Landscape and Water

Our changing gardens.

Evanston gardeners are beginning to see evidence of a changing climate. Thanks to warmer, shorter winters, our plants are leafing and blooming earlier. But in coming years we can expect more summer days over 90 degrees, more heavy rains, more insect pests and weeds. Not to fear. With careful choices, we can help our gardens adapt to these changes and make them more climate-friendly too.

Choose the right plant.

Plants native to this region are more deep-rooted and thus require less water. They are adapted to our environment, which means they are less susceptible to pests and rarely require replacement. All this adds up to lower maintenance, which most gardeners will agree is a good thing. Books listed below offer good choices for plants native to this area. A few examples for the perennial garden might include Virginia bluebells, Black-eyed Susan, Native Columbine, and Coneflower. Native shrubs include Oakleaf hydrangea as well as a variety of Viburnum. The lovely Red bud, Yellow birch and American Linden are trees to consider.

Limit your lawn.

Replacing a section of turf grass with ground cover or native plants will mean less mowing, watering, and fertilizing. It will also improve storm water management, as it will replace shallow-rooted turf grass with deeper-rooted adapted plants. For those areas where lawn is desired, the climate-sensitive choice will be a low-maintenance, drought-resistant species of turf grass that recovers well after extended dry weather.

Be careful with fertilizers.

Overuse of fertilizers can damage beneficial soil life and contaminate stormwater runoff. Replace synthetic fertilizers with compost and organic, slow-release fertilizers. Use just the amount needed and avoid applying it before a heavy rainstorm.

Avoid using pesticides.

Start with prevention: build healthy soil with compost and mulch; select pest-resistant plants; and pull weeds before they go to seed. Choose the least toxic solution and avoid overuse.

Maintain your garden with people power.

Gasoline-powered mowers and leaf blowers emit smog-forming pollution and put CO2 into the air - and they are really noisy too. If you have a lawn, consider using a push-mower or an electric mower. Rake leaves by hand, and tidy hard surfaces with a broom.

Reduce heating and cooling costs with trees and shrubs.

Plant a large shade tree on the south side of your home. As the tree grows and shades your house, your air conditioning bills will go down. When that tree loses its leaves in the winter, the sun will warm your home and lessen the load on your furnace. This is called passive solar heating, and it's free. Similarly a line of low-growing evergreen shrubs planted close to the north wall of the home will shield it from the winter wind, also reducing heating costs.

Choose long-lived trees, adapted for this area.

In addition to their energy benefits, trees absorb CO2 and help improve air quality by removing toxic pollutants from the air. Maximize these benefits by choosing longer-lived, low-maintenance trees that are larger at maturity and that are adapted to this region.

Let the rain soak in.

As the frequency and intensity of heavy rainstorms increase, managing stormwater runoff becomes more important. One option is to create a rain garden, a slightly sunken area filled with water-tolerant native plants whose long roots enhance the infiltration of rainwater into the ground. A rain garden typically retains 30 percent more rainwater than conventional turf grass. Another way to manage water runoff is to use porous, rather than impervious, materials for walkways, driveways, and other hard surfaces.

Good resources for sustainable landscaping.

The Climate-Friendly Gardener from the Union of Concerned Scientists explores ways to reduce the impact of climate change in one's own backyard.
Landscaping for Energy Efficiency from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory discusses in detail how to design a landscape that will cut energy costs and reap other environmental benefits.
Rain Gardens: A Natural Solution to Stormwater Management explains the basics and provides additional resources about rain gardens.
The Center for Neighborhood Technology's Natural Resources webpages take an in-depth look at Green Infrastructure, an approach to managing stormwater through such low-impact practices as rain gardens, swales, green roofs, tree planting, and permeable pavement.
Rain barrels can be purchased from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
Native plant garden - A seven-minute video from WTTW Chicago Tonight discusses the benefits of a native plant garden, as exemplified at a condo development in Schaumburg.