Establish Green Foundations

19th c. home of George W. Cable, The Amateur Garden

During the late 19^th century, suburban builders planted landscape plants around homes to highlight the grandeur of the property.  Frederick Law Olmstead, founder of American landscapes, advised to ‘take care of the corners, and the centers will take care of themselves.’ Installing opulent shrubs and trees around foundations not only accented homes but created the framework to showcase the architecture of a new century. 

Side view of George W. Cable's home in 1914

 After World War II, houses became less expensive and landscape packages adjusted to budgets of veteran first-time home buyers.  The next generation — baby-boomers— jumped into the middle class. The housing boom continued with smaller yards, less money for landscape budgets becoming the norm.  Today with savvy builders and 21^st century science of water and energy conservation leads the way in offering ‘green’ landscapes with their showcase homes.  But for others, the Victorian trend of installing foundation plants continues with the 20^th century artificial reality of zero-lot lines and instant landscapes.  You can easily tell the age of an instant landscaped community by the large trees, scantily grassed front yards from the lack of sunlight, and overgrown shrubs blocking the view of the doors and windows. Its five to ten years old.

Example of instant landscaping after one year.

Instant landscapes have a formula:  Pack as many colorful plants around the house as possible to give that WOW factor so you can sell the house quickly.  The buyers move in, loving the landscape, not realizing the costs and work ahead with high maintenance of pruning, pest control, and replacing stressed plants within a few years. 

The first six months is the honeymoon, landscapes look good.  But Olmstead’s advice that the centers will take care of themselves is a lie. Over the next two – three years though, the established landscapes mature and grow into their full size, requiring continual pruning to get to the door, or see out windows, or keep the trees from hitting the roof.  Mold and mildew become issues with the moisture of irrigation hitting the home and lack of air circulation from the shrubs. With bi-weekly or monthly pruning necessary to prevent shrubs and trees from taking over the home, the shrubs succumb to die-back or ‘bare-bottom syndrome’[1], leaving the shrub looking forlorn and sickly.

Bare-bottom syndrome with die-back issues. 

How do you prevent instant landscapes?

• Use landscape plantings that allow for mature growth.  Take the full width of a plant and divide it by half.  If a tree grows 30 feet wide, plant it at least 20 feet away from house or overhead wires.  Hedge shrubs that will reach 6 feet wide within two years, plant three feet apart.
• Do not cram perennials and ornamental shrubs together for the instant look.   Instead, plant more perennials and ornamentals appropriately, and then use seasonal annuals, containers, and hanging baskets to provide more color. 
• Pruning foundation plants should not be necessary.  We shouldn’t put plants in to cut them unless it’s a formal landscape, a standard specimen, or a formal topiary.  If a window ledge is three feet up from the ground, then use a shrub that will only grow to three feet or grow very slowly, so that pruning is an annual landscape chore.
• Install foundation plants at least two feet away from the foundation or outside of the roof line.  This will allow the foundation plants to receive rainfall, and therefore cut supplemental irrigation, but also keep the soil at the foundation dry.  Keeping the rootball moisture away around the home will also maintain the integrity of termiticide barrier, reducing susceptibility to termites. 
• Shrubs should have three to four inches of mulch on top of the root ball, leaving the trunk flare visible but only use one to two inches of mulch around the foundation of the home. This will allow the moisture to dry around the house, again providing more termite protection.

How do you know how big a shrub or tree will get? A great landscape database to help determine appropriate size of shrubs and trees is the St Johns WaterManagement District’s Waterwise Landscapes website.   


Correct landscape installation 2008

Same landscape 3 years later.

Green builders want to provide better landscapes that will look great upon installation, are fabulous a year later, and within five years, look natural as if it had always been there.  Green landscapes mean lower upfront landscape budget costs for the builder, getting more bang for your buck while selling the benefits of less maintenance, lower water bills, for the home buyer, resulting in a quicker home sale!  

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[1] My label for shrubs that have no foliage at their base due to being pruned incorrectly. 

 

Teresa Watkins, horticulturist, landscape designer, and environmental consultant is a Florida Water Star certifier, and a member of the USGBC-LEED Technical Advisory Group. Watkins is also host of the award-winning gardening radio show “In Your Backyard” heard on www.My790am.com every Tuesday at 1:00pm. You can contact or send questions to Teresa at www.she-consulting.com.

50 Shades of Green

House nearing end of construction, last minute decisions, counting dollars, finishing details, and getting ready for the final C.O, is stress to the extreme.  Sound familiar?  Multiply that stress by one hundred with the builder having to submit the necessary particulars on a check-off application when the house is being certified “green.”   I recently overheard a builder blurt out in frustration “there’s many shades of green” when an explanation of what the criteria for landscape certification meant and why his choices were unable to be used.  While there are many green certification programs, there is only one type of “green,” and that is following the selected green organizations’ program criteria correctly.  Green certification takes organization, preparation, commitment, and knowledge of what benefits green certification provides both the builder and his client.  If proper steps are taken from beginning to end, green certification doesn’t have to be an arduous ordeal.

Conversations about what is really green and the much easier greenwashing[1] takes place mainly among researchers, green certifiers, and environmental standards organizations such as United States Green Building Council,  National Green Building Program,  EPA’s Water Sense, Sustainable Sites, and their affiliate state organizations like Florida Green Build Council.  In Florida, the University of Florida oversees the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program, while the St Johns River Water Management District and other districts’ green certification program, FloridaWater Star certifies new and renovated homes on best water-conserving principles.  Home buyers trust the builder to provide correct information on the best products for their lifestyle and the right certification program.  Builders, who don’t believe that green certification is beneficial to their clients, won’t be able to sell it to them. It will either result in greenwashing or a lost opportunity to provide a truly sustainable product.

Green building is not only about the construction process, inside and out, but includes the property; from the first site survey and shovel in the ground, to final grading and landscape and irrigation installation.  For the best results and less stress, certifying the home and the landscape should be decided upon during the budget negotiations and before the construction begins, so that the application process can be completed successfully easier and within budget. Using a green-certified landscape architect or landscape designer from the beginning is a wise decision for the builder and the homeowner. 

Confusion happens when builders and homeowners don’t understand the numerous benefits and selling points of a certified landscape and irrigation; and start cutting their expenses at the cost of high maintenance and expensive water bills.  Green certification means the best management practices and certified products have been used and there will be financial savings, lower maintenance, and a smart responsibility to the environment, in their client’s future. 

Gone are the days (or at least they should be) where the homeowner is not given a choice on an efficient irrigation system that will cost more upfront but will save the homeowner thousands of dollars but are offered a more expensive energy-saving appliance that will save them $120 a year over the lifetime of the product.  With monthly water and irrigation bills of $200 to $500 becoming commonplace nationwide, why wouldn’t a builder give their clients the option of purchasing a water-efficient landscape and irrigation package? Needlessly paying thousands of dollars over a five to ten year period in water bills? Now that is torture to me.

Builders should partner with certified landscape designers and landscape architects who will provide timely advice and information on best management practices and green landscaping. They will be able to explain how to use the eco-friendly principles to benefit the builder and the homeowners. With current statutes like Florida-friendly landscaping, green certification is only a prelude to future smart building practices in Florida. Certified landscaping and irrigation will allow for more sustainable growth, more satisfied clients, and  help the builder to be on the best sellers’ list for years to come.  

See the Vision House 2008's certified green landscape three years later.
Originally published in From The Ground Up, Building Inspirations Magazine, July 2013.

Teresa Watkins, horticulturist, landscape designer, and environmental consultant. Watkinsalso hosts of the award-winning gardening radio show “In Your Backyard” heard on www.My790am.com  every Tuesday at 1:00pm.  You can contact or send questions to Teresa at www.she-consulting.com.

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[1] A superficial or insincere display of concern for the environment that is shown by an organization.  www.WordReference.com

Edible Landscaping - Florida Style

UPDATE: Read Teresa's an in-depth article on Edible Landscaping for Green Builder magazine on "Edible Landscaping 02" pages 31 - 37.

The International Builders Show in Orlando January 12th - 15th will be showcasing two demonstration homes, Green Builder's Vision House and ReVision House 2011.   (You can see the homes in detail in Green Builder magazine, January, February, April 2011 issues.)

These homes will feature technology and trends in green construction. Using products that will help homeowners conserve energy, water, and provide better air quality is important in these tough economic times. While current costs for this new technology may be more expensive at the onset, homeowners will reap benefits in reduced bills, lower maintenance costs, and better health.

The Vision House is urban-techno farmhouse introducing vegetables and low maintenance into the Orlando infill city lot. This landscape is perfect for busy professionals, having reduced turf areas, small raised garden beds, and patio containers of fruits and vegetables. In the same College Park community, the ReVision House showcases a Napa Valley Florida-style landscape for homeowners who have more time to be outdoors and are gardening enthusiasts. The larger lot features an edible landscape with nut trees, small orchard, berries, and herbs in containers and as ground covers. The home is situated in a cul-de-sac neighborhood and has full sun in the front yard with shade in the backyard.

Both landscapes have incorporated soil amendments of Sodcaster and Turf Pro in the garden beds and turf areas which will improve moisture retention and decrease the need for fertilizer. At the ReVision House, the compost comes from a more refined technology! BCR Environmental donated organic nutrient-rich, odorless compost of biosolids that  have been incorporated into the soils.  Lechuza, elegant self-watering containers are used indoors and outdoors at both houses, saving the homeowners time and money worry about watering and replacing plants that get neglected.

Landscape species were selected based on proper site conditions and mature size that will allow the landscapes to grow naturally and create a biodiverse urban sanctuary for wildlife.  Proper placement of the shrubs and trees reduce the amount of pruning and future maintenance allowing the plants to grow healthy without water and nutrient competition.  The specially selected plant species at the Green Builder demonstration homes - after establishment - will be able to survive on normal rainfall, supplemented by efficient irrigations systems that will be used during droughts. The maintenance of these yards will be minimum with less mowing, less fertilizing, and less pruning - reducing their susceptibility to pest issues. Both of the homes will be certified Florida Water Star, water-conserving indoors and outdoors. The Vision House 2011 receives SJRWMD's highest Gold certification, while the ReVision House 2011, a renovated home earns the Silver certification.

Sponsors of the Vision and ReVision House 2011

Vision House:

Irrigation: Clearwater PSI

• Lechuza, a division of Playmobil - Self-watering containers
• Lake Jem Farms - Zoysiagrass turf supplier
• Sunniland - Soil amendments, stone mulch
• Davey Tree Experts Company - Tree Pruning
• Florida Water Star Certification

ReVision House:
Irrigation: Bruce Hage Irrigation

Landscaping: 

• Chestnuthill Tree Farm - Berries, grapes, fruit and nut trees
• Lechuza, a division of Playmobil - Self-watering Containers
• Lake Jem Farms - Zoysiagrass turf supplier
• BCR Environmental - Compost/Commercial fertilizer derived from biosolids
• Sunniland - Soil amendments
• Davey Tree Experts Company - Tree Pruning
• Landscape Design, Florida Water Star Certification - Teresa Watkins

Being grounded in saving dollars and making sensible decisions regarding our natural resources will certainly become more important in the coming years. Growing your own vegetables, fruits, and herbs is an easy way to start an edible landscape and  take advantage of Florida's warm weather and abundant rainfall.

Both homes will be featured in the January and March issue of Green Builder and on DIY and HGTV.  You can visit the Green Builder Vision and ReVision 2011 homes during the International Builders Show Jan 12th - 15th from 10am to 4pm.

Teresa's article on Central Florida edible landscaping: Edible Landscaping: So Good You Can Eat Them Right Up