Have you ever wanted to beautify your property, but were concerned about the impact that commercial fertilizers might have on your lawn or the the additional water costs you might incur?

These are both valid concerns, but consider this: What if you could landscape in a way that was both affordable and eco-friendly?

The truth is: you can. To learn more, Harry Helmet caught up with Miriam Goldberger, president of Wildflower Farm Inc..

What are eco-friendly landscape solutions?

Eco-friendly landscape solutions are the conscious selection of appropriate plants that are well-suited to the natural conditions of the specific property that is being landscaped. This is combined with water efficiency and conservation, and the use of fewer resources to blend man-made landscapes into the natural world to enrich the biodiversity of the surrounding ecosystem.

What do they look like?

Plants that are native to the area are always the best choice as they are naturally adapted to the growing conditions of the area. Low-maintenance lawn alternatives are a great second choice as they require far less watering, fertilizing and other inputs than traditional turf grasses do.

What are the most popular eco-friendly landscape solutions?

Eco-Lawn, which is our proprietary low-maintenance lawn seed mix, is our top seller as once it is established it requires far less water than traditional turfs do. It also does not require traditional fertilizers or pesticides and it only needs to be mowed once a month. This saves people time and money!

At the same time, more and more people are also installing native wildflower meadows and prairies so that they can create low-maintenance landscapes that not only enrich local biodiversity and create wildlife habitat, but also are visually beautiful for the owners from spring to fall.

Is there a human benefit to using all natural landscaping solutions rather than not? Are there allergen impacts?

There are many benefits to natural landscaping solutions! First off, people save money by reducing, if not eliminating, the water they are currently using and paying for with traditional high-maintenance landscapes. The average homeowner in North America spends well over $100 per year watering their front lawn! Not only is this precious resource being wasted on a lawn, people are also paying for the pleasure of doing so.

Low-maintenance landscapes can implement water efficiency and conservation practices by incorporating the use of rain barrels that collect water from the drain spouts attached to the gutters of their homes.

Homeowners who landscape with native wildflowers and grasses likely will never need to water their properties and they get the additional benefit of the beauty of flowers blooming all season long.

There really are no downsides or negatives to natural landscaping solutions.

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