6 Tips for Creating an Eco-Friendly Landscape

I'm a big fan of blogs. The life experiences of one individual provide a wealth of knowledge for everything each one of us do every single day.

One of my favorite blogs is the Eastern Shore Gardener blog. While I'm located in the middle of the state, I have plenty of family and friends who live in a very different growing condition than what I see here in central Maryland.

Eastern Shore Gardener author Barbara Ellis published a fantastic article about creating an eco-friendly landscape.  And guess what? Eco-friendly landscapes also cut down on maintenance as well. Enjoy!

Low maintenance landscape plants

Landscaping a home can be one of the most rewarding experiences for a homeowner. Designing, planting and nurturing this investment provides untold satisfaction to garden enthusiasts. DIY landscapers often choose to select plants that require little maintenance to limit water use as well as upkeep. Selecting low maintenance plants for landscape gardens requires careful planning and the realization that every plant at some time will require some regular care.

Ornamental Grasses

Few plants equal ornamental grasses for the combination of stunning foliage display and low maintenance. Ornamental grass ranges in size from low-mounding varieties such as variegated liriope to towering stands of pampas grass. The plants offer foliage-centric focus in the landscape without the high maintenance of continual trimming to remove spent flower blooms. Most varieties of ornamental grass requires a single haircut in the early spring right after new shoots appear.