Sustainable Landscape Design in Georgia: Does Eco Friendly Mean Untamed and Hard to Maintain?
Sustainable landscapes often get associated with wild looking overgrown yards. While we love that aesthetic and appreciate the earthy look of a somewhat less manicured yard, we’re here to bust the myth that native plants and wildflower meadows always mean untamed. You can still have a model looking yard that’s worthy of real estate photos and competition for best garden in the neighborhood AND choose eco friendly plants, and we’re here to help you do both.
Best of all, native plants are actually some of the easiest to maintain. Because they’re meant to be, well, native to Georgia, it means they thrive in our native soil and humid conditions,so you’re not constantly battling things that grow too fast or die on you, causing more work for your garden.
Planting sustainably means easy, curated, and beautiful gardens.
Want your yard to basically rival a golf course, country club, or the botanical gardens but STILL attract the bees and be good for the earth? It’s totally doable. Fun fact: nearly 80% of the plants we use are native or edible even for both residential landscapes and commercial landscapes.
Can I have an eco-friendly yard even though I want it to look manicured?
YES! Eco-friendly and sustainable landscapes don’t inherently mean wild or unkempt. You can still go native with your plants and natural with your hardscaping and make a landscape that looks well maintained. Eco-friendly yards in the media can look messy or overwhelming, but they don’t have to. The key lies in thoughtful design and plant selection. Opting for specific native plants, shrubs, flowers, and trees that that either naturally maintain a structured form or require minimal pruning intervention can streamline maintenance efforts while ensuring a consistently polished appearance.
Georgia native bushes that still give a structured look:
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) - Yaupon Holly can be pruned into formal hedges or topiaries, providing clean lines and defining boundaries within the landscape.
Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor) - With its fan-shaped leaves and low-growing habit, Dwarf Palmetto creates a structured, tropical look, perfect for adding texture and interest to garden beds.
Dwarf Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera) - Dwarf Wax Myrtle can be shaped into neat, compact forms, making it an ideal choice for formal borders or foundation plantings.
American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) - American Beautyberry forms a dense, rounded shape that adds structure to the garden, especially when planted in groups or massed as a hedge.
Georgia native trees that still give a structured look:
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) - Eastern Redbud's graceful, vase-shaped form adds vertical structure to the landscape, making it an ideal focal point or specimen tree.
Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) - With its iconic pyramidal shape and glossy foliage, Southern Magnolia provides a strong vertical presence in the landscape, anchoring the design and providing shade.
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) - Flowering Dogwood's spreading canopy and horizontal branching pattern create a layered, architectural look, especially when underplanted with shade-loving perennials.
Georgia native flowers that still give a structured look:
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) - Purple Coneflower's upright stems and daisy-like flowers create a structured, architectural look in the garden, especially when planted in mass or grouped with other perennials.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) - Black-eyed Susan's tall stems and golden-yellow flowers add vertical structure to the landscape, attracting pollinators and providing visual interest.
Eryngium yuccifolium (Eryngium yuccifolium) - Rattlesnake master with spiky blue-green leaves and globe-shaped flowers. Their upright growth habit and rigid stems add vertical interest to the landscape, creating a sense of structure and formality.
Georgia native grasses and that still give a structured look:
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) - Switchgrass is a tall, upright grass known for its sturdy, vertical stems and airy seed heads. Its strong architectural presence makes it an excellent choice for adding height and structure to the landscape. With its ability to thrive in a variety of soil types and its stunning golden fall color - we love how it contrasts with other fall blooms like the native Georgia Aster.
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) - Little Bluestem is a clump-forming grass with narrow, blue-green foliage that turns shades of bronze and red in the fall. Its compact growth habit and fine texture make it perfect for adding structure to borders, mass plantings, or as an accent in mixed perennial beds. Little Bluestem is also drought-tolerant and low-maintenance with year round interest - what’s not to like?!
Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) - One of our absolute favorites. Pink Muhly Grass is a showy ornamental grass known for its airy, pink flower plumes that rise above its slender, green foliage in the fall. Its delicate appearance belies its sturdy, upright growth habit, making it an ideal choice for adding structure and visual interest to garden borders, mass plantings, or as a focal point in the landscape. Don’t sleep on the white variety either, both are a wonderful addition to an ecological landscape!
Georgia native groundcovers that still give a structured look:
Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum): Green and Gold forms a dense mat of evergreen foliage that spreads slowly, creating uniform coverage and clean edges within garden beds. Its low-spreading growth habit helps maintain tidy borders and enhances the structured appearance of the landscape.
Allegheny Spurge (Pachysandra procumbens): Allegheny Spurge features glossy, evergreen leaves that form a dense carpet-like growth, providing consistent coverage and a polished look to garden areas. Its controlled spreading habit helps define boundaries and maintain tidy edges within planting beds.
Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera): Creeping Phlox offers a structured appearance with its spreading growth habit and dense clusters of flowers. As it forms a low carpet of foliage, it helps fill in gaps between other plants, creating a cohesive and well-manicured look in garden borders or rock gardens.
How can I make my yard look maintained even with native flowers, shrubs, and meadows?
If you want a sustainable yard that utilizes native grasses, trees, and of course beautiful flowers that will attract pollinators, you can follow the tips below to keep it looking structured.
Use raised garden beds or kitchen gardens to keep your edible and native plants contained and within a defined area of your landscape.
Hardscaping (gravel paths, pavestones, retaining walls, etc) helps create clear dividers and sections, enhancing the overall organization and structure of your yard.
Create groupings of sustainable plants across different sections of your yard so they grow naturally in sections and create visual cohesion and harmony.
Select plants that exhibit slower growth rates, as they require less frequent maintenance and pruning. Opt for species renowned for their longevity and resilience, ensuring a sustained and manageable landscape. (For example: Dwarf Fothergilla, Oakleaf Hydrangea, and Switchgrass 'Shenandoah')
Hire a landscaping team like us that KNOWS native plants and how to plant them that work for YOU and your beautiful home.
What are the benefits of even using native plants and landscaping my yard?
I love my grass and everyone in my neighborhood has grass!
Water Conservation: Traditional lawns take up so. much. water. Lower your water bill and help conserve water for the planet! It might seem counterintuitive, since more plants must equal more water, right? Wrong! Unlike thirsty grasses, which demand copious amounts of water to maintain their lush appearance, native plants have adapted to thrive in Georgia's natural conditions. Native plantings create inherently more drought resistant landscapes too. By embracing native landscaping, you can significantly lower your water bill while contributing to the conservation of this precious resource. It's a win-win for your wallet and the planet!
Biodiversity and BUTTERFLIES! Who doesn’t want a ton of beautiful butterflies fluttering around their property? Introducing native plants to your yard isn't just about aesthetics; it's about creating thriving ecosystems. Native plants attract a diverse array of pollinators, including the ever-charming butterflies. Picture your property abuzz with these delightful creatures, adding a touch of enchantment to your outdoor space while supporting essential ecological processes.
Say Goodbye to Mowing. Nothing is less sexy than having to get outside and rev up the lawnmower. Or, hiring a landscaping crew means extra $$$ if they have to also cut a yard, and Georgia isn’t exactly flat and easy to mow a lot of the time. Plus, the noisiness of it all!
Wildlife Haven: Native plants provide food, shelter, and nesting sites for a variety of wildlife, from birds to small mammals. By incorporating native species into your landscape, you're inviting these fascinating creatures to make themselves at home in your backyard. Imagine Eastern Bluebirds soaring through your yard and Monarch butterflies dancing from flower to flower. It's like having your own private wildlife sanctuary right outside your door!
Resilience and Adaptability: Native plants have evolved over time to withstand the challenges of Georgia's climate, including droughts, heatwaves, and erratic weather patterns. By choosing native species, you're investing in a landscape that's not only beautiful but also more resilient in the face of environmental changes (I mean, it was almost 90 degrees in April!)
How to Make Your Georgia Native Landscape Look High End While Still Being Eco-Friendly
Here in Georgia, we reckon with hard Georgia clay, unpredictable winter weather, and then harsh sun and sunlight in the summer. Plants get tons of sunlight in the summer and then the winters wildly fluctuate in temperature, sometimes freezing and sometimes getting very rainy. So, choosing plants that work with you rather than against you and still look clean and structured is a real feat, but we’re here to break that down the top Native Design Tips:
Here are some tips to make your Georgia garden look well maintained with native and edible plants:
Focus on Balance: Mimic the natural balance found in native ecosystems by selecting a diverse mix of plant species that complement each other in form, texture, and color. Aim for a harmonious composition where no single element dominates the landscape. For example, pair tall native grasses like our favorite muhly grass with flowering perennials of varying heights (like echinacea and milkweed) to create a balanced and dynamic scene.
Create sophisticated color stories that are soothing to the eye. “Wild” can sometimes mean an overwhelming amount of colors or even too much green. Choose color and texture intentionally. For a calming effect choose flowers in the shades of blue, purple, and white. For a more welcoming, but not overwhelming environment, choose soft pastels with occasional small swaths of more saturated colors. We often use white flowers like the native shasta daisy or green textures to break up swaths of color so your eye does not get overwhelmed.
Include Defined Edges. Defined garden beds with clean lines and geometric shapes create a sense of order and refinement to the landscape. You can do this with raised garden beds (we use locally sourced Eastern Red Cedar), natural stone edging, or even with natural, organic mulch that adds contrast within beds and different areas.
Incorporate Permeable Hardscaping: Permeable paths and patios not only contribute to a sense of structure in the landscape they also allow water to infiltrate the soil, reducing runoff, and replenishing the groundwater supply. Permeable materials include slate, gravel, and decomposed granite for example.
Integrate Architectural Elements: Introduce architectural elements such as pergolas, arbors, or trellises to add vertical interest and structure to the landscape. Select materials that complement the native plants and architectural style of your home, such as weathered wood like our specially sourced Eastern Red Cedar,wrought iron, or rustic metal. You can use these structures to support vining natives like honeysuckle or passion flower. Our favorite way to support tomatoes is with our special iron archways.
Include Winter Interest. Choose evergreen native plants and trees as a foundation to your native landscape so it maintains structure and doesn’t look barren during the winter months.
Invest in beautiful hardscaping: Retaining walls, pavers, and pots. Even an affordable lemon tree will look incredible in an antique large pot, and then can easily be brought inside in the winter, so you’re totally cheating Atlanta weather. Pots are easy to find and can help really showcase your personality.
A pergola, fencing, or a trellis always looks beautiful! Adding structures to your hard is a great way to make it look extremely high end. You can go with budget materials for more bang for your buck, or you can have our team source high quality materials and custom designs for your yard.
Our favorite native evergreen plants include:
Alyssum (Alyssum species) - Alyssum is a low-growing evergreen groundcover with tiny, fragrant flowers that bloom in clusters. Its spreading growth habit and dense foliage provide excellent coverage for bare ground or as a border edging, adding texture and structure to the landscape.
Florida Anise (Illicium floridanum) - Florida Anise is a native evergreen shrub with dense, upright growth and aromatic foliage. Its glossy, dark green leaves and fragrant maroon flowers make it a striking focal point in the garden, while its structured form lends itself well to hedges, screens, or foundation plantings.
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) - Yaupon Holly is a versatile evergreen shrub with dense, compact growth and small, glossy leaves. Its naturally upright habit and ability to be pruned into formal shapes make it an excellent choice for creating hedges, screens, or defining borders in the landscape.
Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra) - Inkberry Holly is a native evergreen shrub with a dense, rounded form and lustrous, dark green foliage. Its compact growth habit and minimal pruning requirements make it ideal for use as a low hedge, foundation planting, or massed as a ground cover in the landscape.
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) - Although not truly an evergreen, it has distinctive, upright seed heads that give vertical structure and texture to the winter garden, plus it provides winter sustenance to our native birds, a win-win!
Case Study: This Grant Park Garden Went from Unsustainable to Beautiful Meadow
Like many other people that reach out to us, this client was tired of the traditional mow and blow lawn maintenance routine. He knew the negative effects it had on biodiversity and the environment, and was looking for alternative options. During our initial consultation, we determined his priorities:
increase biodiversity
eliminate lawn maintenance
reap a harvest from the land
have a more naturalistic aesthetic
and began to create the vision for an edible landscape immersed in a native wildflower meadow.
In this design, we removed the foundation shrubs and replaced them with blueberries, pineapple guava, fig, asian persimmon, and culinary herbs, and removed and replaced the existing lawn with an extremely diverse selection of native wildflowers, specifically chosen to bloom spring - fall, native grasses, and flowering shrubs. It will take a few years before this meadow is fully mature and producing an abundance of fruit, but even after a few months, the landscape is blooming and alive with pollinators.
Ready for a professional team to work on your landscape to blend native and sustainable planting with a high end look?
We’re the right team.
