The right plants in the right conditions can grow lush, colorful gardens that require less water, fertilizer, and pesticide than conventional yards. This course offers tips on converting lawns to attractive, low-maintenance landscapes.
Choose Plants Well-Adapted to Your Site Conditions
Choosing plants that are well-adapted to your site conditions will ensure they will thrive without requiring much water, fertilizer, or pesticide. In addition, the right plants will help minimize maintenance requirements and costs so you can enjoy your garden more.
Start with a map of your property that identifies building, yard and driveway locations, existing trees, plants, and shrubs. Make notes about environmental factors such as soil type, slopes, and wind directions.
Choose plants that will grow, bloom, tolerate shade or dry conditions, and resist diseases, pests, and weeds. If air pollution is a concern, select plants that are tolerant of ozone and sulfur dioxide.
Adding ornamental grasses and ground cover to lawns can enhance your landscape with vibrant colors, exciting textures, and added depth. Planting beds near sidewalks and foundations should include drought-tolerant or low-growing shade plants. To minimize the area that needs irrigation, landscaping services Bellevue ought to consider using hardscaping materials (patios, pathways, and decks) appropriately.
Plan and Design Your Yard Wisely
A well-designed landscape uses less water, fertilizers, and pesticides. Watering lawns can use up to three-quarters of a household’s water usage during dry periods. Proper planning and design can reduce landscape water consumption by incorporating low-water-use plants, using efficient irrigation systems, and grouping plant water requirements.
Consider replacing your fescue lawn with ground covers like sedges or grasses that require less water than traditional turf grass, such as zoysia or centipede. Alternatively, use low-maintenance shrubs and understory trees. Avoid over-using concrete or wood in your landscaping. These materials prevent rainwater from reaching the soil and can create erosion problems.
Bellevue is a city that is evolving and is dedicated to protecting the environment while involving the community. This position will be critical in community outreach and education around environmental issues, communications, project management, and local climate and sustainability efforts. It is an excellent opportunity to join a team enthusiastic about sustainable business practices and their positive impact on local communities.
Water Efficiently
Xeriscaping is all about water-saving garden practices. Learn to choose plants that fit site conditions, practice smart irrigation, and think twice before using pesticides.
Discover various rainwater harvesting systems that allow you to use collected rainfall for garden and landscape irrigation, or explore graywater recycling systems that return reclaimed water to the soil for reuse. Also, learn about evapotranspiration controllers that use weather data to measure soil moisture levels and water loss through evaporation to calculate how much water to use. Faucets with low- or high-efficiency rated flow rates can help you conserve water, too.
Work on a dynamic team focused on high-priority sustainability projects! You will lead community engagement and outreach efforts for the Climate Challenge program in this role. It includes building relationships with diverse communities and developing outreach opportunities tailored to specific needs or first languages with support from interpreters and cultural outreach assistants.
Harvest Rainwater
Managing landscape water use requires planning, design, and common sense. A landscape can be aesthetically pleasing and healthy with minimum watering. The key is identifying your site’s suitable soils, plants, and maintenance practices and minimizing water use.
Bellevue has a long-standing goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its buildings and vehicles. This goal is centered on encouraging EV adoption, fuel efficiency mobility, and land use strategies that reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
It will also help demonstrate how to achieve a lush and thriving urban forest through conservation principles.
