Include Sustainability in Your Cottage Grove, WI, Landscape Design

Unfortunately, one downside to having a lush, green landscape is the need to keep everything watered. This is why including sustainability in your Cottage Grove, WI, landscape design can be beneficial to you and to the environment, as it can reduce the amount of water required to keep healthy plants and grass.

The Principles of Sustainability

The first principle is to plan your landscape so that you avoid waste. Many yards do generate a lot of waste: Grass clippings, tree branches, and watering over areas that don’t need it like walkways add up over time.

The second principle is to value water as a limited resource. Instead of having to water the entire backyard, you could opt for bringing in carefully planted shrubs and native grasses that require very little water to thrive.

The third principle is to improve the soil. Nutrient rich soil sustains plants better than poorly planned landscapes that have runoff and erosion that removes the soil.

The fourth principle is to choose plants that are native to the Wisconsin climate. When you select native plants, your landscape will need less water and produce less waste, and you will be able to enjoy a landscape that returns with minimal maintenance required each year.

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Ways to Incorporate Sustainability

There are many ways to incorporate sustainability in your Cottage Grove, WI, landscape. Among these are:

Catching and reusing rainwater—catching rainwater not only brings an additional water source for your landscape, but it reduces the stormwater runoff into creeks, streams, and municipal storm drains. This impacts erosion of dirt and protective banks.

Using native plants to the Wisconsin region means that they require less water and fertilizer since they are adapted to the climate and conditions. A plus is that these plants are beneficial for birds, butterflies, and other species because they provide habitats that are suited to these creatures.

Planting a food or vegetable garden increases sustainable practices by nourishing the soil and reducing the amount of food that is purchased. The goal is to impact the earth as little as possible, and even to improve it by choosing plants that protect the landscape.

Another option is to have a rain garden—such gardens filter the runoff of pollutants to improve water quality. They protect rivers and streams by reducing the heavy flow of stormwater into natural creeks and rivers, helping to protect the wildlife that live there. The plants in a rain garden make a home for beneficial pests, birds, bees, and butterflies, which could increase the health of your landscape. Rain gardens also help to reduce the amount of grass in your lawn, and they can be truly beautiful to view.

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Finally, drip irrigation uses almost 50% less water than a traditional irrigation system. Through the drip irrigation, smaller amounts of water are applied over a longer amount of time, which encourages healthy plant growth.

Including sustainability in your Cottage Grove, WI, landscape design is a choice you won’t be sorry you made. Seek a landscape expert who is very familiar with the most ideal plantings that work best during the spring, summer, fall, and winter months—so that you will be able to achieve visual interest year-round for your Wisconsin property.