Business Tips
1 Are these the most suitable plant choices for such a high profile area?
Sustainable Landscaping Janine Pattison looks at retrofitting gardens and landscapes for sustainability
There are many simple ways to retrofit a garden to make it more sustainable.The aim will be to make the garden easier to maintain and require fewer inputs of labour, herbicides, pesticides and irrigation without compromising the functionality and attractiveness of the space. The first thing to consider is whether the design still works.Things will have changed since the garden was first created and an analysis of its current state and how it is used may reveal simple ways to achieve improvements which will make it more sustainable. Improvements to access and circulation routes can make the garden more usable and easier to maintain. New and larger machinery may be much more efficient but require more generous access. Are the plants performing as they should? Some may have become too large or may require
2
www.prolandscapermagazine.com
Janine Pattison.indd 27
2 Poor drainage and excess foot traffic make this area unsustainable in the long term.
1
too much regular maintenance. Areas that were sunny may now be shady due to tree and shrub growth and the under-storey planting may have suffered due to low light levels. Consider replanting areas with better suited, lower maintenance choices and take advantage of new varieties – perhaps some dwarf forms which will not need
Improvements to access and circulation routes can make the garden more usable and easier to maintain as much regular pruning. Remove or reduce the need for annuals wherever possible as these require significant amounts of time and money to implement each year. Lawns are a major consumer of resources: requiring regular applications of water, herbicide and fertiliser to remain attractive as well as needing labour and fossil fuels to mow them. Consider reducing the amount of lawn, perhaps by increasing areas of low maintenance ground cover planting or allowing areas to become more meadow-like with the accompanying benefits to biodiversity. The regular use of herbicides can be reduced by keeping the ground covered, either with a dense canopy of planting or thick layers of mulch. Avoid areas of bare soil as these quickly become weedy and will be time consuming to maintain as well as unsightly. High inputs of fertiliser and irrigation water will produce large amounts of growth which will cause large amounts of pruning and green waste. This situation can be made more sustainable by reducing the amount of water and fertiliser, and
ensuring that green waste is composted on site for reuse within the garden. Some areas of hard landscaping may have become damaged due to wear and tear or weather conditions. Before being repaired or replaced consider whether they are still required and could be removed.There may be a path to a shed that isn’t there anymore and can be safely removed. If areas of hard landscaping are to be replaced think about using more sustainable materials like recycled concrete slabs or composite decking. If an irrigation system is installed which runs from the mains it would be worth investigating in a simple rainwater harvesting system.The plants will be happier with rainwater and your client will face a reduced water bill. Garden lighting technology has improved massively in recent years and modern LED fittings are much longer lived and much more economical to run. If the old system is failing then take the opportunity to upgrade to low voltage LEDs. Making a garden more sustainable is about reassessing the space and evaluating those steps that can be taken to reduce inputs without spoiling the finished garden.
ABOUT janine pattison
Janine Pattison MSGD is a multi award-winning garden designer and horticulturalist who trained with English Heritage at Eltham Palace in London and at Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester. A registered member of the Society of Garden Designers, the British Association of Landscape Industries and the Garden Media Guild, Janine is also a highly qualified RHS horticulturalist. www.janinepattison.com
June 2013
27
21/05/2013 12:14