Natural landscaping can conserve water and improve water quality. Methods include: retaining or increasing the use of native plants, improving soil fertility naturally, reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides, ensuring plant health, using drought tolerant plants, and planting a buffer to protect streams, lakes and marine shorelines.
Planting & Landscaping
- Video: Plant it Right – Restoring Our Streams – A 17-minute video showing how to plant a tree correctly, especially for stream restoration projects.
- Drought Tolerant Landscaping for Washington State – New in 2015, a 19-page resource to help homeowners create a drought-tolerant landscape.
- Grow Your Own Native Landscape: A Guide to Identifying, Propagating & Landscaping with Western WA Native plants – A 124 page book with line illustrations. Complete descriptions of native plants including habitat, advantages or disadvantages in the garden, methods of propagation and salvaging. Available to download for a fee or purchase a hardcopy.
- Landscaping with Native Plants in the Inland Northwest – Describes landscape plant materials you can use in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and northern Idaho. 107 pages.
- Gardening in Washington State – Website covering all aspects of home gardening.
- Planting Trees and Shrubs in the Landscape – How to ensure trees and shrubs will thrive in your landscape.
Managing Pests
- Natural Insecticides – Describes what natural insecticides are, how they work, application restrictions. Addresses common misconceptions associated with products labeled “natural” and “organic.”
- WSU Integrated Pest Management and Pesticide Safety – Workshops, training and re-certification website.
- Hortsense – Website with fact sheets on all types of home gardening pest or disease problems.
Improving Soil
- Backyard Composting – How to make and use compost in your yard. Includes troubleshooting.
- Biochar – A Gardener’s Primer – Learn what biochar is and how it can enhance soil fertility and filter water pollutants
- Phosphorus and Home Lawns: Quick Facts and Recommendations – How to apply lawn fertilizers to avoid causing water pollution.