Sustainable what?

I finally got an opportunity to watch “The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie” yesterday and I must say I’m a bit perplexed by the term “sustainable landscape design” quite frankly. Now this post has nothing to do with Jaime’s design style or abilities, which unquestionably are considerable and well renowned. It’s at this point I have to admit I never heard of the guy until HGTV. My thoughts have everything to do with what constitutes the term “sustainable” especially in light of what I saw on the show yesterday.

The premise was creating an Australian styled outdoor room for a home in Duarte, California. In order to do this Jaime flew back to Australia for design ideas and inspiration from some of his previous design installations. This notion alone bothered me immensely because, after all, the man is from Australia! Does he really need to fly back and forth from California to Australia and back to California again just for design inspiration and to see in person how his designs are doing? Really? (OK, maybe he stopped by to say hi to mom and dad.) What makes this notion even more appalling is the fact that is TV – all this is “done for show.” Couldn’t he have just asked a buddy to email him some photos from the garden he did? I mean think of the jet fuel waste and air pollution alone of this one fact finding flight and how it could have been avoided. Ah, TV.

I have to say that I have never been to Australia and yet, if I want or need Australian inspiration for a garden design, I can just whip-out my handy, dandy Sunset Garden Guide and find literally hundreds of Australian natives – many readily available right here in So Cal from locally based wholesale nurseries. That being said this is California after all, not Australia. Wouldn’t the notion of using California or Southwestern natives be more in keeping with the whole notion of “sustainable”? I think it would be frankly.

My next thought has to do with the quandary (contrived or not I can’t say) regarding the shows horticulturists’ mission to find an Australian Grass Tree, Xanthorrhoea preissii. She managed to drive to three different supply centers/nurseries to find this plant and couldn’t find any. She did in fact finally find one. Question: Is it more sustainable and thus better for the environment to frantically scurry about in a Toyota Pirus (as opposed to normally aspirated gas hog) than it would be to simply look up the plant on the internet? It took me all of two seconds to find the plant on the internet and confirm its availability not too terribly far from Duarte! Personally I don’t think this lump of grass-like leaves holds a candle to the Mexican Grass Tree, Nolina longifolia, but hey, that’s just me.

My last thought regarding the show and this misuse of the term “sustainable was the use of “rammed earth walls”. The whole notion of these walls was to create sustainable design by using extremely compacted earthen walls as raised planters for the wonderful assortment of Australian natives used in the landscape. After finally finding a contractor familiar with the technique (because after all [snide remark alert] we build so many of these earthen walls in So Cal) of building these walls a concrete truck is called into pour the footings. This is where I began to think that it simply would have made more sense just to use poured-in-place concrete walls with colored concrete and rough finished but hey, what do I know? Once the footings were in place and the forms for these rammed earth walls were done the use of motorized (two stroke engine) tampers was employed. So how is this technique more sustainable than just simply using one truck and one pour? It just seems to me that while it may be “chique” to want to use these types of walls from a sustainability aspect (I guess because the technique is cool or whatever) the technique used to install them is hardly more sustainable, earth friendly, environmentally conscientious (insert your favorite “green earth” term here) than just using P-I-P concrete walls.

Then I read on the HGTV web site that Jaime “In addition to being an award-winning designer and TV host, Jamie also is an advocate for preserving our natural surroundings and environmental future. He trained with former Vice President Al Gore as a Climate Change Ambassador and regularly participates in environmental lectures around the world.”

Oh, well that says it all then, he’s part of the “do as I say, not as I do crowd”.

Don't blame the grass....

Recently I read an article that was posted on the California Landscape Contractors Association page at LinkedIn from the San Jose Mercury News regarding Bay Area communities possibly restricting lawn sizes. This has led to lively discussion and in fact has now blossomed into two separate conversations on this topic.

It seems that grass (or lawn turf if you prefer), in many cases, gets a bad rap and has become the environmentalist's equivalent of Quasimodo when in reality everything about a healthy lawn boils down to overall care. It matters not whether it's the front yard patch of lawn or the monstrous expanse of lawn turf at the local park green-scape maintenance is key to a healthy lawn.

For example, we recently experienced five straight days of heavy rain in Southern California from cyclical phenomenon known as El Nino yet how many folks paid enough attention to the weather report and shut off their irrigation systems? From the reaction I have seen from other designers and landscapers some did not.

That said however how many folks that have a lawn and pay good money to water it, even in the rain, have it professionally aerated and properly fed twice a year? I'm guessing relatively few. How many have the auto irrigation system set to water less days but properly timed for longer watering intervals? I'm guessing relatively fewer. How many have an automatic rain sensor? I'm guessing even fewer. How many even know the type of lawn they have in their yard? Even fewer still.

Ah, but how many consistently mow the lawn too short? Um, I'm going to guess most!

Questions like these illustrate that in all reality the problem is not the lawn but how it is watered, maintained and cared for that’s the real issue. And I'm certain that turf grass managers of all types will most likely tell you this is not just an issue with private homeowners but municipalities and recreation districts worldwide.

Before governments make any drastic decisions regarding private homeowners and their lawn issues revolving around proper maintenance and care should be discussed. The American Lawn Care Industry reminds us that a 50'x50' area of typical backyard lawn turf produces enough oxygen for a family of four for a year. This is important to keep in mind when discussing the environmental impact of having a well maintained lawn. The ALCI goes on to state that a properly maintained and cared for lawn offers many environmental benefits among which are the benefits of the cooling effects of lawn turf around homes and neighborhoods. Just eight average healthy front yard lawns have the same cooling effect of 70 tons of air conditioning - enough for 16 average homes!

Then there are the unseen benefits of pollution control. Dust and smoke particles from the atmosphere are trapped by blades of grass. Just like other plants lawns also convert carbon dioxide to oxygen. Lawns also help with overall water quality. A dense, healthy lawn turf slows down and filters runoff, removes contaminants and prevents soil and the contaminants from running off into drainage systems as well.

It seems to me in our efforts to worship at the alter of the cult of "Mother Earth" and almost deify the issue of "global warming" that we have failed to see the forest through the trees when it comes to understanding the importance of lawn turf.

In order to achieve a healthy lawn proper and consistent maintenance and watering are vital. I would suggest that one of the best and certainly one of the most underutilized aspects of proper lawn care involves professional aeration. Just like golf courses do as part of there regular maintenance programs the average residential lawn will benefit greatly from aeration. Aeration cores about 2 inches of soil from the lawn which relieves build-up compaction. This also allows water and oxygen to reach the root level of the lawn. This is very advantageous to a healthy lawn. It also makes fertilizing the lawn extremely effective and it minimizes runoff.

Yet the overall cost a residential aeration service is relatively inexpensive and even downright reasonable when one considers the overall benefits to the lawn of a twice yearly aeration and fertilizing program. In time the lawn will thrive and be much more healthy with regular aeration. This type of information regarding lawn care and maintenance needs to be at the forefront of our thoughts regarding the sustainability of lawn turf.

For example what is cost/benefit trade-off for both the homeowner and the environment in removing a particular amount of lawn turf and replacing it with other forms of ground cover and whether that ground cover is organic or not? I feel questions like these need to be answered by governments and municipalities before any specific approach regarding lawn turf can be recommended.

2010 Perennial Plant of the Year ™

The Perennial Plant Association has named it's 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year ™ and the winner is: Baptisia australis.

According to the associations web site Blue false indigo grows three to four feet tall and three to four feet wide in an upright habit. This exceptional perennial grows across a wide range of zones and is one of the most adaptable native species.

Newly emerging shoots produce violet-blue, lupine-like flowers in erect 10- to 12-inch racemes atop flower stems extending well above the foliage mound of clover-like, trifoliate, bluish-green leaves. The spring flowers are present for three to four weeks. The flowers give way to inflated seed pods which turn charcoal black when ripe and which flower arrangers consider to be ornamental. The common name, blue false indigo, refers to the use of this perennial by early Americans as a dye.

Baptisia australis is an excellent plant to anchor the back of the border. It is also valuable for cottage gardens, native plant gardens, and native area of prairies and meadows. It is best as a specimen or planted in small groups. Blue false indigo can be used with bulbs and other spring flowering perennials to make interesting combinations.

• Light - Plants thrive in full sun. Plants grown in partial shade may require staking.
• Soil - This North American native is easily grown in well-drained soil and is drought tolerant after establishment.
• Uses - This spring flowering shrub-like perennial may be used to fill the back of the border or in the wild garden.
• Unique Qualities - The combination of flower and leaf color is dramatic in the early blooming season. Flowers are followed by inflated seed pods that are useful for dried flower arrangements.
• Hardiness - USDA zones 3-9