Those of us with the great fortune to work in the field of sustainable design and construction know how rewarding it can be. We also have times of tremendous disappointment and frustration, especially when dealing with project constraints. It would be great if owners could be free of budget concerns, everyone on the team understood integrated design, and local code officials were more understanding and willing to break with tradition for the sake of sustainability. Unfortunately, these constraints are most likely not going to go away.

One such constraint is often encountered when trying to incorporate native plantings into the site landscape. Native landscape strategies are sometimes unpopular, but why should that be the case? Yes, the look of tall- or mid-grass prairie mixed with wild flowers is not what people typically think of when describing a corporate campus building. And yes, we know that certain municipalities require an irrigation system for landscape on both commercial and residential projects, but what is the reasoning behind this? If people would take the time to understand the impact of site issues around their buildings, they may consider a break with tradition.

Native plants incorporated into vegetative strips around or within a parking lot can be beautiful and, when correctly applied to the civil design, reduce the stormwater runoff from the site. The use of rain gardens can bring a spot of visual interest into the landscape while purifying the stormwater before being discharged into the municipal system. Dedicated parcels of prairie within a site boundary can foster biodiversity in a location where it has been displaced and reduce the maintenance cost an owner pays for a traditional landscape. Using drought-tolerant native species in planting beds and open spaces brings four seasons of beauty into the landscape, while simultaneously reducing or eliminating the use of potable water for irrigation.

The concepts of using native plantings are simple, and the benefits are tangible. So why are so many people opposed to their use? One reason could be that native planting strategies are a visual break with tradition. A new ventilation strategy that improves indoor air quality while reducing energy consumption is not overtly visual. While this strategy may fit very well within a sustainable building, occupants of that building do not concern themselves with that system unless they are too cold or too warm. Conversely, when the landscape around a building incorporates a native planting strategy, a building occupant may have to explain to a friend or a spouse why the grounds around their building look, in their opinion, unkempt. As practitioners of sustainability, we must patiently continue to educate those around us in an effort to foster their understanding and hopefully expedite the eventual widespread adoption of these and other similarly misunderstood sustainable strategie