What is sustainable gardening?

Our sustainable gardening practices follow the eight essential elements of conservation landscaping defined by the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council. Incorporate as many of these elements as possible into your landscape, to benefit all life in our watershed. A conservation landscape:

1. Is designed to benefit the environment and function efficiently and aesthetically for human use and well-being;
2. Uses locally native plants that are appropriate for site conditions;
3. Institutes a management plan for the removal of existing invasive plants and the prevention of future nonnative plant invasions;
4. Provides habitat for wildlife;
5. Promotes healthy air quality and minimizes air pollution;
6. Conserves and cleans water;
7. Promotes healthy soils;
8. Is managed to conserve energy, reduce waste, and eliminate or minimize the use of pesticides and fertilizers."​                                                                         

The complete document Conservation Landscape Guidelines can be found in www.Chesapeakebaylandscape.org

At AlmaVerde, we work every day to create, restore and manage gardens in an eco-friendly way. All our work is guided by profound respect for all the people, communities and nature of the Washington DC region. ​