Last evening I presented this talk “Moving Your Yard Toward Sustainability”at the Minneapolis Home and Garden Show. If you are free, I am presenting it again this evening at 5:00.
What is meant by sustainable? This is a way of living that does not use up the resources required by future generations. Our current modern lifestyle is not sustainable becuase it relies on so much fossil fuel. The gardens EnergyScapes designs and installs reduce your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of maintenance you must do. You save both time and money by relying on those plants best adapted for your site conditions.
I presented several projects we have done for our clients. First was a series of views covering just three growing seasons that demonstrate how we transformed a lawn on a sandy site. Next I showed the specific steps to move their lawn areas toward gardens of native species that support one another without needing much help from us. 
It worked well to go back to that introductory series after covering all the steps needed to achieve a garden that looks so beautiful and does not require irrigation, mowing, fertilizer or insecticides. Quite a dramatic contrast with the dependent turf we started with at that home.
Sustainable communities of native plants dramatically reduce our carbon footprint because no mowing is required, except every few years to reduce thatch.
That can be burned off if you are able to obtain a fire permit. The other benefit is that we are creating habitat for all these increasingly rare native plants, as urbanization, climate change and invasive species wipe out natural areas. Not only are we saving these plant species, but all the creatures that depend on them, like butterflies and the soil microbes that exhance their root systems to obtain both water and nutrients. Intensively managed turf reduces diversity to to just one grass species and the soil microbes are destroyed by inorganic chemical fertilizers. 
EnergyScapes shows you how to bring all of this diverse life back to your yard.
One sample design was featured, including photos of another site we transformed from lawn to a native shade garden. I demonstrated how to find sample designs on our website for: Prairie, Native Shade, Evergreen Shade, Raingarden, and Lakeshore habitats.
A rousing discussion followed with some great questions from the audience about how they can make this happen in their own yard. First question was, “Where can I get the paper you showed for killing the lawn?” EnergyScapes does sell it by the roll (4 x 300′). Mother Earth Gardens in south Minneapolis has also carried this landscape paper. It is sold under the trade name “Clean Burn”, but orders from the supplier require a twenty roll minimum.
Now is a great time to be working with our design team to create a new sustainable look for your home, office or cabin.
Our spring installation schedule is filling up quickly, but we still have time to prepare a plan for you before the ground thaws. Happy gardening, though snow is in our forecast for later today!
