A growing trend today is the desire on the part of consumers to preserve natural resources and practice responsible lifestyles by recycling, living “green”, and incorporating sustainable products and materials whenever possible. One of the less well-known areas of a sustainable lifestyle includes sustainable landscape design. Are you familiar with sustainable landscape design?

What is Sustainable Landscape Design?
Sustainable landscape design integrates practices that conserve natural resources, minimize waste, and prevent pollution. According to the Colorado State University Extension, “Sustainable landscaping should include an attractive environment that is in balance with the local climate and requires minimal resource inputs, such as fertilizer, pesticides, gasoline, time, and water. Sustainable landscaping begins with an appropriate design that includes functional, cost efficient, visually pleasing, environmentally friendly and maintainable areas.”

Are Nonsustainable Landscape Design Practices Really That Bad?
Five examples of the negative effects of nonsustainable landscape design practices include:

• Degrading of the surrounding ecosystem, especially water resources
• Storm water runoff and sediment traveling to surface water
• Pesticide runoff ads toxic chemicals to drinking water
• Degradation of plant and animal habitats
• Toxic fertilizers and pesticides contribute to health concerns

Sustainability Offers Low Maintenance
One of the primary features of a sustainable landscape is that it requires low maintenance, thereby conserving natural resources. A sustainable landscape costs less to maintain over the years. From owendell.com, “Few people realize that maintenance can account for 80 percent or more of the total cost of a landscape over a 20-year design life. During its service life, maintenance costs for a sustainable landscape can be as little as one fifth that of a conventional landscape, requiring one third less labor, eighty percent less water, and one hundred percent fewer toxic chemicals.”

Aardweg Landscaping Designs are Ecologically Sound and Naturally Beautiful
Often landscape design, installation and maintenance companies such as Aardweg Landscaping, do not advertise themselves as a sustainable landscape design company, but they do practice many of the more important sustainability practices. These include incorporating native plants into the design, avoiding the use of toxic chemicals, using the right plants in the right places, and strategically grading new landscaped properties in order to control storm water flow and sedimentation deposit. In fact, Aardweg Landscaping designs and installations are ecologically sound and naturally suited to the eastern Pennsylvania climate.

With more than 35 years in the business, Aardweg Landscaping has created beautiful landscaping solutions for hundreds of Main Line and Philadelphia area gardens. To hear more about how Aardweg Landscaping can help you create an ecologically sound and naturally beautiful garden, call us at 610-355-0703, or email us using our online contact web form. Aardweg Landscaping creates beautiful sustainable landscape design for Main Line gardens.

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