The 70/30 Planting Rule: What do Ecologists Think? “The 70/30 Planting Rule” is suddenly everywhere. Trendy garden designers are recommending that landscapes contain 70% native plants and 30% introduced plants—as though sacrificing nearly one-third of a garden’s ecological potential is a reasonable goal. Why Be Skeptical of The 70/30 Planting Rule? If we are talking
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Sustainable Landscape Development. What an opportunity we all have ahead of us over the next decade. The future is bright. As eastern NY cities, villages and townships begin to consider sustainability in planning, we all win. Over the years, we’ve observed 5 principles for sustainability in garden construction. Removing invasive species, adding only native plants in
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Natural Gardening. One benefit of a natural gardening practice is closer contact with nature. If you’ve wanted to hold a baby bunny, you may be able to! It depends on the unique nuances in your neighborhood’s ecosystem. And the flow of your land matters. There’s lots of native fauna besides the Eastern Cottontail, too. The
More Rain Gardens. In spring a while ago, Jessecology designed and installed some rain gardens in Lake George. The gardens were created at an inn right on the lake. Later, we added more plants into the design. Recently we stopped by to see the progress of these Lake George rain gardens in their maturity. Native
Do plants have feelings? The mystery intrigues gardeners, ecologists, and anyone who spends time in nature. Ancient Christian legends teach that nature did not experience the fall of man. Thus, the earth’s flora and fauna still exist in a pristine state of paradise. While plants don’t have souls like humans, they exhibit fascinating responses to
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Before + After Photos Before and after photos reveal how a garden grows into itself. They hint at transformation, momentum, and possibility. In native landscaping, though, those images work best when they’re read as part of a longer story. The first year after installation can be especially pleasant to watch, particularly in gardens with clay
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Railroad Ecosystems: The Hidden Conservation Corridors Across the Landscape. When most people think of railroads, they soon think of transportation. Ecologists, however, generally recognize the importance of railroad ecosystems and railroad corridors as valuable components of the natural landscape. As development fragments forests, grasslands, and wetlands into smaller patches, wildlife generally faces growing challenges. Many
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Urban Heat Islands: Why Cities Are Getting Hotter and How Native Plants Can Help. If you’ve ever walked across a blacktop parking lot on a summer afternoon and then stepped into a shaded natural area, you’ve experienced the urban heat island effect firsthand. Urban heat islands are basically one of the fastest-growing environmental challenges facing
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Before and After Photos Before and after photos reveal how a garden grows into itself. The photo series hints at transformation, momentum, and possibility. In native landscaping, though, those images work best when they’re read as part of a longer story. This post is meant to offer that wider view and to show what those
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Free Audiobooks in NYS: A Gift for Your Curious Mind PSA: Free Audiobooks in NYS. Did you know that free audiobooks in NYS are available to every resident? If you live in New York State, you automatically qualify for a free library card from both the Brooklyn Public Library and the New York Public Library.
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Patience Makes Gardens In a culture that expects instant results, gardens quietly teach a rather different lesson. Healthy landscapes are not rushed. They are grown according to natural timing. When working with native plants, patience is not a nice idea. Patience makes gardens. Patience Makes Gardens: An Urban Pollinator Oasis Edition. Basically, the first year
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Corporate pollinator garden projects. Corporate Pollinator Garden Projects: Renewing the Local Ecosystem while Saving Money on Maintenance Costs. In general, corporate habitat garden projects are one of the most effective ways for a business to create visible, lasting good. When a company chooses to replace turfgrass with organic native wildflowers, the results ripple outward. A
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2024 Design-Build Project Review: Albany Pinebush Meadow Landscaping Transformation At Jessecology, every project is unique and precious, but the pièce de résistance for 2024 design-build project is unparalleled. Our homeowners entrusted us to transform their entire ~1/2 acre property into a breathtaking Albany Pinebush-style meadow. Located nearby the Pinebush park, their home is technically within
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Norway Maple tree vs Sugar Maple. Native Sugar Maples (Acer saccharum) and invasive Norway Maples (Acer platanoides) can seem similar at first, but there are key differences. Identifying these differences is important for preserving native ecosystems. Here’s how to tell them apart: 1. Leaf Shape and Texture Sugar Maple: The leaves have five distinct lobes
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Ocean Shore Stabilization, Restoration, and Ocean Ecology. Ocean shorelines are living edges, basically not static property lines. In healthy ocean ecology, beaches, dunes, salt marshes, tidal wetlands, oyster reefs, seagrass beds, and coastal shrublands generally work together to absorb wave energy, hold sediment, filter runoff, store carbon, and provide nursery habitat for fish, birds, shellfish,
Grow Slow, Grow Strong Grow Slow Grow Strong. Healthy landscapes are not rushed. They are built through time, restraint, and an understanding of how plants actually grow. In native gardens, success is rarely immediate. Instead, it unfolds gradually. When we allow that process to happen, gardens reveal a simple truth: grow slow, grow strong. During
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Rewilding is a wonderful and relaxed form of land management that anyone with plant literacy and land can practice. Essentially it boils down to removing any invasive plants and letting the natural seed bank express itself. Rewilding is not like formal garden development. A new garden bed is not created, and soil amending isn’t
Regenerative Landscaping Regenerative LandscapingHumans have a regenerative gear. We just need to use it. Most modern interactions with the land are quietly degrading. People mow, spray, strip, compact, bulldoze, and remove organic matter. Good intentions don’t annul the harm and fragmentation that results. Over time, the soil becomes depleted, water runs off instead of soaking
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Edible Food Forest Gardens: Permanent Native Agriculture that Feeds People and Wildlife. At Jessecology, we’ve been building Edible Food Forest Gardens for over 15 years. These gardens nourish both humans, the wildlife and the neighborhood’s ecosystem. Food Forests mimic the layers of a natural forest. They feature fruit trees, berrying shrubs, herbs, vegetables, and beneficial
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Best Peony Care: Be Brave. Cut Them Back After Blooming. At Jessecology, we don’t plant Peonies. Our focus is on native species that support pollinators, birds, and local ecosystems. But many of our clients already have Peonies, and we’re happy to design beautiful native gardens around them. One of the best things you can do
