CREJ

December 2021 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 41 design were inspired by the foothills native landscape. This was done by creating landforms that mimic the ridg- es and canyons and placing native plants in context with the landforms; piñon pines on top and little blue stem on the bottoms to imitate the foothills grassland. Other native plantings included New Mexican privit, pawnee buttes sand cherry and giant sacaton grass. The result with the berming and sculpted planting forms are both iconic and water wise, ensuring the city’s sustainable future and further setting a high standard for future wa- ter-wise development. n Pacific Northwest. Farther west, two developer-built parks in Duvall, Washington, are planted with 100% na- tive plants. Why? Because the PNW is experiencing more drought; it’s a summer dry climate. Again, this is where education is critical. The design team helped educate the city as to why the park planting design was more cost-ef- fective than utilizing only turf. Several important princi- ples were outlined, which convinced the city to go with the native landscape aesthetic and utilize turf only in ac- tive use areas of the parks. DTJ consulted with a national landscape group to help the city understand the return on investment of upfront costs vs. costs for maintenance and mowing over the long term to reinforce the native planting approach and benefits. Primary factors for consideration on this approachwere: • Deliberate use of lawn for active use areas: Areas of nonfunctional lawn typically are smaller and less deliber- ate in form, which makes them even more labor intensive to both maintain and irrigate, making them more costly than larger lawn spaces. • Native plants: Native plants adapted to PNW climate of wet winters and dry summers require less water than most non-natives once they are established, resist native pests and diseases better, improve water quality by need- ing less fertilizer and no pesticides, and provide wildlife and pollinators habitat. • Maintenance levels . Established plant beds are less costly than lawn to maintain over time. The regional cost for maintenance is 30% to 40% higher for mowing and fer- tilizing lawn as compared to maintaining shrub beds. • Irrigation requirements. Established plant beds are less costly to irrigate over time than lawn. The water use required for irrigating lawn is asmuch as four times higher when compared to irrigating established native/drought tolerant plantings. Sustainable landscapes do not have to be 100% native; they can utilize regionally adapted plants from similar environments. The use of a blend of native and adapted plantings can serve the same purpose. Important too, is to eliminate the lawn, especially nonfunctional lawn in streetscapes. The Duvall streetscape consists of a blend of appropriate materials that both look great and provide tremendous environmental benefits like cleaning the air, water, stabilizing the soil, and habitat. Duvall streetscape embraces this with color, texture and no lawn. The reality of water scarcity is hitting closer and clos- er to home. It’s time to do the right thing in terms of wa- ter-wise landscape design and embrace a new aesthetic for our communities and neighborhoods. Design can consider layers, textures and color within the context of a sustain- able landscape. We must strive to create landscapes that match the site, take clues from native plants, and under- stand the true availability of water.\\ gwhite@dtjdesign.com ELEMENTS Native Landscapes Kinston at Centerra: inspired by the native foothills landscape.