As landscape ecologists, our design intent throughout every project includes the following:
1) Maintain a toxin-free landscape that is safe for all to enjoy
2) Design naturalistic landscapes that invite our clients to spend more time outdoors and reconnect with nature
3) Create habitat for essential pollinators, birds and other wildlife
4) Conserve, bio-filter, and reuse precious stormwater; p
revent erosion
5) Build healthy soils by cultivating diverse soil microbial communities with organic, natural source ingredients
The days of maintaining a chemical-based lawn at whatever the cost are over. Communities everywhere are realizing the devastating effects of habitat destruction, water pollution, and GHG emissions associated with 'lawnscaping' in America. At Green Jay Landscape Design, we believe that every landscape can be reclaimed and designed to maximize ecological benefit. Designing habitats at the local level creates a network of functional habitats for thousands of beneficial insects and birds that are the foundation of our ecosystems. Many of our properties are Certified Wildlife Habitats and we adhere to NOFA Organic Land Care principals. Inviting pollinators and wildlife into your landscape has an undeniable effect on our mental health. We receive countless notes and reviews on how delighted our clients are to observe the butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, goldfinches and more that visit their landscape every day. Additionally, contact with soil microbes (touch dirt!) has shown to increase serotonin levels, reduce stress and improve focus. Designing landscapes that reconnect our clients with nature and wildness is of upmost importance to GJLD. Simply spending time outside in an organic, naturalistic landscape has measurable health benefits, whether from inhaling the physiologically-beneficial phytonicides emitted by trees and vegetation (“forest bathing”); getting your hands in the dirt and reconnecting to mood-boosting soil microbes; or strolling meditatively through the garden – nature provides profound healing when we create space and time to witness it.
