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| Cultivate Green |
December 15, 2004
We were fortunate to have four of the preeminent authorities on native plants in Houston present in this session. Mark Bowen is a local author and landscape designer with the landscape design/build firm Living Art Landscapes. Contact him at MarkInTheGarden@urbanharvest.org.
Mike Anderson: who worked with Tony Condon where he learned about landscape design, he and his wife Patsy Lowrey started Anderson Landscape and Nursery doing residential design and landscaping, specializing in native and uncommon plants
Charles Tapley an architect and landscape architect; opened his practice in 1960. Major projects include the Master Plan for Buffalo Bayou, 1974; Tranquility Park and seven other parks, churches in Denver, Dallas, and Houston; with Patsy and Mike Anderson he helped found the Lynn R. Lowrey Arboretum at Rice; now an adjunct professor of Architecture at the University of Houston. His firm has won a number of awards in the past and he was the recipient of the American Institute of Architects' Thomas Jefferson Award, and the Citizens Environmental Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award, both in 2002.
Linda Paisley, an architect and a LEED Accredited Professional, and Master Gardner; opened her practice recently as Paisley Design. Major projects include the University of Texas SONSCC, MSI, IMM, and Student Apartment projects, as well as several residential design efforts.
What follows is an overview of the presentations at the native plant seminar: Since the beginning of our city's existence, Houstonians have faced all sorts of land management challenges. Even today we still struggle from time to time with floods, pests, droughts, pollution, erosion, and surprisingly even with freezing weather.
This winter you will see people covering their plants to keep them from freezing when there are scores of root hardy plants available that will endure our winters without needing to be protected. Mike Anderson said, "If you look at a landscape around the time of a freeze and see blankets, plastic or frost cover fabrics all over the place, you know something is wrong."
There are wonderful native plants available to Houston homeowners. These natives can replace plants that drowned during extended rainy periods. We have many bog tolerant plants available as well as techniques to responsibly make landscapes more erosion and flood damage resistant. Some Houston homeowners have learned methods that allow them to sit back and enjoy their drought resistant native landscapes and water smart irrigation systems and not worry about their plants dying while they are away on summer vacation. Watching their neighbors struggle during dry years, trying to keep their plants alive with frequent waterings and large water bills, probably brings them quiet satisfaction.
In some Houston communities, recyclable green waste makes up thirty to thirty seven percent of the waste stream. This valuable green waste can be composted or mulched to improve the health of the soil in a landscape or garden instead of being hauled away to the landfill. By recycling leaves and grass clippings, our soils require less watering, are less erosion prone and more disease and pest resistant.
High maintenance, problem prone non-native plants take precious time, money and energy to keep alive. Fortunately, there are many clever ways to landscape that are cost effective and can reduce the amount of pollution generated from constant mowing. How? The average groundcover generally requires about eighty to ninety percent less maintenance than your average turf grass. There are many native plants that require very little or no fertilization once established. By using less fertilizer, we cause less non-point source pollution and keep our bayou and bay systems cleaner and healthier.
The use of deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the winter can be planted in a manner that will provide shade in the summer and heating (by allowing sun penetration) in the winter when the leaves have fallen. In terms of energy use, homes designed with high ceilings and tall windows exposed to the south and west sun can greatly benefit from the proper placement of these trees. By preserving trees when possible, and adding more trees to our own landscapes, we can make an impact on the urban heat island effect, also.
There are a wide variety of native plants that provide beauty as well as nectar for butterflies and seeds for songbirds, obviating any need for bird feeders. There are many plants that attract beneficial insects and other organisms, helping to keep an ecological balance and to keep control over unattractive pests. Additionally, there are large numbers of excellent least toxic organic and biological products available now that can be useful as tools during the transition to a pest resistant landscape.
Citizens can join one of a number of organizations to make a "neighborhood in need" more livable. In so doing, citizens can help many areas around town where children do not have a neighborhood park or nature center to visit for exercise and outdoor adventure.
There is a hope to see existing populations of native plants and remnant ecosystems preserved and for native plants to be considered first when plant selections are being made so that future generations will be able to get a sense of what their natural heritage is all about. By making a conscientious decision to select native plants we can replicate ecosystems that were here when European settlers colonized the area.
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| Page Updated/Reviewed: 05/18/2006 2:46 PM |
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