Landscape Design examples

September 23, 2022
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Image credit: Pete V. Domenici
  • Explore different aspects of sustainable landscape design and be able to discuss benefits and challenges of sustainability

Continuing education hours
Reading: 1.5 hours
Activity: Posting in Google+ Community: 0.5 hours
BONUS video: 0.5 hours


  1. Read two articles highlighting examples of sustainable landscape design. In this section, we’re focusing on primarily the environmental and economic aspects of sustainability. Here you also have a choice: you can either read at least two of the articles posted below or you can find two of your own. (Or you can do one of each!) are further down the page.
  2. Make sure to check out the on Sustainable Landscape Design in a Residential Setting by Ben Futa, Director of Allen Centennial Garden.

Why do these activities?

  • We’re giving you the option of finding your own information so you can practice your research skills if you would like. Remember, searching for scientifically based, scholarly information is an important volunteering skill. If you haven’t done it for a while, now is a great time to practice.
  • Practicing communicating scientifically supported information is one of the most important skills an MGV can develop. Posting and discussing with your classmates simulates what you do as volunteers dealing with the public.
Prairie garden in a residential setting. Post a response to Part One and Part Two in the Examples of Sustainable Landscaping category of our Google+ Community. For questions on using Google+ Communities, refer to our How-To video in the introductory materials.

Part One:

Based on one of the articles you read, post a response including these three points:

  • Name an example or aspect of sustainable landscaping and what aspect of sustainability it exemplifies.
  • What is one positive aspect of this example or aspect of sustainability? Another way to think of this question is, Why is it good and for who and how?
  • Explain a challenge related to this aspect of sustainable landscaping- you can think in big picture terms or be very specific!

Part Two:

Respond to at least one classmate’s post with an additional thought or comment.

  • Depending on how many people have commented when you post, you may need to check back in a week or two- or a month or two! This is one of the challenges of doing online education, but we hope you enjoy the opportunity to interact with colleagues around the state. You also may not be able to complete Part Two immediately if not a lot of people have posted, so check back periodically until a post appears that you feel comfortable responding to.
  • Your response will need to be more than 10 and under 150 words.
  • Try to make sure that everyone has a response.
  • You must do the post in Part 1 and the response in Part 2 to earn the half hour of continuing education for the activity.
Source: blogs.ces.uwex.edu



Landscaping Tips

Though your home is your castle, there is no necessity to surround it with a moat. Here are 5 tips that will help you to make your landscaping feel more warm, welcoming and cozy.

1. Put some flowers nearby your entrance. Flowers make any area look more welcoming and attractive, so greeting your guests with Petunia, Snapdragon, Lily-of-the-Nile or some other garden flowers is always a great thing to do. What is more, to add some space between your house and the entrance, you can consider adding a little white fence. It will create an illusion that your front yard is bigger than it actually is. What is more, adding fence will create a great space for planting flowers to add some color and coziness.

2. Add rambling vines to make your yard look absolutely lovely. You can not deny that rambling vines always create romantic and even magical atmosphere. So why not to use this tip while decorating your yard?

3. To hide the unattractive driveway, consider adding some color, texture, and height. You can easily do it by adding various sorts of flowers. To start, create an island of green lawn right in the hub of a drive. Then add a couple of low boxwood hedges with flowers toward the back of your island.

4. If you want your yard to blossom and flourish bust still do not have enough time to maintain it, consider planting low-fuss lilies. Such flowers look absolutely gorgeous and come in the variety of rainbow hues, so you can pick the one you love most. What is more, low-fuss lilies do not care about the sort of soil, they love the sun and welcome hot, they do not afraid of drought. In other words, Crinums is an ideal flower for all those who are looking for low-maintenance solutions.

5. The last tip also touches the low-maintenance aspect. To make your life easier, group plantings into beds and islands. This will help you to avoid mowing and trimming around each individual plant, save a lot of time and even money.

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