When it comes to creating a sustainable landscape, drought tolerant plants are often first to come to mind, but sustainability can be practiced throughout the construction process.
Some sustainable construction elements are more behind-the-scenes, in the sense that they don’t necessarily change the image of your design, but the foundation on which it is built. For instance, you may want to consider the type of irrigation your wish to implement, such as one that is water-efficient or utilizes grey-water. This is something that would be helpful to discuss with your landscape designer or architect and contractor up front, so they know that this is something you value.
Other practices have more to do with the design. For instance, the materials you decide to use in your landscape could be locally sourced, which would reduce overall emissions involved in transportation, or better yet, salvaged or recycled materials. If at all possible, reusing on-site materials is best. This encourages the designer to be a bit more creative, but the end result is something uniquely your own.
Another element of design that is a sustainable construction practice is using gravel, decomposed granite, porous pavers, or others forms of permeable surfaces instead of pavement whenever possible. Usage of bark chips can be even better. As mentioned in this previous article, not only do these surfaces reduce runoff, but they filter out pollutants prior to entering the aquifer.
As with using salvaged materials to construct your landscape design, you may also recycle the materials used in your project for others. Nursery pots can be collected and returned to nurseries and properly sorted construction leftover materials can be taken to municipal recycling centers in certain regions. Listed here are locations in Los Angeles that collect construction materials. Unused trees can be donated to places, such as Angel City Lumber.
Whether it’s for the duration of the construction process, or a lasting element to your landscape, sustainable practices are helpful to protect this planet, through and through.