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Jay dives into one of the most important tasks on your fall landscape maintenance checklist: feed your shrubs and ornamental trees!

Always choose natural-source products for an organic landscape. We look for the OMRI-approved label. Plants must also be fed according to their pH preferences — some plants prefer a more acidic environment, some prefer more alkaline, and some are happy right in the middle. We collect soil tests at each property and send them to Rutgers to ensure we know exactly what base level pH, organic matter and nutrient content are in the soil.

Pesticides are NEVER part of our holistic land care program. They kill indiscriminately and are especially troublesome for beneficial insects and pollinators. Synthetic fertilizers are a “cheap fix” of nutrients, but do nothing to improve the health of the soil, and the soil microbes that develop partnerships at plants’ roots. Synthetic fertilizers can actually weaken plants’ immune systems, not to mention their impact on eutrophication of freshwater bodies.

Learn more about or Organic Land Management program and contact us about your ecological landscaping project! 914-560-6570.

In residential landscape design and landscape architecture, concrete can be largely avoided. Below we’ve outlined our go-to alternative hardscape materials that don’t require concrete use.

This is Part Two of our series on concrete. Catch up on part one, The Hidden Cost of Concrete and Cement, where we examine the human health and environmental consequences of pervasive concrete.

Natural Source Front Walkway: irregular fieldstone on a stone dust base allows for interplanted with “steppables” for a beautiful green entrance.

Natural Stone, Superior to Pavers

For high-use or more formal residential hardscape areas, such as front walkways, patios, and staircases, we most often use natural stone on a stone dust base. From a design perspective, natural stone lends an irreplaceable sense of permanence, timelessness, and grandeur.

Natural bluestone and fieldstone are combined in these front entry walkways and landing.

Since it is a natural product, there are no manufacturing emissions, unlike for concrete pavers. There are of course are some emissions associated with transporting stone, and a degree of environmental disturbance involved with quarrying, but New York State regulates quarries and requires them to properly dispose of waste and replace and restore the “overburden” – the rocks and dirt removed to reach the harvestable stone.

BEFORE PHOTO: client’s existing concrete paver walkway. The grade has warped and the scale of the pavers leaves much to be desired aesthetically.

That brings us to another benefit – locally sourced materials. We use local landscape supply companies, such as Bedford Gravel and Prospero, which source their stone from New York and Pennsylvania and New England. Using local quarries cuts down on transportation emissions and also achieves a design aesthetic that aligns with the sense of place and history for each property. For example, Bluestone is a unique and beautiful form of sandstone only quarried in NY and PA; using it in our landscapes celebrates this natural resource

AFTER: large natural fieldstone on a stone dust base creates a grand front entry that avoids the negative effects of concrete.

Natural stone also has superior durability and lifespan – it will last forever with very minimal maintenance. Concrete pavers, on the other hand, have usable lifespan of just 25 years.

When it comes to recycling or repurposing, concrete pavers also fall short. Although they can in theory be recycled into composite for roadways, it is difficult to find such vendors to accept it. Often, it is less expensive for the homeowner to take it to a landfill than to transport it to a recycling vendor. Natural stone, on the other hand, does not lose its value or function, it can be easily repurposed into a number of stone applications.

Installation of rectilinear bluestone walkway on stone dust base — no concrete needed! Greenwich, CT.

Natural can be modern! Rectilinear fieldstone patio with grass joints.

“Soft Base” Versus Concrete

Natural stone patios, walkways, walls, and staircases can be constructed on either a soft base (a mix of gravel and stone dust ) or a hard base (concrete). Concrete is valuable in extremely high traffic public areas, but is mostly unnecessary in residential landscapes, barring pool construction. To construct a soft base, we excavate and fill with 6-8″ of Item 4 gravel that we compact at 2″ intervals to ensure long-lasting stability that can withstand freezing. The stone is then laid on 1″ of stone dust. In choosing to construct a soft base over concrete, we keep all of our building materials natural-source, and avoiding the leaching, pollution, and potential respiratory harm associated with concrete.

Fieldstone staircase installed using “rammed Earth” technique, lined with river rock to improve drainage and for a natural aesthetic. Hastings, NY.

Gravel

Gravel is another natural-source material with a wide variety of applications in the landscape, from driveways to garden paths to patios to stormwater infrastructure.

The biggest benefit of using gravel as a hardscape material is its permeability – that is, its ability to allow stormwater to infiltrate through it and eventually return to the aquifer. Gravel has natural filtration qualities at well that remove impurities collected during runoff.

Gravel and wood chip pathways are an environmentally-sound hardscape choice because of their permeability — especially important at this Hastings, NY property that was prone to erosion because of the steep slope.

Some clients worry about gravel migrating to other parts of their landscape, but installing landscape edging simply and elegantly solves this problem. We apply OMRI-approved organic herbicide sprays to suppress weeds in gravel.

Gravel walkways with landscape edging prevent the gravel from migrating into the garden beds.

Gravel driveway lined with boulders in Irvington, NY.

Porous Pave

Porous Pave is a fantastic innovation made of recycled rubber and a special bonding agent that allows water to run through it. Check out our video Stormwater Lab: Porous Pave vs Asphalt for a powerful demonstration!

Porous Pave’s lifespan is far superior to asphalt and does not require any re-applications throughout its lifetime (although it does require some periodic cleaning to ensure dust is not clogging the pores and reducing permeability).

Wood Chips

Wood chips are a great low-cost solution for garden pathways and playground bases. They are permeable, easy to install, and align perfectly with a naturalistic landscape design. We like to use milled cedar woodchips in these applications; the lighter color contrasts with the dark brown mulch we generally use in our garden beds. For playground bases, the cedar wood repels insects, making it a safe landing spot for children. Building codes actually specify ‘Playground Mulch’ as cedar wood chips.

As you can see, almost of all our preferred materials are natural-source. We believe that with sustainable harvesting practices, these materials are more environmentally-sound than manufactured materials, and they deliver superior durability and design aesthetic.

For more examples of our hardscape work, check out our ‘Stone’ photo gallery.

We see concrete everywhere. It’s ubiquitous in buildings, highways, infrastructure, sidewalks, homes, patios, and walkways. It’s cheap, strong and relatively predictable, but for too long we’ve collectively overlooked the cost of concrete: the human health impacts, the immense greenhouse gas emissions from its production, and the environmental consequences of our impermeable concrete world.

Emissions Associated with Concrete Production

Concrete is made from aggregate (sand, gravel or a combination), water and cement. Creating cement is incredibly emissions intensive: for every one-ton of cement produced, one-ton of CO₂ is emitted. That ratio is actually lower than some other materials like iron and steel, however given the prevalence of concrete the cumulative impact is great.

Pouring concrete. Image courtesy of equipmentcontracting.com

Shockingly, if concrete were a country it would rank third in the world of GHG emitters – right behind China and the US. It’s CO₂ emissions amount to 8% of global anthropogenic emissions, an annual 2 billion tons! To put that in perspective, it is triple that of the aviation industry.

Global cement CO2 emissions from 1920 – 2007. Graph courtesy of Geos Technologies.

Concrete is the second most used substance on Earth, behind water.

Cement: Energy & Emissions Intensive

Globally, 9 billion tons of cement are produced annually, mostly for use in concrete

Limestone is a key ingredient of cement, and 2/3 of the emissions associated with cement production result from the calcification of limestone. That is, using very high temperatures to separate limestone (CaCO₃) into lime (CaO) with CO₂ as a byproduct.

The remaining GHG emissions associated with cement production are from burning fossil fuels and purchasing electricity.

Cement manufacturing plant. Image courtesy of Understanding Cement.

Then, the lime is mixed with silica products (creating what is know as “clinker”) and finally with gypsum to make cement – Portland cement is the most widely used.

Silica, it turns out, is extremely dangerous as an inhalable dust, and some European countries have categorized it as a carcinogen. We’ll further discuss the human health impacts below.

Respirable Crystalline Silica is airborne silica dust released from cutting or demolishing concrete; it is extremely harmful to lungs. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Occupational Health.

Human Health Consequences of Concrete

Cement poses a number of serious health problems. Wet cement is extremely toxic and can cause caustic burns to the skin if touched – this is because of its extreme alkalinity (a pH of 12 or higher). Serious burns can occur if the cement exposure goes undetected and remains on the skin; some of these alkaline burns can even reach the tissue, muscle and bone.

Healthy lung versus lungs exposed to silica, developing silicosis. Image courtesy of Canadian Design and Construction Report.

Dry cement is dangerous as well. When cutting, drilling or demolishing concrete, silica dust or RSC – respirable crystalline silica – can be inhaled, severely inhibiting lung function over time. Silicosis is a condition where scarring of the lung tissue occurs from inhaling RSC, causing chronic wheezing, arthritis, cancer, and reduced life expectancy. RSC can also lead to asthma, pulmonary disorders, and kidney disease.

Environmental Impact of Concrete

As we mentioned concrete is a strong, relatively durable material. It is also impermeable to stormwater, contributing broadly the problem of polluted runoff and greater disturbance of aquatic environments.

Instead of designing landscape systems to capture valuable stormwater to percolate into aquifers, most development sought to pave, pipe and displace stormwater, letting it accumulate pollutants from industrial surfaces (concrete, asphalt, roofing) in the process. Most people do not realize that storm drains and municipal stormwater infrastructure does not treat the polluted water; it simply transports it – directly into streams and rivers. Stormwater pollution has vast consequences for our freshwater environments.

Stormwater run-off collecting in a storm drain, surrounded by a concrete sidewalk and road.

Furthermore, there is evidence that concrete itself can leach into the environment and raise the pH of the surrounding soil or water. One study found that freshly cured concrete (4 days or less) is most likely to leach – in one example, newly cured and installed culvert pipes raised the pH of the water around it to 11 (waters normal pH is 7). Vast fluctuations of pH have implications for the survival of plants and organisms that live in that local environment and are accustomed to more moderate pH levels.

Final Words on Concrete, Cement

Perhaps after reading this blog you also concur that concrete’s costs outweigh its benefits in most applications. At Green Jay Landscape Design, we’ve pledged to avoid using concrete as much as possible. The health risks from silica inhalation, the emissions associated with its manufacturing, and the direct environmental impacts from its impermeability make it a losing material in our opinion Stay tuned for our follow up post: GJL’s Ecological Hardscape Alternative to Concrete.

Your permaculture terrace garden landscape will serve as an invitation to life…for all living beings great and small…plant, animal and mineral. The natural beauty and mystery of life, manifest in its many glorious forms and permutations, will inhabit your biosphere.

From the primal source of rich organic and mineral matter complete with fungi and bacteria as well as all the possibilities and resources for life, we will create the optimum habitat to nourish the nature of your living green, flowering and fruiting plants throughout the seasons of your life.

Jay Archer’s design concepts (above) start with big and bold goals: creating the conditions and habitat for life—in all its forms—to exist and THRIVE!

Rich results on Google's SERP for 'permaculture design plan' — Plan view of the new landscape design for permaculture gardens and walkways, all to be reinforced for erosion control.

Permaculture Theory

Such a perspective aligns with the overall theory and framework of permaculture: that every living thing, no matter how small, plays a role in the health and functioning of our ecosystem. We are all interconnected and dependent upon a healthy and thriving ecosystem, and permaculture prescribes a holistic view of designing and creating with nature in a way that respects every plant, animal and microbe. As Jay says, first, we do no harm.

This framework permeated every aspect of the landscape design and installation. We used only natural-source products — yes they are organic, and toxin free, but equally important, they are either recyclable or can be repurposed in years to come. None of the materials we brought onto the landscape will end up in a landfill.

The landscape installation itself was entirely “quiet” — no power tools were used whatsoever! Given what we now know about high decibel sounds effect on our blood pressure and mental health, we always prefer to do quiet landscaping whenever possible!

Applying Permaculture to Landscape Design

Permaculture theory is often applied toward making more productive landscapes– both ecologically and as a means of nourishing ourselves. Permaculture foodscapes often implement edible perennials, fruiting trees and shrubs, and perennial culinary and medicinal herbs.

Successful food gardens require healthy populations of pollinators and beneficial insects, thus, permaculture also strives to create habitat for pollinators.

Human and animal foodscapes were certainly design goals for this Hasting-on-Hudson, NY property:

The energized exchange and interaction between diverse species populations will continually produce beautiful food, organically grown.

permaculture plants — A row of native blueberries! Beautiful, edible, organic — perfect for the permaculture garden!

This landscape features* edibles including: Blueberry (native!), Redcurrant, Blackcurrant, Plum, Pawpaws (native!), Peaches and Goumi.

Fruiting Pawpaw tree — native to the Eastern US and edible.

Native Aronia, flowering and fruiting! The shrub’s berries are an important fall and winter food source for birds.

Medicinal and culinary herbs planted include: thyme, mint and natives Echinacea, yarrow, and goldenrod.

Rich results on Google's SERP for 'native pollinator plants' — Bees enjoying native Goldenrod, which also functions as a medicinal herb

*Note: fruit trees are dug up in the spring and are thus only available at nurseries then; they will be planted in Spring 2021.

Why Perennial Edibles are Superior to Annuals

Permaculture is not a native-only design perspective. Many of these edibles are non-native, however they still attract many pollinators. By incorporating edible perennials, trees and shrubs, instead of relying solely on annuals, we are taking advantage of other plant characteristics as well.

For example, perennials have a deeper root system than annuals, better stabilizing the soil and preventing against erosion. As the root systems develop over the years, they improve soil structure by creating pathways for water, air and nutrients; these pathways also reduce soil compaction.

Annual Grain Root Systems vs. Perennial Grain Root Systems.
Photo by: Carbon Cycle Institute.

Perennials are able to uptake nutrients from deeper in the soil strata than annuals are, thereby providing greater nutrient cycling for all the plants and soil microbes in the microclimate.

Of course if we only ate perennial edibles we would deprive ourselves of many tasty and nutritious fruits and vegetables. This project also included a more traditional organic vegetable garden of annuals. However, the permaculture theory of making every landscape productive, enriching the soil and designing to nourish both humans and wildlife alike, permeated every aspect of this design.

Designing Organic Habitats

The peaceful harmony and coexistence of beneficial species in great biological diversity provide the highest value in ecosystem services. Day to day, the song of the birds, music of the bees and insects produce a symphony composed by nature, forever free of sour notes and pests unknown to true indigenous environments.

Promoting biodiversity and designing habitats for the permaculture landscape necessitates that the landscape be entirely toxin-free. All of GJL’s landscapes are maintained using NOFA Organic Land Care principals. We simply cannot plant plants to attract critical pollinators, only to have them poisoned upon pollination! Organic is the only way!

Bee feeding from a cosmo, non-native but beneficial for pollinators!

This permaculture landscape is a welcoming habitat for our critical pollinators and beneficial insects that not only pollinate many of our essential food crops and ornamental plants, but are also the foundation of the food chain for birds and other wildlife. Without insects our landscapes would suffer immeasurable harm – they are worth protecting!

Permaculture Design as an Environmental Solution

Living in the era of the Anthropocene, this living machine (your permaculture landscape) will act as an antidote to the myriad of negative human impacts actively affecting our health, the health of our environment and ultimately the health of this place we inhabit…our Earth…our Mother.

Another element of Permaculture design theory is designing with “stacked functions.” That means choosing and designing with plants to achieve multiple ecological services within one landscape.

Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) is a native ecological superstar!

For example, Northern Sea Oats is a native ornamental grass we planted. Its seed heads provide late-season food for birds, it is a host plant for number of moths, skippers and butterfly larvae, and its leaves are a great nesting material for birds as well. It is deep-rooted and its natural habitat is along stream banks, making it a great choice for erosion control projects such as this one.

Rich results of Google's SERP for 'permaculture garden' — Young green Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) plants in the terrace garden. These deep-rooted grasses are particularly able at erosion control on slopes.

Deep-rooted grasses are also fabulous at sequestering carbon and storing it in the soil (while woody plants like trees store carbon in their biomass). This landscape, with its diversity of deep-rooted grasses, trees, shrubs and perennials (and no lawn!) is on-track to becoming a carbon net-positive landscape!

Natural stone staircase down to lower walkways that meander through the garden.

With a smartly designed permaculture landscape, we can solve many of our present day environmental problems: ballooning GHG emissions, polluted air and water, eroded and deficient soil, food deserts, declining pollinator and wildlife habitat… every permaculture landscape can be part of the solution!

BEFORE PHOTO: this steep slope in Hastings was susceptible to erosion and lacked any aesthetic design.

Designing for Erosion Control and Soil Conservation

This site is a steep slope in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, a town within Westchester County. Existing vegetation included many invasive ‘weeds’ that were removed by hand. Jay designed a series of terraced gardens and walkways, manipulating and reinforcing the new grades to capture stormwater and prevent erosion.

Terraced garden beds (partially planted) and garden pathways designed for erosion control.

Gently cascading topography with gentle paths and terraces will support and sustain your individual, unique plant communities.

Installation of erosion control devices — cedar logs — to help retain and conserve the soil.

Erosion control devices included placing cedar bark logs diagonally across the walkways, and backfilling with mulch to help slow down and allow water to infiltrate. The terraces were formed with twenty yards of boulders and rip rap (smaller sized stones) and filtrex socks. Plants were installed through Jute biodegradable natural coconut fiber netting.

Boulder installation to form new permaculture garden beds that resist erosion through storm events.

Terrace infrastructure: sweeping boulders form the terrace gardens (top), and boulder-lined garden path below.

GJL crew installs filter fabric before filling the pathways with playground mulch; to the right, completed natural stone staircase leads to lower pathways.

The pathways were finished with certified playground mulch to contrast with the dark hardwood mulch on the garden beds. The pathways are lined with small fist-sized stones.

Finished view. Using different color mulches helps differentiate visually between garden beds and walkways.

The result is a naturalistic, productive and thriving permaculture garden that can withstand our ever-more frequent storm events, allowing for soil and water conservation.

May you breathe deeply the fresh, clean air, the sweet fragrance of Providence as nature intended.

For the good of your children and your children’s children.

May you live in serene peace and happiness, now and always!

Jay Archer

Landscape Ecologist, Designer

Green Jay Landscape Design

914-560-6570

How does the landscape design process start? For Green Jay Landscape Design, we have two initial options: a free 15-minute discovery call or a paid, 2-hour, on-site landscape design consultation with designer Jay Archer himself.

This video explores all the factors that go into an ecological landscape design consultation and ultimately culminate in the landscape design concept, proposal, master plan and work estimates. Jay evaluates the soil, lighting and moisture conditions, as well as the clients’ lifestyle, architectural style and goals for outdoor living.

Each project has its own unique set of design goals and sources of inspiration. Depending on the scope and scale of the project, it may require permitting, design plan renderings, Architectural Review Board meetings, construction details and more.

Start your ecological landscape design project now with a landscape design consultation. Call Green Jay Landscape Design to schedule (914-560-6570) or submit a contact form.

Collaboration divides the tasks and multiplies the successes. The saying certainly rings true for this three-way collaboration project between Green Jay Landscape Design, Wilder Designs, and Rock Shelter, featuring native gardens, an organic lawn installation, hardscape and carpentry work.

The landscape design and construction project in Larchmont, NY was designed by Nantucket-based Rita Higgins of Wilder Designs. Rita’s ecologically-based company produces stunning natural designs, specializing in meadows, and we have long-admired her work.

Rita’s design for this residential Larchmont property featured meandering brick walkways and trellises to support espaliered pear trees, all underplanted with native gardens. The design also involved lifting and grading an area to support an organic lawn playing field.

Rock Shelter completed the masonry and carpentry work, while Green Jay Landscape Design installed the softscape: native plant gardens and the lifted and leveled organic lawn.

The client necessitated a level playing field for an important function: a temporary ice-skating rink (25’x50’) for her children in winter, and a ball field the rest of year. Most areas in nature are not perfectly level. This particular field required 80 yards of topsoil to achieve the necessary lift and uniformity for the skating rink.

Jay grades the new soil as part of the organic lawn playing field installation.

Green Jay Landscape Design graded the screened, premium topsoil to the desired effect, and seeded for a 100% organic lawn.

Seeding the new lifted and leveled organic lawn — perfect for a skating rink or soccer game!

All of the gardens were amended with organic compost, biochar, and pH modifiers where necessary (ie Mountain Laurel prefers acidic conditions).

Mulching the native plant garden beneath the trellises.

Process shot of the native underplanting garden — designed to attract pollinators and birds!

The gardens featured many native plant superstars including:

Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia– An evergreen, flowering shrub native to the Eastern – Mid Western US, Mountain Laurel is a fabulous garden choice. In spring / early summer the shrub explodes in bowl-like fused petal flowers that are often visited by native pollinators.

Clethra ‘Ruby Spice’ has a beautiful color and is a favorite of bees!

Summersweet Clethra – Sweet smelling clethra, with its glossy foliage and range of cultivars including ‘Hummingbird’ and the pink flowered ‘Ruby Spice’. This native shrub is always covered in bees and is even visited by hummingbirds!

Clethra ‘Sixteen Candles’ has a wonderful scent and lovely glossy foliage.

Native plant gardens are amended with organic compost, biochar and other amendments as required.

Choke Berry Aronia – Choke berry comes in either dark purple berries or vibrant red; they are a lasting food source for birds through fall and winter. Aronia has delicate white flowers and shiny leaves.

Witch Hazel’s fall blooms are pollinated by moths! Photo by UNH Extension.

Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana– This stunner blooms in fall when literally nothing else does, and it smells amazing. Fun fact: American witch hazel is pollinated by winter moths. Native to US woodlands, it is a hearty shrub perfect for part-shade sites like this one.

Process shot of native plant garden installation along walkways and beneath trellises.

It was a pleasure collaborating with Wilder Designs and Rock Shelter on this landscape design, masonry, grading and planting project!