Masonry could be exactly the solution to the feeling that something is missing in a landscape that’s focused on lowering a home’s carbon footprint and creating an eco-friendly retreat. Here are 9 unique ways to incorporate masonry into an eco-friendly landscape design in Long Island, NY.
What is an eco-friendly landscape, anyway? Isn’t every front yard and backyard basically a bit of natural space? Yes, and no. Eco-friendly landscapes have very specific characteristics that are not present in the average suburban landscape.
Many landscapes are heavily skewed toward lawns, which - while green - are not eco-friendly options.
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1. Less Lawn, More Native Plants
Lawns are not natural features in that they require far more than their fair share of help to maintain that desired lush, green look: they require a lot of water, herbicides and pesticides, and of course today most homeowners prefer riding mowers over manual push mowers. Since most municipalities don’t allow for a wild meadow look, it may seem that lawns are the only alternative. The good news is that they’re not.
A great eco-friendly alternative is to replace areas of the lawn with native plants. Native plantings are the hallmark of an eco-friendly landscape. Native plants are ideally adapted to the local climate and they do not require any assistance from you: no supplemental watering, no fertilizer, and no pest control.
Next to the homogeneous look of a lawn, native landscaping creates a wonderful diversity in a landscape. No longer is the landscape basically a food desert for local pollinators and wildlife, it reverts back to a space rich in resources (food and shelter).
If you want to make your landscape more eco-friendly, reduce the size of the lawn. Increasing the size of plant beds filled with natives is one way to achieve a visually striking landscape.
You could showcase these native beauties with masonry. For example, raised bed planters are a great way to define your front entry area, creating both a friendly welcoming array of seasonal color as well as a place to rest (just be sure the cap stone is generously sized so that it’s comfortable to sit on).
Another beautiful placement for raised masonry plant beds is along the driveway; this is also an opportunity to incorporate landscape lighting into the planters to provide unobtrusive lighting along the driveway (and walkway).
You can also use masonry walls to create a “wild garden” where nature is allowed to reclaim a part of the backyard, primarily with native pollinator-friendly plants, and still allow you to enjoy a more manicured lawn and landscape closer to the home.
For a truly eco-friendly masonry plant bed, use locally quarried natural stone. Not only will local stone have a smaller overall ecological impact than imported stone or concrete wall units, it will also blend in beautifully with the natural surroundings. It’s from here, and it belongs here… and this shows - a locally-sourced masonry feature will always look right at home.
2. Less Lawn, More Outdoor Living
You can continue with the trend of reducing the size of your lawn by adding to your outdoor living space. If you currently have a small patio that serves as a single space for outdoor cooking, dining and relaxing, consider expanding it to create distinct zones for each level and type of activity.
For example, the outdoor kitchen is typically situated close to the home for convenience; and likewise, you want the outdoor dining area conveniently located close to the cooking area. This is the part of the patio that would have the highest level of activity, and it also requires a fair amount of space to be comfortable here in the hub of outdoor living.
However beyond this busy high-traffic area, you could position several peninsulas: one for a cozy seating area covered by a pergola, and an intimate fire pit area. Both of these could be made extraordinary using masonry: not only the patio surface itself, but seat walls, built-in seating around a fire pit, and even pillars for the pergola.
Again, using locally sourced stone could be a great option for a patio extension (for example, bluestone is a type of flagstone quarried in the mid-Atlantic states).
A truly functional and attractive patio (or series of interconnected patios) with the amenities that you enjoy, could mean that you spend more time in the backyard, which means less driving to local parks - and therefore, a smaller eco-footprint.
3. Permeable Pavers
If you prefer concrete pavers over natural stone - such as greater ease of installation, more color varieties, and more patterns - you may be concerned that concrete isn’t very “green.” Actually, when it comes to building materials, concrete is a mixed bag, pardon the pun. Concrete is one of the world’s most common construction materials.
The good (green) news is that concrete is long-lasting, durable, affordable, and flexible in its applications. However, its manufacturing is a source of greenhouse gasses. When you balance these factors, concrete isn’t the best or the worst; but there’s a way to make concrete pavers more eco-friendly: always use permeable pavers.
Of course the pavers themselves are not permeable. They are, however, set slightly further apart and the jointing sand that is used is a special type that allows rain and snowmelt to seep into the ground between the pavers. This water then filters through a special substrate into the ground below, where it naturally re-enters the aquifer.
Permeable pavers prevent runoff, which is their main contribution to an eco-friendly landscape. If you would collect the amount of water that runs off a solid surface such as a patio or driveway, it’s a truly astonishing amount. One inch of rain on a 20 foot wide (two-car-wide) driveway that’s 50 feet long, adds up to over 623 gallons of water! That’s an incredible amount of water dumping into the municipal storm drain system (if you are on one); or it could end up flooding your landscape, pooling in low spots and potentially causing a lot of damage. But if a large percentage of that water is allowed to naturally soak into the ground it’s a good way to minimize runoff and flooding.
You can use permeable pavers on driveways, patios, walkways and pool decks. Permeable pavers help keep these surfaces drier and therefore safer.
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4. Built-in Masonry Seating Around a Fire Pit
How is this solution eco-friendly? First, you’re replacing a bit of your thirsty lawn with a space you will actually use; and creating spaces you will actually use, means you can feel good about giving up some of the lawn in favor of more dynamic, native pollinator- and wildlife-friendly landscaping and more functional outdoor living spaces.
Built-in seating around a fire pit - especially if it features a high back - is a wonderful way to create intimacy while providing comfort, and this solution helps hold the heat in the space, which keeps it cozy and inviting well into the colder months.
The ability to use your fireside gathering area year-round also makes it a space that actually gets used often, rather than a space that replaces a natural environment only to be used for only a fraction of the year.
5. An Outdoor Fireplace
If you don’t relish the campfire-style fire pit, you could opt for a full outdoor fireplace. This will give your outdoor living space an elegant yet relaxed living room feel, the only difference being that the ceiling is made up of billions of stars.
Natural, locally sourced materials are the best option for an eco-friendly fire feature. You could also use reclaimed brick and turn your fireplace into a stunning one of a kind focal point.
6. Natural Walkways
If conventional paver walkways are too structured and formal for your taste, you could create a walkway using individual large-format pavers (such as 24” square) or stepping stones, and separating them with gravel or low-growing ground covers. This helps integrate the walkway into the natural surroundings and softens the look.
7. A Culinary Feast
Most outdoor kitchen areas revolve around the grill. Adding masonry cladding to the cook station is a way to add beauty; but to make it more eco-friendly, consider adding greenery. If you are a passionate cook, you could add a vertical masonry herb garden to one side of your grill station to keep culinary herbs handy to enhance any meal.
Raised bed masonry planters can be added virtually anywhere. Conveniently located edible gardens make it easier to grow your own food and make your landscape as functional as it is beautiful. Several planters could be located along the perimeter of your patio. Add a generous cap stone and the planters will double as overflow seating. Or, planters could be used as outdoor “room” dividers.
8. Water Features
Bring the soothing sounds of water to your outdoor living space with a masonry water feature. Moving water will attract birds, pollinators, and local wildlife for your viewing pleasure.
Some innovative water features utilize rain runoff from the roof that create a temporary waterfall that then disperses water onto the landscape. The addition of a pump means that water that doesn’t overflow into the landscaped areas (in a deliberate way) will continue to circulate in the pump, keeping your water feature going all season long.
9. Retaining Walls
A structural retaining wall will reduce erosion and runoff. On a steeper slope, retaining walls create additional usable space and plenty of opportunities for terraced gardens. Natural stone walls are the most eco-friendly option for retaining walls, seat walls, and other vertical landscape elements.
A wall is a great spot to position an outdoor fireplace. This approach creates a true living room feel complete with “walls”; just add some festive string lights to complete the look and give the illusion of a ceiling.
Walls are also a wonderful way to incorporate landscape lighting for a cleaner look as well as plenty of functional and mood lighting.
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