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BENEFITS OF NATIVE PLANTS
There are many benefits to naturescaping, whether practiced in place of or in
addition to traditional landscaping. Here we present a few, and please
recognize that the importance of any one of these will vary depending on
one's personal perspective.
1. Low Maintenance - Compared to lawns, manicured shrubbery or bark-mulch
covered beds, naturescapes are tremendously low in maintenance. Native plants
grow well together (they evolved growing along side one another) and to
predictable sizes. They do not need watering (except during establishment),
nor do they require chemical fertilizers or any of the commercial biocides -
herbicides, insecticides, fungicides - they are adapted to local conditions
and to local "bugs" ... . They also do not require raking because
leaves in a naturescape are a soil builder, weed suppressor and natural
fertilizer. Are there better ways to spend your time besides yard
maintenance?
2. Public Health - Lawns and bark-mulch beds (particularly those frequently
created in commercial landscapes) are notorious for using copious amounts of
synthetic chemicals - pesticides and fertilizers. Have you ever considered
how all those commercial planter beds stay so weed free? It is not divine
intervention nor frequent manual labor, but rather chemical pesticides - some
so strong that their instructions say apply once a year. Studies from Yale
University indicate that the average suburban lawn is deluged with 10 times
as much chemical pesticide per acre as farmland.
3. Saves YOU Money - Need we say more??? While the cost of installing a
naturescape may be comparable to that of installing a lawn with a couple of
shrub beds, the cost of maintaining a naturescape is dramatically less. Since
naturescapes effectively take care of themselves, there is little or no
maintenance and hence little or no maintenance cost. Accordingly, costs
associated with maintaining a traditional landscape come as an
"additional" expense not incurred in naturescaping. The
U.S.Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the cost of maintaining an
average lawn is $700/year. Add shrubs and/or flower beds and the cost goes
up. Add irrigation and the cost goes up considerably. Irrigation systems for
a 1/2 acre lot can run $10K. What else could you do with that money? Take
yourself out to a dinner regularly, take a vacation, buy something for
yourself or loved ones, invest it? Please also note that the average
household lawnmower is used 40 hours per year - the equivalent of a one week
vacation.
For more information on native plants check Plant Native
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