GUIDING PRINCIPALS OF NATURAL LANDSCAPING

Environmental Protection and Enhancement: The Village has already incorporated several environmental protection and enhancement features into design guidelines. Greenways and pocket parks, boulevards, and nature preserves are examples of how the Village is creating environmentally friendly development. Having naturally landscaped areas will further complement these design elements, while enhancing and preserving the area’s historical origin.

Energy Conservation: Studies indicate that areas that are naturally landscaped, especially retention ponds, use significantly lower amounts of energy for storm water management and flood control than traditional, manicured landscaping does.

High-quality Construction and Aesthetic Design: Other communities have received national attention for their beauty and design that combines town and landscape planning. While staff does not see the Village reaching the intensity of some of these towns, there are opportunities to incorporate and encourage natural landscaping in both existing and future developments.

Envision a beautiful place near your home where there is native vegetation: grasses, sagebrush, oaks, and junipers or spruce, pine, and grasses. With an image in mind, place your house in the picture without disturbing the site. The view from inside your home is a natural garden. Occasionally you see deer and butterflies, and bird songs fill the air. Your water bill is reduced, there is little or no lawn mowing, and less fertilizing and maintenance. This is what Water-wise landscaping can be (Figure 3). It can be a contemporary landscape, a modification of a traditional
style, or a combination of styles – the commonality is low water use.

Water-wise landscaping is landscaping without wasting water. It includes planning a yard for your lifestyle, grouping plants together with similar water requirements, watering just to meet plant needs and using non-water consuming areas, such as decks and patios.