Sustainable Landscaping Best Practices & How to Get Started

Sustainable landscaping is about creating outdoor spaces that work with nature instead of against it. By selecting the right plants, improving soil health, conserving water, and using environmentally responsible materials, homeowners can enjoy landscapes that are beautiful and easier to maintain.

For homeowners throughout the St. Louis area, sustainable landscaping is especially valuable. Missouri's clay soils, hot summers, heavy spring rains, and changing seasons all influence how landscapes perform. A thoughtful, sustainable design can help your landscape thrive while conserving natural resources and reducing long-term maintenance.

Key Takeaways

• Sustainable landscaping combines smart design, native plants, and efficient water management to create healthier outdoor spaces.
• Missouri native plants, permeable hardscapes, and sustainable maintenance practices help reduce water use and improve biodiversity.
• Professional landscape planning ensures your landscape is designed for long-term beauty, functionality, and sustainability.

What is sustainable landscaping?

Sustainable landscaping is the practice of designing, installing, and maintaining landscapes that minimize environmental impact while maximizing long-term performance. Rather than relying on excessive watering, fertilizers, or high-maintenance plants, sustainable landscapes work with the site's natural conditions.

This approach focuses on conserving energy and resources, improving soil health, supporting wildlife, and creating outdoor spaces that remain attractive for years to come.

Communities throughout Chesterfield, Wildwood, Des Peres, Kirkwood, and Town and Country are increasingly incorporating sustainable landscape practices to create landscapes that perform well despite Missouri's seasonal weather and clay-heavy soils.

Benefits of Sustainable Landscaping

Sustainable landscaping provides environmental, financial, and aesthetic benefits.

Homeowners often experience:

• Reduced water consumption
• Lower maintenance costs
• Improved soil health
• Better stormwater management
• Increased biodiversity
• Reduced use of fertilizers and pesticides
• Healthier habitats for birds, butterflies, and pollinators

Sustainable landscapes also contribute to healthier local ecosystems by reducing runoff, minimizing resource depletion, and supporting native wildlife.

Challenges of Sustainable Landscaping

While sustainable landscaping is wonderful in practice, many landscapers and homeowners find it can be challenging. This can be especially true during hot summers and cold winters, which are common throughout the St. Louis area.

However, it can still be achieved by planting drought-tolerant plants and prioritizing a biodiverse ecosystem with native plants that benefit wildlife. Hiring professional landscapers is another way to increase the chance of success in creating sustainable landscaping.

How to Get Started

Every successful landscape project begins with careful planning. Follow these steps to start landscaping more sustainably.

Create a Landscape Design

Before selecting plants or installing hardscapes, landscape professionals perform a site inventory and analysis to understand the property's existing conditions. Factors such as sun exposure, drainage, soil type, slopes, and existing vegetation all influence the final design. Then, they draw a landscape design to outline the best placement for planting beds, patios, walkways, irrigation, and drainage features.

Landscape designs help homeowners avoid costly changes later by creating a landscape that supports their goals and the surrounding environment.

Choose Native and Drought-Tolerant Plants

Native and drought-tolerant plants are naturally adapted to Missouri's growing conditions and generally require less supplemental watering once established. They also provide food and habitat for beneficial organisms while helping increase species diversity throughout the landscape.

Popular Missouri native plants include:

• Purple coneflower
• Butterfly milkweed
• Prairie blazing star
• Wild bergamot
• Little bluestem
• Prairie dropseed
• Blue wild indigo
• Serviceberry

Native grasses, flowering perennials, shrubs, and trees create pollinator-friendly gardens while reducing maintenance needs. Replacing invasive plant species with native species also helps restore ecological balance and reduce habitat fragmentation.

Improve Soil Health

Healthy soil supports healthy landscapes. Adding compost, mulch, and organic matter improves water retention, reduces soil erosion, and creates better growing conditions for plants. Composting yard waste and using green waste whenever possible also reduces landfill waste while returning valuable nutrients to the soil.

Limiting synthetic fertilizers and choosing natural fertilizers can further improve plant health while reducing runoff into nearby waterways. Routine mulching, aeration, and responsible pruning also contribute to long-term soil and plant health.

Conserve Water Through Smart Design

Rather than relying on traditional sprinklers, many homeowners choose efficient irrigation methods such as drip irrigation or a smart irrigation system equipped with soil sensors or evapotranspiration controllers. These systems apply water only when needed, reducing waste while supporting healthy plant growth.

Additional water-wise solutions include:

• Rain gardens
• Rainwater harvesting
• Bioswales
• Mulch
• Xeriscaping
• Permeable paving materials

These features help capture stormwater, improve drainage, and reduce runoff during heavy spring rains that are common throughout the St. Louis region.

Incorporate Sustainable Materials

Choosing sustainable materials during construction can help build an environmentally friendly garden by reducing waste while creating durable outdoor spaces.

Popular sustainable materials include:

• Permeable pavers
• Reclaimed wood
• Recycled bricks
• Repurposed stone
• Crushed gravel
• Sustainably harvested lumber

Stone pathways, permeable hardscapes, patios, and retaining walls allow rainwater to infiltrate naturally while reducing runoff and erosion. Many homeowners also incorporate natural design elements that blend into the surrounding landscape.

Practice Sustainable Landscape Maintenance

Even the best landscape requires ongoing care.

Fortunately, sustainable maintenance practices often reduce both labor and resource inputs over time.

These practices may include:

• Organic lawn care practices
• Proper mowing techniques
• Integrated pest management
• Mulching
• Responsible pruning
• Composting
• Aeration
• Using pest-free plant materials whenever possible

These maintenance techniques help maintain healthy landscapes while reducing chemical use and protecting beneficial insects and pollinators.

Find Inspiration Close to Home

St. Louis homeowners have access to outstanding examples of sustainable landscaping throughout the region.

The Missouri Botanical Garden offers sustainable gardening tips online. Their gardens showcase native plants, rain gardens, naturalistic design, and water-wise solutions that demonstrate how sustainable landscapes can also be visually stunning. Visitors can explore display gardens and gather ideas for their own properties.

Other public spaces, including Shaw Nature Reserve, also highlight Missouri's native ecosystems and demonstrate how meadows, prairies, woodlands, and sustainable planting strategies can be incorporated into residential landscapes.

These destinations provide valuable inspiration while helping homeowners better understand which plants and design techniques perform well in Missouri.

Creating Sustainable Landscaping with Poynter

Every successful landscaping project begins with understanding your property's unique conditions and designing a space that balances beauty, functionality, and environmental responsibility.

At Poynter, we help homeowners throughout the St. Louis area create custom sustainable landscapes that fit their property and lifestyle. Whether you're interested in native plantings, rain gardens, permeable patios, improved drainage, or a complete landscape renovation, our experienced team can develop a solution designed for long-term success.

Ready to create a more sustainable outdoor space? Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

FAQs

What are the techniques of sustainable landscaping?

Common sustainable landscaping techniques include planting native and drought-tolerant species, improving soil health with compost and mulch, using drip irrigation, installing rain gardens and bioswales, incorporating permeable hardscapes, reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, and selecting sustainable building materials.

What should I include in a sustainable garden?

A sustainable garden should include native plants, pollinator-friendly flowers, healthy soil, mulch, efficient irrigation, rainwater management features, and environmentally responsible materials. Incorporating shade trees, ornamental grasses, and natural stone features can further improve long-term sustainability.

What grows well in Missouri?

Many native Missouri plants thrive in the region, including purple coneflower, butterfly milkweed, prairie blazing star, wild bergamot, little bluestem, prairie dropseed, eastern redbud, serviceberry, oak trees, and native ferns. These plants are well-adapted to Missouri's climate and generally require less water and maintenance than many non-native species.