For
naught so vile a plant on the earth doth
live but to the earth some special good
doth give --
Shakespeare
The
professionally designed landscapes that we
see today are usually far from nature’s
original way of dealing with that
environment. Exotic (non-native) plants
are brought in from all over the globe,
special grasses are grown at massive turf
farms and the trees used will probably
have been raised at a nursery far from the
intended site.
To maintain these landscapes, a
client will be required to fertilize,
water, weed and cut on a weekly, if not
daily basis.
Massive amounts of yard waste are
generated daily, usually ending up in land
fills, and the chemical fertilizers used
will eventually find their way into the
ground water.
All of this is contributing to the
destruction of the very environment we are
seeking to enjoy.
Today’s
xeriscaping, a practice where only native
plants are used, offers a solution to
these problems.
The idea is simple: the plants that
originally thrived in a given ecosystem
are naturally able to sustain themselves
much better than exotic plants are. The
immediate gains are a vast reduction in
the amount of water needed to sustain
growth as well as little or no need for
fertilizing.
Also, maintenance can be
dramatically reduced as most native
species will grow and look best when left
alone.
When
a project is searching for a LEED rating,
xeriscaping can help win the points
awarded in the category of water
efficiency.
There are 5 possible points in this
area and a water efficient landscape which
reduces the total amount of water used by
50% will earn one point.
Points are also awarded for
implementing innovative wastewater
techniques.
One of these techniques is the
collection of rainwater runoff from the
roof into cisterns. These cisterns may
have been buried, but many times they can
be handsomely designed fixtures attached
to the building.
When visible, they also serve to
heighten awareness in the general public
of how simple and practical it is to use
rainwater rather than drinking water to
irrigate the landscaping.
In
Texas
, landscape irrigation accounts for 20-25%
of all water usage.
In the summer, the percentage of
water used may increase to 50%.
At a time when water is beginning
to be called, “blue gold,” and cities
such as
San Antonio
are scrambling to find future sources for
their citizens, this practice may one day
become mandatory.
Another
advantage is that native plants will help
to create an authentic sense of place.
A truly successful landscape design
should unite an original design to the
original spirit of the place.
Most people travel to experience
the world in new ways.
It is a tragedy that so many places
in
America
, a country with incredible natural
diversity, look so similar.
One of the most pleasurable
experiences that I, as a northerner, had
when seeing xeriscaping, was experiencing
what the
Texas
landscape really
looked like.
The wildflowers, post oaks, buffalo
grasses and limestone paths all united to
create an authentic experience that was
Texas
. The
website www.txsmartscape.com
will provide good information on the
native plants and materials for the
Texas
area.
One
of the problems however with most native
plants is that they are not typically as
“refined” as exotic plants.
This is probably the greatest
challenge that a landscape architect will
face when trying to convince a client to
go with a xeriscape design; the aesthetic
ideas many people have as to what
constitutes a beautiful landscape.
We may find that some of the native
plants appear to look like weeds when not
in bloom and that many native species,
such as buffalo grass, do not harmonize
with the rest of the manicured lawns in
the neighborhood.
What we as landscape architects
need to do is enlighten and educate the
public as to both the beauty and the
benefits of native plants.
This will not always be easy.
An article in the January, 2005
issue of Landscape
Architecture showed how sustainable
prairie grasses were planted at a General
Mills corporate campus.
These grasses required little
watering and were scorched twice a year in
a controlled burn rather than being mowed
weekly.
However, General Mills wanted to
project a, “clean-cut corporate
image,” and demanded that the prairie
grasses be replaced with typical
golf-course type turf.
Of course the intensive irrigation
and with fertilizers that are so
detrimental to the environment had to come
along as well.
This demonstrates clearly how
detached the general public can be to
their natural environment.
Can we accept new ideas of beauty
and let nature’s choice of plants win
out over our desires to create lavishly
designed gardens and yards that require
the client to pump them full of water and
fertilizers? It is true that many native
plants will not be as “pretty” as the
exotics, but every plant possesses its own
charm and while they may appear “vile”
some of the time, they all have a
“special good to give.”
Lionel
Plummer is a student at the University of
Texas at Arlington, and wrote this article
as part of a course curriculum focusing on
sustainability. All
comments are the sole responsibility of
the author.
This
article was originally posted 9/12/06.
