Sustainable for You:

Creating a backyard sanctuary won’t do our environment much good if you as the caretaker feel overburdened and give up within a couple of seasons. A garden landscape will never be low or no maintenance, it is just not in the nature of a garden to stop growing and evolving. However the right plans and approaches can limit your task list and have you enjoying your space for years to come. Be kind to yourself and keep your main goals in mind.

Habitat & Sustainable

Gardening

Wet areas, shade, dry sand or heavy clay? These are often thought of as problem areas in our yards but by taking inspiration from Mother Nature we can bring these areas back to life. Nurturing a space that supports biodiversity and sustainability not only enhances the beauty of your landscape but also plays a crucial role in conserving nature.

Naturescaping, birdscaping, habitat gardening, eco-forward, sustainable gardening; these are all ways to describe an approach to gardening that puts our home landscapes in a more holistic view. Style does not need to be sacrificed when you want to make the change to a nature-based garden. Whether you prefer a traditional American foundation planting or a loose cottage garden and anything in between there are many elements that can be brought in to achieve your desired goals.

What’s the deal about native plants?

Native plants are critical for supporting and expanding the local food web. Here in the Capital Region of New York we have multiple landscapes from scrub oak pine barrens, tidal wetlands and hemlock forests. All of these places tell a story, giving life all around us while showing us an imaginative palette of plants that function in different ways. These plants have co-evolved over thousands of years with all the elements of our ecosystem.

Finding our native northeastern plants for home planting was easier once upon a time but as the landscape trends turned to more ornamental exotics many species became uncommon in the nursery trade. Thankfully a renewed interested in the last several years in ecological gardening is helping to make many of our natives easier to find again.

Want to learn more about the native plant movement? Check out HomeGrown National Park for a great starting point.