What is ecological landscape design and why is it different than typical landscape design?
Typical landscape design is based on a set of design principles that are largely based on convention. In other words, they design things the way they do because that’s the way people have done it for a long time and that’s what they think “looks good.”
Conventional landscape designers love big open lawns, evenly spaced plantings, ornamental non-native shrubs and plantings, straight lines and angular shapes like square pavers or stones for garden beds and pathways.
Ecological design is based on an entirely different premise. As ecological landscape designers, we look at the land and ask a totally different set of questions, giving us a different set of answers. Questions like:
- Who lives on this land and what do they need to live well?
- What animals, plants, and other living organisms used to live on this land and what do they need to thrive here?
- What types of habitat will this land need for its residents to find shelter, food, and safety?
- How are the humans living on this land needing and wanting to use it?
- How does the climate, weather, and sun affect the property and its inhabitants?
Because ecological landscape design starts with an awareness and understanding of our location on this planet (and our planet’s relationship with the sun which supports and affects all life on Earth), it is by default hyperlocal. A good ecological landscape design in Indianapolis, Indiana will look very different than an ecological landscape design in Phoenix, Arizona because the climate is so different, even though the designers may follow the same principles.
Why Ecological Landscape Design is Different
Because ecological designers take into account the wellbeing of the humans, plants, other animals, and all living beings including soil organisms like bacteria, fungi, yeast, protozoa, and more, they are better able to understand the impacts of the decisions they are making. The implications of this can be enormous both financially and for the wellbeing of the community.
For example, large lawns which are often designed and maintained in traditional landscape design can cause massive issues for the occupants and the community including massive stormwater runoff when heavy rains come leading to the city sewer systems overflowing and contamination of drinking water, increased heat from the lack of tree canopies and herbaceous groundcover plants (urban heat island effect), and the devastating loss of insect life upon which all animals depend on for survival.
All three of these are huge problems in Indianapolis where I live, and each of these problems could be greatly improved if not completely solved by simply converting unused lawn into ecological prairies, flower gardens, rain gardens, or forested habitats.
Read more on the problems with lawns here.
We are All Connected to the Land
Ecological designers realize that we are all connected to the land, and that anything you do to the land will affect you (and your neighbors and community and all the animals, plants, and other living organisms).
Whereas a conventional landscape designer might cut down a 20-ft swamp white oak tree (quercus bicolor) out of fear that it may get too large and shade out the lawn, an ecological designer would consider the impact of that tree on native wildlife, among other impacts.
We might ask questions like:
- How might we use this tree in our design as it grows?
- How could we benefit from the shade of this tree?
- If the tree will negatively impact the humans in someway (like being too close to the house or foundation), are there other ways we can use this tree?
If the owners absolutely wanted the tree gone and were not willing to budge on that, we might cut it down and use the wood to build a garden bench, garden beds, paths, mulch, or for other uses.
The more you learn about nature and how the actions of one organism affects others, the more you realize how deeply interconnected we all are. We need bees, mosquitos, and other insects to pollinate plants so that we can eat fruit and nuts. Without them, we and many other animals that we eat would starve. We need healthy soil so that plants can grow. We need plants so they can help build healthy soil. We need insects so they can feed birds. We need birds so they can spread seeds so that plants can rehabilitate damaged land. We need wolves so that rivers can thrive.
I could go on and on because the connections are endless. The net result is that our very lives and wellbeing depends on the lives and wellbeing of plants, animals, insects, fungi, bacteria, and more.
Ecological design seeks to make live thrive for as many living beings as possible so that we can thrive with them too.
There is No Waste
In ecological design, we strive to create a regenerative system where “waste” becomes useful resources for the inhabitants of the land. Old tree stumps can become garden beds, chairs, pollinator habitats, woodpecker feeders, and so on.
Rather than picking up sticks from fallen branches and trees and throwing them in a trash can to be taken to a landfill many miles away, we can use them to create dead hedges, brush habitat for wildlife, and mulch.
The next time you see something in your yard or garden that you think is waste, ask yourself, “How could I use this to benefit this land and its inhabitants?”
How to Apply this Information
If you want to learn more about how to apply ecological landscape design principles to your home or community, read our post on 10 Things Every Property Should Have for a Healthy Ecosystem.
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