Green Garden Design

We have become interested in environmentally-sensitive landscapes and want to know Exterior Worlds’ ideas on “green gardens.”
Like everybody else these days, we’re putting a lot of thought into “green” green gardens. At Exterior Worlds, we believe “green gardens” make a lot of sense. Not only from the viewpoint of being ecologically helpful, prudent and sustainable, but also in terms of beautiful landscapes, the impact on your budget, and time and energy savers.

With a design for a green garden, your goals are basically the same as for any other landscape design project, with a shift in focus toward using those materials, both plant and non-plant, that reduce the ongoing maintenance for watering, trimming, weeding and mulching.

Here are some ideas for your home landscape design to get you going on a “green” garden. And, as we’ve already mentioned, we think you will be pleasantly surprised by the positive side benefit of making your pocketbook greener, too!

Watering—
For grass, consider installing drought-tolerant lawns. Or you could use a variety of grass that grows slowly and thus doesn’t require mowing on a frequent basis.

Choose drought-tolerant and disease-resistant varieties of vines, bushes, trees, and ornamentals. Some plants in this category include pampas grass, spring bulbs, and black-eyed Susans. If you like roses, we recommend that you choose older rose varieties, which are hardier than modern large-flowered hybrids. In general, this type of garden reduces both the water requirement and the number of chemical treatments needed to fight diseases. Many of the Houston landscape designers we work with will be able to provide more ideas and suggestions for other plants that grow well in our climate’s rainfall.

Boost your irrigation system by adding French drains. We can also refer professional drainage contractors who can design drainage systems that allow storm water to be retained on your property. This design reduces the run-off into the city’s system and keeps the water on your property to recharge the soil.

Trimming—
For ground cover, use the varieties that need little to no trimming, such as Mondo, Ardisia, or Liriope. These types of ground cover work perfectly for your “green” garden because they are beautiful and colorful, and still reduce the need to mow, weed and mulch.

Weeding and Mulching—
To reduce regular mulching, mowing and weeding, consider using gravel as a ground cover. It’s another way to add interest and texture to your garden landscape and, at the same time, cut down your maintenance cost.

What other suggestions does Exterior Worlds have for us?
With your material selections for hardscapes, choose dark or earth tone colors that require minimal upkeep to look good. For all your hard surface areas, such as your patio design, use durable products like concrete, stone, engineered wood or pressure-treated pine, all materials with a long life span and a low maintenance requirement.

Another idea is to reduce large flower beds and instead use planters and urns for your annual flowers. This practice reduces the cost of replanting, allows you to keep the flowers fresh looking, and reduces the cost of your maintenance contract.