WELCOMING BIRDS, BEES AND BUTTERFLIES WITH NATIVE LANDSCAPING
We select beautiful plants and plant them in large masses and drifts for bold beauty.
We select bold plants with long flowering time, lovely foliage or unique habit or all three!
Plants are planted in large masses and drifts to provide bold masses of flowers or foliage or grass.
We choose only native plants that are adapted to this area, drought tolerant and super tough.
These plants are native to the Chesapeake Bay and they are adapted to thrive in this environment. They withstand the summer heat, and the winter cold with little or no bother from pests.
The plants selected are very drought tolerant once established. These are plants that are beautiful with little care...an excellent alternative to a having “just” a lawn.
We create habitats that are welcoming to bees, birds and butterflies.
We install plants that provide bees, birds and butterflies with food and shelter... an oasis they can thrive in.
The plants we use...
1. Chasmanthium latifolium
2. Panicum 'Northwind'
3. Panicum vir. 'Shenandoah'
4. Schizachyrium scop 'Standing Ovation' PPAF
5. Schizachyrium scoparium
6. Aquilegia Canadensis
7. Aquilegia can. 'Little Lanterns'
8. Aster div. 'Eastern Star'
9. Aster ericoides 'Snow Flurry'
10. Baptisia australis
11. Coreopsis v. 'Moonbeam'
12. Coreopsis v. 'Zagreb'
13. Echinacea pur. 'Magnus'
14. Echinacea pur. 'Ruby Star'
15. Echinacea pur. 'White Swan'
16. Heuchera amer. 'Dale's Strain'
17. Iris versicolor
18. Liatris spicata
19. Penstemon 'Husker's Red'
20. Rudbeckia ful. 'Goldsturm'
21. Rudbeckia ful. var. fulgida
22. Rudbeckia triloba
23. Sisyrinchium ang. 'Lucerne'
24. Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks'
25. Solidago caesia
26. River birch Betula nigra
27. Sweetgum Liquidambar styraciflua
28. Red Maple Acer rubrum
29. Canada Serviceberry Amelanchier Canadensis
30. Redbud (Eastern) Cercis Canadensis
31. Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida
32. Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa
33. Inkberry Ilex glabra
34. Winterberry Ilex verticillata
35. Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia
36. Lowbush Blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium
37. Highbush Blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum
We install our landscapes to maximize fast coverage and minimize weeds
First, we till or spade in compost or other organic matter if necessary
Next, we install a layer of cardboard to block out weeds and keep moisture in
Then, we install a further 2-4” mulch atop the cardboard
Finally, we plant through the cardboard one plant per sq ft. This high density quickly blocks out weeds for low maintenance beauty.
What do we have against lawns...?
We don’t put in much, if any, grass. Usually less than 20% of the yard will be designed to be a lawn.Some may ask, why so little? If you haven’t heard, there is much controversy about the value of lawns.
Some of the arguments against lawns include:
Lawns take chemicals to make them look their best, and these chemicals can leach into the local rivers and streams affecting the populations of native flora and fauna.
Lawns are a monoculture that do not provide a place for bees, birds, beetles, bugs...even earthworms struggle in lawns.
Lawns require a lot of water...and so supplemental watering is necessary.
Lawns typically require environmentally unfriendly gas powered devices to maintain them (mowers, leaf blowers, trimmers)
Arguments supporting lawns images of good things just find stock images of the following.
Lawns do provide a place for kids and adults to romp.
Lawns do have a certain visual appeal.
Lawns have a place in sustainable landscapes, but instead of dominating, they are an accent or a functional area.