into the care and maintenance of a typical lawn or cultivated
garden. Converting a sizeable portion of a property to a natural area
could result in considerable benefits:
- Economical (minimal start-up and maintenance costs)
- Ecological (abandoning use of pesticides, herbicides, power equipment, etc.)
- Social (neighborhood cooperation, reduced use of water, etc)
- Personal (healthy, convenient, and aesthetically pleasing.
Natural Choices Cover a Lot of Ground!
Many homeowners who are not familiar with the idea of a natural
garden or landscape imagine unencumbered growth of unwanted weeds, wild
vegetation and unsightly properties. This is actually an exaggerated,
if not false, impression. True, you could leave your entire yard fallow
and eventually it would be covered with wild-looking vegetation. But,
that method isn’t truly “natural” because half of the growth would come
from seeds of nearby gardens, many of which were originally cultivated
in greenhouses or imported as hybrid species. Instead, the natural
garden area should be managed and maintained, and its size and density
controlled by selectively “weeding” certain unwanted plants and
encouraging others, like wildfowlers to flourish.
Community and Environmental Payoff
Natural landscaping is beginning to make a lot of sense to
governments, corporations – even some golf courses – due to the cost
and health benefits of reduced labor for maintenance and the
discontinuation of chemical treatments. By considering natural choices
for our private and public spaces, we are practicing good stewardship
of our community, large and small. Natural, aesthetically-pleasing
surroundings have a side benefit that could have a very positive
long-term effect on our neighborhood and the environment.