This year’s Provincial ban on the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides for cosmetic (i.e., landscaping) purposes will surely reinforce the trend towards ecofriendly landscaping and gardening. Like it or not, ecological landscaping is here to stay.

If you prefer a garden or landscape with a deeper shade of “Green”, you may be interested to know that eliminating pesticides is just one – albeit significant - aspect of eco-friendly landscaping. Listed below are ten other practical things you can do to create and maintain an environmentally responsible landscape.

1. Ease up on lawns and tur f care. Manicured lawns are resource-intensive; they demand abundant water and fertilizer inputs, and the gas-powered mowing equipment used to maintain lawns gives them a large carbon footprint. Allow the turf to go dormant during dry spells and mow less frequently. Stop mowing low use, sloped, and other hard-to-mow areas, allowing them to naturalize by simply letting the grass grow. Create new lawns with low-maintenance lawn seed mixes, or seed in wildflower meadows instead. On large properties, devote an acre to reforestation by planting native tree and shrub seedlings.

2. Develop a water conservation strategy: Devise a strategy to retain and infiltrate rain and melt water on-site rather than discharging directly into sewer systems. Connect your downspouts to a rain barrel or cistern, or better still, direct the water to a bioswales. Install a “rain garden”. Use porous pavements, and consider a green roof if you are building a new home or out-building.

3. Adopt xer iscaping practices. Xeriscaping refers to water efficient landscaping. It implies the use of highly drought tolerant plant species adapted to local rain fall conditions, in combination with the use of organic and stone mulches and high-efficiency irrigation practices. Convert a portion
of your property into a xeriscape.

4. Plant native trees, shrubs and perennials: Many beautiful native plants are now widely available and can be used as alternatives to more common horticultura exotic species. Native plants are more likely to be well adapted to local conditions, provide food and shelter for native songbirds and butterflies, and contribute to the protection of our natural heritage.

5. Plant a native maple instead of Norway Maple. Norway Maple (and its popular cultivars) is a highly prolific, invasive, and over-planted exotic tree that is rapidly displacing native maples and other hardwoods in natural areas across the GTA. Avoid planting this and other invasive horticultural species if you are located near a vulnerable natural area. Contact your local Conservation Authority for information on invasive species.

6. Use locally-sourced constr uction mater ials: From a carbon release standpoint, locally-sourced materials are better for the environment. Yes, that flagstone from India or China may be cheaper than Wiarton or Orillia stone, but the environmental impact of shipping the material should be factored into the bottom line. If you insist on using materials with a large carbon footprint, plant some trees to offset the carbon inputs.

7. Use composite and/or sustainably har vested lumber. Wood is a marginally renewable resource, at a steep environmental cost. When building a deck, fence or other landscape structure, reduce your dependence on wood by using alternatives such as recycled plastic lumber or composite wood and plastic lumber. If you insist on wood, use certified sustainably harvested lumber.

8. Embrace solar and wind power. Installing a new pool, pond aerator or landscape lighting? Consider some off the- grid options to power your pumps, lights and other equipment. Granted, the selection of solar and wind powered gear is still limited, but as we approach the new Green Economy, the availability, quality and cost-effectiveness is sure to improve with the growing demand.

9. Protect and restore existing natural habitats. Eco-friendly landscaping should integrate, not obliterate, existing natural habitat. Make that wetland, wet meadow, pond or forest stand on your property an integral feature of your landscape, and do what you can to protect and restore its ecological health.

10. Re-think your landscape ideals. For decades, we’ve been stuck on a cosmetic landscape ideal of formal, highly manicured, weed-free landscapes, without any concern for the environmental impact of using all that water, fertilizer, pesticides and fossil fuel. It’s all about appearances; the goal is to suppress wilderness and natural process. It’s high time we rethink this ideal. Relax a little, and worry less about controlling nature, and more about creating gardens and landscapes that express natural process and which have a small carbon footprint. Adopt an ecological aesthetic, one that embraces environmental responsibility and manifests natural beauty.

Jean-Marc Daigle is a landscape architect and president of Genus Loci Ecological Landscapes Inc. He can be reached at 905-939-8498, or at jeanmarc@genus-loci.ca.