Native White Turtlehead (bees love)
Edible landscaping – Emphasis on native plants, all perennial with a mix of shrub, grass and flowers to enhance wildlife benefit and bloom times.
Michigan Native Certification – All landscaping pre-qualifies you as a Michigan Native habitat.
Rain Gardens – Reduce runoff and local flooding. Rain gardens are essentially landscaped bowls, with water-tolerant plants and compost. They are mosquito-proof and designed to infiltrate and recharge groundwater. Great for a unique butterfly garden!
Adaptive Landscaping – Using existing wet areas and transforming them into native wetlands. If we can’t eliminate the problem with a rain barrel or rain garden, and it’s not causing problems, why not get creative?
Herb Spirals – Spirals of rocks, bricks, pavers or whathaveyou create multiple microclimates for various herbs. The stone retains heat, while placement of the herbs dictate relative moisture. Below is one we started in the fall, but got interrupted by snow:
Herb Spiral in progress
Hugelculture - The “Waste Not, Want Not” of gardening. By burying yard waste at various stages of decomposition, the roots of what you plant on top have more access to nutrients and moisture. We call it “nature’s slow-release fertilizer”. This might be the epitome of ecological landscaping: using what you have on site, no waste, happy plants, and (a favorite of busy schedules) less watering for you!
“Waste Not, Want Not”, side angle
First off, hey Stu!
This site was getting solid traffic on facebook from Whitehall folk, and so I though I’d check it out, and it is AWESOME. Very cool thing you have going on.
This may not directly relate to what y’all do, but I’m wondering if you consult on, or have resources relating to in-home or window-sill gardening. I’m living in (a tiny apartment in) New York now, and my girlfriend and I have been looking for a way to grow some edibles in the home-space. Any experience in that area?
Thanks, and all the best!
– Mike
Mike! I almost accidentally marked this as spam, but my name and Whitehall held me back. Thanks for saying hi/asking. You know what, that’s a great question. I’ll make a FB post about it, as I imagine others might be wondering the same. I’ll tag you on it when I post. Hope all’s well!