RainScapes Environmentally-Friendly Landscapes for Healthy Watersheds

Conservation PLandscaping Techniques

Why should I implement What is conservation 3. Institutes a management landscaping? plan for the removal of conservation existing invasive Conservation landscaping and prevention of future landscaping? is a type of landscaping that nonnative invasions Each year, benefits the environment Americans by improving water quality, 4. Provides for spend countless preserving , wildlife hours tending to and providing wildlife habitat. 5. Promotes healthy air over 30 million Conservation landscaping quality and minimizes air acres of grass on replaces some of the turf grass pollution their . Millions of pounds of a traditional with native 6. Conserves and cleans of and millions of tons plants that have adapted to Montgomery County’s local water of are applied annually. rainfall and soil conditions Lawn mowers use a quart of 7. Promotes healthy soils and require less water and gasoline each hour and emit as maintenance than the lawn 8. Is managed to conserve much as 10 times the amount grasses. Montgomery County, energy, reduce waste, of hydrocarbons as a typical car. Maryland is located in the and eliminate or minimize Thousands of gallons of water Piedmont region. the use of pesticides and are used to water a single yard . during one summer. On the East The Chesapeake Conservation Coast, an estimated 30 percent Landscaping Council defines conservation landscaping of residents’ total water use is through “Eight Essential for lawn . Traditional Elements.” lawn and care takes time and uses non-renewable A conservation resources. What if there was a landscape: way to reduce these practices 1. Is designed while maintaining a healthy, to benefit the aesthetically pleasing landscape? environment In Montgomery County, much and function of the native topsoil is stripped efficiently and aesthetically for during the development process, human use and and if this soil is not carefully well-being replaced, many homeowners are left with soil that is mostly 2. Uses locally compacted clay. The clay is native plants typically planted with non-native that are turf grasses which lack the deep appropriate for site conditions roots to penetrate compacted Newly planted turf removal project (continued on page 2)

Conservation Landscaping Techniques page 1 of 8 (continued from page 1) soils, and require a great deal What are the of watering, mowing, and other maintenance to keep them green benefits and incentives? and healthy. The RainScapes Rewards Rebate Program offers a rebate for Conservation landscaping is residential properties, institutional, multi-family, or commercial able to reduce the negative properties for implementing this technique. This rebate applies to impacts on the environment the purchase and installation of container-grown plants, not seeding. associated with conventional Conservation landscaping offers many benefits to the and lawn management. Many native the local environment, which include: plant species are deeply rooted, • Aesthetics more resistant to insects, • Improved air quality plant disease, and drought. By replacing traditional grass • Improved water quality lawns with native plants, you • Enhanced wildlife habitat can reduce the use of pesticides, • fertilizers, and water. • Native species conservation Conservation landscaping saves • Reduced erosion you time and money when compared to many other forms • Reduced expense and time needed for mowing lawns and of landscaping. There is less applying pesticides and fertilizers to conventional area to mow, so environmentally Conservation landscaping is a great way to help the environment and damaging emissions and time protect your local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. spent mowing are reduced. Native plant landscapes that To apply for a RainScapes Rewards Rebate, please visit are well-designed are easy to www.rainscapes.org maintain, visually pleasing, and environmentally friendly. Conservation landscaping benefits wildlife, the environment, neighborhoods, and homeowners. The aesthetics of conservation landscaping can vary from traditional (natural) to more formal.

Butterflies are attracted to sun-loving perennials Turf conversion to conservation landscape

Conservation Landscaping Techniques page 2 of 8 How to… Assess Your Property Before adding conservation landscaping Why do you want to use conservation to your yard, assess your site’s conditions. landscaping? You want to preserve any existing beneficial • Capture stormwater runoff or sump-pump environmental features and add conservation discharge landscaping to create new native features. The success of your new native landscape depends • Attract wildlife (butterflies, , on whether you select the right plants for the etc.) right places in your yard. Carefully evaluate • Block an unattractive view your property, so you can choose plants based on their sunlight, soil, and moisture requirements. • Block winter winds Although native plants are adapted to our • Create focal points or views that can be region, it is usually beneficial to add to enjoyed from your home the soil at the time of planting. • Shade your home or A/C unit Take an inventory of your current landscape conditions: Other site considerations: • Identify north on your property. Your • Estimate the area needed for recreational property will receive morning sun from the space in your yard east, afternoon sun from the west, full sun • Estimate storage area needs for firewood, from the south, and full shade on the north- snow piles, lawn furniture, etc. side. Remember that and your house cast shade. This will help you select the • Identify any local ordinances, deed best plants for your landscape. restrictions, or homeowners’ association restrictions on landscaping • Measure your turf grass area that you wish to convert to conservation landscaping. These observations should give you an idea of where to add conservation landscaping that will • Observe how well water drains in the thrive and help to achieve your goals. proposed project location or if there is standing water after heavy rainfall.

Conservation landscape in partial shade catching runoff from Native plants, grasses and catch runoff from large ballfield at adjacent property Rockville High School

Conservation Landscaping Techniques page 3 of 8 How to… Design and Plan Choosing the Area To be eligible for a rebate, at http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/ least 250 square feet of your chesapeake/pdf/chesapeakenatives.pdf lawn must be converted to or conservation landscaping. http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/ The site assessment will help nativesMD/pdf/MD-Piedmont.pdf you identify appropriate areas for conservation landscaping in your yard. • The National Park Service’s “Plant Lists for Maryland Regions” Selecting Native Plants http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/nativesMD/ lists.htm To qualify for the rebate, 75% of plants selected must be native species, which • Natural Landscaping: Designing with are plants that have adapted to local , Native Plant Communities, by John rainfall, and soil conditions. As a result, these Dickelmann and Robert Schuster. plants require less water and no fertilizer or To find plants that are adapted to Montgomery pesticides. The best choices of native plants have County’s climate, review the U.S. Department deep root systems that may grow up to many of (USDA) Hardiness Zone maps, feet deep, whereas the roots of most turf grasses which divide the U.S. into zones based on typically only grow 2 to 4 inches deep. Drainage temperature. Montgomery County lies in Zone through soil will improve over time with native 7 (http://www.ahs.org). To search for plants plants. As the plants mature, the roots grow that can succeed in hardiness Zone 7, visit: longer and leave “root channels” or holes in the http://www.rainkc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/ soil where old roots decayed. These channels plants.search/index.htm break up the soil, allowing water to flow through the channels and soak into the soil more quickly. Use these guides to select plants based on size (how tall and wide plants will grow when they Excellent resources for choosing native are mature—space them accordingly), the soil wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs by region moisture conditions you have (dry, moist, or include: wet), and the amount of sunlight your garden • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s guide: will receive (full sun, partial shade, or shade). Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Before After

Complete yard conversion Native landscaping can be integrated throughout yard, along borders, edges, and entries

Conservation Landscaping Techniques page 4 of 8 Developing a Planting Plan Sample List of 10 shrubs and herbaceous plants for a Sunny Include a planting plan in your rebate application. The plan Conservation Landscape should detail the plant species, container sizes of purchased plants, arrowwood Viburnum number of plants, planting densities, planting materials, and soil dentatum ‘Emerald Luster‘ amendments, and include a maintenance plan. If possible, plant or ‘Blue Muffin’ canopy, , and ground layer plants in your conservation black-eyed susan Rudbeckia fulgida, landscape. hirta or triloba blazing Star Liatrus spicata bluestar Flower Amsonia tabernaemontana butterflyweed Aesclepias tuberosa New England Aster Aster novae- angliae redosier dogwood Cornus sericea sumac Rhus ‘Tiger Eye’ or ‘Gro-Lo’ switch grass thrift/ moss phlox Phlox subulata Sample List of 10 shrubs and herbaceous plants for a Shady Baptisia australis - wild false indigo is a MD threatened plant species Conservation Landscape Christmas fern Polystichum acrostichoides doghobble Leucothoe fontanesia ‘Nana’ inkberry Ilex glabra ‘Densa’ -leaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium New York fern Thelypteris noveboracensis oakleaf hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia Pennsylvania sedge pensylvanica smooth hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens spicebush Lindera benzoin Upland seaoats Chasmanthium latifolium

See also: http://www.nps.gov/plants/PUBS/ NATIVESMD/pdf/MD-Piedmont. pdf http://mastergardener.umd.edu/ files/NativePlantsofMDFeb%2005. pdf

Placement of the garden should be planned to achieve environmental and aesthetic goals

Conservation Landscaping Techniques page 5 of 8 How to… plants to be planted vertically, Can I do this Add Native Plants to not on a slant. Each little project myself? terrace will soak in more water Your Landscape than the smooth face of the Yes. You can use this module Plan to install the landscaping original grassy slope. Your area as a guide. project during either the of turf conversion on the slope If I decide to hire a Spring or Fall, generally from must be fully on your property contractor, what should late March – early June, and and not in the right-of-way. I ask? September – Thanksgiving. Steeper slopes require extra Avoid planting too early in the • What experience do stabilization if turf is removed. Spring when the soil may be too On these steeper slopes, a you have planting wet, and during mid-summer conservation landscapes? better strategy is to remove when watering will be necessary. pockets of turf (as opposed to • Are you certified Woody plants may be planted all of the turf) and create the with any nationally through the winter as long as the mini-terrace planting areas. recognized landscaping soil is not frozen or saturated. organizations? The rest of the grass can be 1. Outline a conservation covered using mulch, allowing • Can you supply landscaping area with rope the existing grass roots to references from previous continue to stabilize the slope clients? or string. as the new plant root systems 2. Remove grass with a sod • Do you intend to use are developing. If you remove all cutter or spade. subcontractors? of the existing turf, you should • Are you insured and 3. Loosen soil with a tiller, plan to replant within 2 weeks to bonded in Maryland? rake, or shovel. Add 2 inches prevent erosion. of compost and till or dig in. • Do you have a portfolio Plants for slopes should of completed projects? 4. Plant native species. generally be drought tolerant. Plants at the bottom of the • What design do you 5. Place 2 inches of shredded slope however may experience envision for my hardwood mulch over wet soils and should be able to conservation landscape? garden bed. Avoid placing withstand “wet feet” in addition • Will you develop a mulch directly onto plant to drought. planting plan? stems or trunks. • Where will you get the 6. Water the landscaped area Turf Grass Removal plants? weekly during the first Techniques • What technique do you growing season, then in Before you can add conservation use to remove turf grass? dry periods after first year landscaping, you must prepare • What is included in your to allow plant roots to the planting bed. Several services? establish. methods are commonly used to • How long do you expect Conservation Landscapes the project to take? on Slopes • Do you offer a guarantee Converting turf banks to for your work? conservation landscapes can • Are you available reduce time spent mowing and to perform ongoing improve safety by not running a maintenance of the mower on a hill. conservation landscape if needed? Planting on a slope requires creating a series of mini-terraces • How much will your (see the graphic on page 8 of the Sod removal services cost? Tree Canopy module) that allow

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Conservation Landscaping Techniques page 6 of 8 (continued from page 6) remove existing grass from your 4. Place a layer of 4 to 8 inches lawn. of compost materials over the top soil. Manual Removal with a Sod Cutter or a Shovel 5. Continue placing alternating layers of peat moss and If you don’t mind the work, compost materials until you can use a shovel to dig out the planting bed is 18 to 24 the layer of grass on your lawn. inches high. Make sure you remove the roots of the existing grass and 6. Spread 4 inches of mulch on so they do not grow back. top of the “lasagna” layers. A quicker way to remove grass Common compost materials is with a sod cutter. A sod cutter include grass clippings, leaves, Completed ‘lasagna’ bed settling in to await (manual or powered) is a tool sawdust, manure, chopped up planting that slices off a thin horizontal corn cobs, wood ash, hay, and layer of sod that can be rolled up household waste such as coffee Fewer layers of compost for easy removal. Sod cutters are grounds and fruit or vegetable components could work for turf often available to rent from local peels. removal, but would not provide home goods stores or equipment as much soil conditioning. rental companies. You can recycle your sod elsewhere on your property, or you can donate Costs it in your community. Adding native plant species to your landscape is an affordable “Lasagna” Method for way to improve the environment Removal by Composting and aesthetics of your property. The “lasagna” method is Depending on the materials an easier, but slower way to selected, a typical price range prepare the planting bed for for conservation landscaping is conservation landscaping. You $0.10 to $9 per square foot. are not removing grass with this technique. You pile layers of Maintenance cardboard, compost materials, and mulch on top of your lawn Layering of ‘green’ and ‘brown’ compost Conservation landscaping components to kill the grass beneath. The requires regular layering technique is similar to After creating the “lasagna” maintenance. Overall, how you would make lasagna. layers, plant the garden right landscaping with native plants away or leave the layers to break requires less maintenance than The basic steps are: down the existing grass. Over traditional lawns and gardens. 1. Cover an area of grass with 2 to 4 weeks, the height of the Typical gardening activities cardboard (such as used planting bed will decrease. When include: boxes) or newspaper (4 to 5 you plant your garden, simply • Annual mulching (no more layers). No sunlight should dig planting holes and place than 2–3 inches) reach the grass below the plants directly into the “lasagna” paper. garden bed. • Weeding (by hand) • Watering (if it has been 2. Water the paper. If you are using this method, more than 3 weeks without consult with RainScapes staff on 3. Add 2 to 3 inches of moist rain) your project timeline before you topsoil or peat moss over the • (as desired) paper. begin. Remember: pesticides or fertilizers are generally not required.

Conservation Landscaping Techniques page 7 of 8 Different Applications

The Maryland Native Plant The Chesapeake Conservation Society also lists native plant Landscaping Council, nurseries in the Mid-Atlantic Conservation Landscaping region: Guidelines: The Eight http://www.mdflora.org/ Essential Elements of publications/nurseries.html Conservation Landscaping: http://www. How to Avoid Deer chesapeakelandscape.org/ Damage: Guid1207%20.pdf A list of deer-resistant plants is U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, provided on page 73 of the U.S. Native Plants for Wildlife Fish and Wildlife Service’s guide: Habitat and Conservation Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay and Conservation Landscaping: Watershed: A more formal front yard Chesapeake Bay Watershed http://www.fws.gov/ To download or order a free copy, chesapeakebay/BayScapes/ visit: bsresources/bs-nativeguides. http://www.fws.gov/ html chesapeakebay/BayScapes/ The “Lasagna” Method for bsresources/bs-nativeguides.html Turf Grass Removal: http://tbmastergardeners. How to Avoid Invasive homestead.com/Handouts/ (Non-Native) Species: LasagnaGardening.html Review the National Park http://organicgardening. Service and U.S. Fish and about.com/od/ Wildlife Service’s guide, Plant startinganorganicgarden/a/ Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural lasagnagarden.htm Areas: http://ourgardengang.tripod. Newly installed conservation landscape with http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/ dry wells pubs/midatlantic/ com/lasagna_gardening.htm Grow Native! Provides Additional Resources on various designs using native For More Information Conservation Landscaping: plants landscape: http://www.grownative.org Where to Buy Native Brooklyn Botanic Garden Links Plants: to Sustainable Techniques: Invasive Plants: A Guide to http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/ Identification, Impacts and Most local nurseries carry sustainable/ Control of Common North native plants. The U.S. Fish American Species by Sylvan U.S. Forest Service, Native and Wildlife Service Web Ramsey Kaufman and Wallace Gardening Web site: site lists some native plant Kaufman nurseries in the Chesapeake http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ Bay watershed: nativegardening/index.shtml Bringing Nature Home: How you can Sustain Wildlife with http://www.fws.gov/ U.S. Forest Service, Wild Ones: Native Plants by Douglas chesapeakebay/BayScapes/ Landscaping with Native Plants: Tallamy bsresources/bs-nurseries.htm http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/ wildones/wo_2004b.pdf

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