Four Benefits of Sustainable Landscaping: Using Native Plants
Date Posted: February 1, 2022
Posted In: Environment/Sustainability, Ideas,
by Jordan Wilkinson, Lawrence Group
Sustainable landscaping starts by using plants that are native to the area; they have numerous benefits and create a lasting impact on the ecosystem. Native plants have evolved and adapted to the area they are in for thousands of years and improve the surrounding environment.
For example, a plant palette of mostly native species was implemented at City Foundry STL. Here, a system of elaborate plant communities was established to highlight the site’s post-industrial history. A mixture of native shrubs, grasses, sedges, forbs and spring ephemerals was carefully prescribed to establish a groundplane of seasonal interest and texture that gives the site an orchestrated wild feel. A canopy of feature trees was used as well throughout the site.
Beyond providing a beautiful aesthetic for City Foundry, the use of native plants comes with several benefits:
1. Native plant species promote biodiversity and encourage good insects and pollinator species.
Monarch butterflies, bees and pollinator species are vital in keeping a thriving ecosystem. Not only are butterflies and bees vital, but the biodiversity of the habitat and host plants allow birds and insects a place to prey on undesirable species such as mosquitoes. The native plant species give a place for the good insects and pollinators to establish the plant ecosystem. Some non-native plants can also be harmful to the pollinators.
2. Reduced irrigation, fertilization, pesticide and maintenance demands.
When creating sustainable landscaping with native plant species, not only is the environment better for the insects and pollinators, there is also a reduced need for irrigation, fertilization, pesticides and maintenance. There are a variety of native plants in a natural landscaping environment that require little to no extra irrigation, in contrast to the traditional high water demand landscaping and grass lawns. Once the native plants are established, they typically hold up to pests well and crowd out unwanted weeds. There is also a reduced need for fertilizers and pesticides helping to keep our waterways clean, and reduce chemical input to our environment.