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Conservation Landscaping Guidelines

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Conservation Landscaping Guidelines Conservation Landscaping Guidelines The Eight Essential Chesapeake Elements of Conservation Conservation Chesapeake Landscaping Conservation Landscaping CC CC Landscaping LC Council LC Council This document can be found online at ChesapeakeLandscape.org. Published as a working draft November 2007 Special Edition revised and updated for CCLC Turning a New Leaf Conference 2013 © 2013 Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council ABOUT CCLC The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) is a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to researching, promoting, and educating the public about conservation-based landscaping practices to benefit the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The Council is committed to implementing best practices that result in a healthier and more beautiful environment benefiting residents and the region's biodiversity. ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION In late 2003, CCLC committee members began working on a set of materials to help define and guide conservation landscaping practices. The intended audience ranges from professionals in the landscaping field to novice home gardeners; from property managers at various types of facilities to local decision-makers. These written materials have been through many revisions, with input from professionals with diverse backgrounds. Because of the nature of the group (professionals volunteering their time), the subject matter (numerous choices of appropriate practices), and the varied audience, development of a definitive, user-friendly format was challenging. Ultimately, we intend to develop an interactive document for our website that shows examples of the Eight Elements, especially as new technology and research evolves in the future. This document has been reviewed and refined by our board members, and “put to the test” by entrants in our 2008 and 2010 landscape design contests. CCLC welcomes feedback, recommendations, and new members willing and able to contribute their skills, knowledge, and talents to future endeavors. Send comments to [email protected] Other products of this CCLC committee have included development of the “Eight Elements of Conservation Landscaping,” a basic listing of the elements that will be more fully described in these guidelines; and a chapter on conservation landscaping practices for the Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association’s Certified Professional Horticulturists’ Training Manual (2005). A number of other state and national efforts to define sustainable landscaping and/or lawn care practices have occurred as CCLC members have developed these guidelines. Some are more focused and some more broadly applicable. We recommend that practitioners review these materials for guidance as well. Though we will not attempt to reference all of these other projects here, worth noting are the voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction, and maintenance practices known as The Sustainable Sites Initiative™, developed by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (University of Texas at Austin), the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the U.S. Botanic Garden. Learn more about The Sustainable SITES Initiative™ at www.sustainablesites.org. CCLC plans to publish this document as an online resource, and this goal is reflected in its design. Each chapter contains basic information under a “HOW” section. The “LEARN MORE ABOUT IT” section provides additional detail on words highlighted in the introductions and “HOW” section, which will appear in the online version of this document as hyperlinks. Contributing Authors 2003–2013 Britt Slattery, Maryland DNR (formerly U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Rebecca Wertime, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Carole Ann Barth, Heal Earth Gardens Bob Campbell, National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Program Debbie Herr Cornwell, RLA, ASLA (formerly Herr Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design) Meosotis Curtis, Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection Marcy Damon (formerly Chesapeake Bay Foundation) Kathy Davis, (formerly University of Maryland Extension) Suzanne Etgen, Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center Carol Jelich, University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Claudia Jones (formerly State of Maryland Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission) Dr. Sylvan Kaufman, Sylvan Green Earth Consulting (formerly Adkins Arboretum) Wanda MacLachlan, University of Maryland Extension Dr. Sara Tangren, University of Maryland Extension (formerly Chesapeake Natives) Cover photos courtesy of Ann Rohlfing, [email protected]. Book jacket design by Joanne Shipley. ©Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction . 1 The Eight Essential Elements of Conservation Landscaping. .. 2 Element 1. Design to Benefit the Environment . 3 Element 2. Native Plants. 6 Element 3. Invasive Plant Management. 10 Element 4. Wildlife Habitat. 16 Element 5. Healthy Air Quality . 20 Element 6. Clean Water . .. 23 Element 7. Healthy Soils . .. 28 Element 8. Management . .. 33 TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS List of Native Groundcovers . .. 13 Short List of Common Invasive Plants . 14 Figure 1. Evapotranspiration rates decrease and runoff increases as impervious surface increases . 26 Formula to Calculate Amount of Mulch Needed . 32 Seasonal Maintenance Calendar . 37 INTRODUCTION Why is Conservation Landscaping important in the Chesapeake Bay region? People are a major cause of the Chesapeake Bay’s problems. With so many people living and moving into the Bay watershed, nonpoint source pollution—that is, runoff from streets, farms, construction sites, and our own yards— has become an increasing problem. Contaminants from every home and community—sediments, sewage, manure, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and motor oil—can be carried into the Bay from local streams and waterways. Rising sea levels and the sinking of parts of the coastal plain threaten developed lands and natural areas in low- lying regions. Scientists predict that climate changes in our region will result in warmer winter temperatures and increased storm severity. These changes affect our plant choices as gardeners and how we manage our landscapes. The Bay is part of a vast interconnected ecosystem, and everything we do on the land affects both local waters and the Bay. Because our actions are so closely linked to the health of the Chesapeake Bay, stewardship of the land and water in developed landscapes is our most effective tool for the Bay’s restoration. How each of us manages property is important to us all. You can embrace the responsibility of caring for the land by following the principles of conservation landscaping at home and in your work. The rewards of a well-maintained conservation landscape are many. It reflects positively on its owner and the professionals who were involved in design and installation. It beautifies the home and neighborhood—or the workplace, school, business, or park. It affords a comfortable place to entertain, relax, play, work, and learn. Most importantly, it provides and promotes a safer and healthier environment for our use and enjoyment, allowing us to live in harmony with local natural resources. Engaging in the conservation landscaping practices described here can make an important difference in helping preserve the region’s plants, habitats, and animals, all critical elements in the complex web of life that characterizes the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding watershed. What is Conservation Landscaping? Working with nature to reduce pollution, conservation landscaping incorporates environmentally sensitive design, low impact development, non-invasive native and beneficial plants, and integrated pest management to create diverse landscapes that help protect clean air and water, support wildlife, and provide a healthier and more beautiful human environment. Conservation landscaping supports clean air and water by: Using plants that are adapted to local conditions and thus require less fertilizer and pesticides Trapping localized stormwater on site with rain barrels and rain gardens to ensure slow percolation and increased filtration of nutrients entering the groundwater Reducing the amount of smog released into the air and the amount of atmospheric deposition of nutrients into our water by reducing the amount of mowable lawn area Conservation landscaping supports wildlife by: Providing a diverse plant environment that attracts greater animal diversity and fosters healthier ecological communities Creating migratory corridors of conjoined healthy ecological communities Conservation landscaping supports a healthier and more beautiful human environment by: Reducing the amount of pollution entering the environment Demonstrating the beauty of well-maintained, natural landscaping 1 THE EIGHT ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS of Conservation Landscaping The following elements represent the practice of conservation landscaping. By implementing these practices, you can contribute to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed* and improve the region’s water and air quality. Incorporate as many of these elements as possible into your landscape, to benefit all life in our watershed. A conservation landscape: 1. Is designed to benefit the environment and function efficiently and aesthetically for human use and well-being; 2. Uses locally native plants that are appropriate for site conditions; 3. Institutes a management plan for the removal of existing invasive plants and the prevention of future nonnative plant invasions; 4. Provides habitat for wildlife;
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