N
ature is an inspirational and patient teacher for Arkansans who long for beautiful outdoor spaces and abundant gardens. A walk through a naturally occurring landscape demonstrates how well native trees, wildflowers and ground cover prosper in just the right amount of shade and sun, regardless of rainfall amounts and with no maintenance. Nature’s garden is quite sustainable. Practicing sustainable gardening and landscaping for some means a very natural approach that does no harm. For others, sustainable gardening represents a wellplanned approach to matching plants and environment, adopting a gardening calendar, buying local, and installing efficient features and systems. All sustainable gardeners can agree a mindful approach to developing outdoor space saves money, time and precious natural resources.
Photo by Wendy VanDyk Evens, Bugwood.org
Much of my time is spent with neighbors who share large landscapes in a rural area home to native warm season grasses, wildflowers and other native plants and trees we cultivate with the goals of providing habitat for declining grassland bird species and protecting the headwaters of a nearby river. My neighbor Tom, a retired botanist, and his wife Jane use native plants in their inviting yard considered a model for enjoying beauty and abundance while achieving a conservation goal. In short, we do very little to our lawns and fields and let nature take its course. My rural escape is much different from the yard I enjoyed in midtown Little Rock until just four years ago. Still, in that small area, I was able spend time in two outdoor rooms, plant shady trumpet vine on a pergola to the delight of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, incorporate native stone paths in shady areas, repurpose an existing irrigation system for minimal use, and make the most of the canopy of a large pecan tree.
The Mindful Approach
Many of my Little Rock afternoons were spent just sitting in a lawn chair watching and listening and dreaming of that first design I would implement. With a similar
BY SUZANNE LANGLEY
challenge at my new duplex just blocks away, I’ve decided against a DIY-project and to work with a professional who has built his career “watching and listening” and can help me realize my ambition of low impact development featuring native resources. “Whatever your goals are, planning is essential,” says Rick Penor of Picture Perfect Grounds. “It’s gratifying to install a yard that’s instantly beautiful, but more times than not, homeowners incur additional landscaping costs by replanting and changing designs because they plant for the moment. You need to consider how you want to use your outdoor space, select proper plant materials, and think about how your yard will change as it matures.” Our planning process for the yard at the duplex is taking advantage of: existing features, grasses and trees that can be incorporated in the design; natural drainage for placement of well-mulched beds; native stone and plants; design for no/low maintenance and energy consumption; a permeable parking pad to help with drainage; and, an order to the work that results in a successful venture while avoiding costly “do-overs.”
Sequence for Success
Rick has introduced me to considering the landscaping plan by seasons that is proving to be a valuable planning tool (see some of his suggestions in the Planning Ahead Calendar). Knowing to “hardscape” and plant/prune trees in January and February, clean and mulch beds in March and April, install perennials and natives by early May, and plan for leaf removal/mulching in November will ensure the best outcome. I’m already a big fan of gardening journals to track how new plant and tree species thrive in your yard; and, if you are gardening for wildlife, when to expect pollinators (bees, butterflies, Hummingbirds) and migrating birds. One year of a good gardening journal begins to provide a map for your custom calendar, three to four years incorporates the variations that nature brings.
The Best of Arkansas
The Natural State is home to a wealth of three components essential to my plan so featuring natural resources should be easy and more cost-efficient. NATIVE STONE. Picture Perfect Grounds is best known for their work with native stone. “Flat rock, boulders, slate, river rock, stack are all ‘local’ to Arkansas,” says Penor. “We have better success with properly-installed natural stone borders versus steel edging which allows grass to grow over March/April 2011 Arkansas Wild | 15