Landscaping: Where the Checklist Meets the Road

I’m told that Europeans don’t use checklists to achieve resource-efficient building the way we do in the U.S. Perhaps they’ve been doing it so long, they don’t need to.
The U.S. covers a lot of area, and our site requirements might vary so widely that we’re reduced to checklists. Still, some don’t make sense. I’m reviewing my landscape designer, Fran Abel’s (www.franabelonwhidbey.blogspot.com) comments on items that get property owner’s points on the Skagit-Island County Builder’s Association (SICBA) Built Green checklist.

Item 2-37 Use slow-release organic fertilizers to establish vegetation. FRAN: I don’t use any fertilizers for native plants as they’re not recommended. I like to follow the rule of ‘Feed the soil, not the plant.’ If necessary I add aged manure and sawdust to the existing soil for my planting mix. LB: We didn’t achieve 2 points for using slow-release organic fertilizer. No points for no fertilizer unfortunately.

Item 2-63 Work with WSU (Washington State University) Master Gardener Volunteer to develop landscape design and implementation plan. FRAN: Well, I’m not a Master Gardener and refuse to be a Master Gardener because they focus too strongly on chemicals, so I don’t agree with what they preach. I think this is poor advice for that reason. LB: We didn’t achieve 1 point for working with a WSU Master Gardener.

Item 2-65 Install rain barrels to store rainwater for reuse. FRAN: This is minimally helpful in the Pacific Northwest. We get lots of rain in the winter, and rain barrels overflow. In the summer – when we need the water for irrigation – we don’t actually get that much rain. If not properly covered, they create a mosquito problem. LB: I have no need of irrigation water, as I’m a firm believer in tough love for plants. If they can’t survive beyond first watering, they’re dead.

That said, Chris Onstad with Whidbey Artisan, whidbeyartisan@hotmail.com, did a great job of hand building the rock wall and manhandling some of the larger rhodies into place. On time and under budget. What more could an owner want?