Stormwater run-off has made its way to the forefront of public planning and policy and even affects commercial and residential landscape planning, remodeling, and new home building. The Federal Government is enforcing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) under the Federal Clean Water Act and this is guiding local municipalities planning and building codes. The City of Eugene and many other surrounding cities in the Willamette Valley require a certain portion of your property to be pervious (to allow water to pass through to the ground). Generally, the "footprint" of the home or building is considered an impervious (does not allow water to pass through to the ground) surface and cannot be more than a certain percentage of the building lot size. Concrete driveways, patios, and walkways also count against the total allowed impervious area and are limited to how large these features can be based on the total lot size. Now, green roofs can help offset this "footprint" and create additional pervious area, but this is not the only way to design your landscape and home or building and still follow the guidelines imposed by your local municipality. Did you know that landscape pavers are considered pervious and do not count against the total impervious area allowed per tax/maplot? Graham Landscape and Design LLC has a variety of design techniques and materials that are highly functional and aesthetically pleasing in the landscape, but still count as pervious areas in your Eugene Oregon landscape design.
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Spring is in the air! Are we crazy? Yes, more than likely. But, we are out in the elements every day and this gives us a certain vantage point to sense the transition of the seasons. I was taking a stroll with our dog yesterday evening and had the realization that it was still quite light out at 5:30pm. Gone are the days of 4:30pm sunsets. The plants and trees may still be hitting their dormancy snooze button, but we can sense the waking of our landscape is inevitably soon. If you planned well (or had us plan well) you have some late winter/early spring interest happening in your garden right now. Sarcococca (SAR-ko-ko-ca), otherwise known as Fragrant Sweet Box, is putting on a show right now. The blooms are a dainty white, but the fragrance turns heads. This glossy evergreen plant is a shady superstar. It thrives well in shade, is deer-tolerant, and its fragrance is out of this world from late January well into February. The fruits even hold interest as they are an iridescent blueish/black color. We will be featuring more late winter/early spring plant performers, but Sarcococca is a must for the Eugene/Springfield landscape. Place these plants near an entryway where the fragrance can remind you that spring is most certainly on its way.
Do you need assistance with planning a garden for year-round interest? Contact us today! |
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