Plants do not waste water! Your outdoor and indoor living spaces need plants. Plants create oxygen, clean and cool the air, add organic matter back to the earth and keep the soil from eroding. Many, many perennials, shrubs and trees will dig their roots deep into the earth and need so much less water when established than you think! Take a look around the roadsides, or at some of the older neighborhoods and old homesites in the country and notice the mature plantings. These tough specimens have been taking care of themselves for years! Plants do not have to be considered "native" to thrive in your yard. Most "non-native" plants are not invasive. Re-think your lawncare practices. Cool-season lawns such as fescue go dormant in summer and need very little water  and no fertilizer during this time. These lawns brown during summer but are green in spring and fall. Forcing a cool-season grass lawn to be green in the hot summer by continuous watering and fertilizing only stresses the plants. Fertilize, lime and overseed in spring and fall when grass is actively growing for tough, carefree lawns. Shrub and perennial borders are very low maintenance. Drought-tolerant landscaping does not just need to be considered during drier years. Think of this as low-maintenance and carefree EVERY year! Think Sustainable Landscaping!

We are members of the Durham Progressive Garden Business Alliance. DPGBA is a group of local landscape professionals, gardeners, nursery owners and landscape material suppliers.  We are committed to sound, sustainable gardening techniques which employ conscientious choices for garden and plant installations.  We believe in selecting the right plant for the right place.