Landscape rebates are becoming popular across the county as water conservation becomes a bigger issue and more people look for ways to save water.
Population growth is straining water supplies and delivery systems, causing many water providers to provide great incentives to reduce water use. Homeowner’s, businesses, and HOA’s are also looking for ways to trim their budgets and increase their long-term sustainability.
But landscape renovations can get expensive. Thankfully, there are some great rebates out there that you can take advantage of to help offset the costs. When you factor in the rebates, as well as significant water and maintenance savings, a landscape renovation can make a lot of sense for your property.
Irrigation Upgrades vs. Turf Removal
Most of the rebates out there focus on 2 main areas: Irrigation Upgrades and Turf Removal.
Irrigation upgrade rebates are offered to water customers to increase the efficiency of their irrigation systems. Rebates are often offered to install more efficient spray nozzles, rain sensors, and controllers.
The rebates for these items are usually calculated per item installed, for example, $5 per efficient rotary nozzle, and $50 for a rain sensor. For larger commercial properties there are often limit to the maximum rebate that can be obtained.
Turf removal rebates are geared toward removing areas of high water-use landscaping (usually lawns and turfgrass) and replacing those areas with low water-use landscaping. The replacement landscaping can consist of Xeriscape, native plants, and a variety of colorful shrubs, perennials, trees, and ornamental grasses.
After getting great feedback on my 20 Best Xeriscape Plants for Colorado post, which included a few follow-up requests, I have decided to publish a list of the best high altitude plants for landscaping.
The Challenges of High Elevations
When landscaping at higher elevations, there are many challenges to consider. The plants themselves are often limited in how cold of winter temperature they can withstand. And there are also the challenging microclimates, wind, and levels of moisture that can occur at high altitudes.
Grazing deer and elk are also a common problem at higher elevations. All of these factors should be carefully considered in the design of the landscape. Consult the USDA Plant Hardiness zones for your local area, and consider working with an experienced landscape architect or garden designer.
It would be a great idea to do some nature walks in your local area to observe the native plants that are thriving naturally, and are well adapted to the various microclimates that can be found in your area.
I have decided to limit the list to plants that I feel will do well above 8,000 ft. There are several plants that are advertised to do well above 7,500 ft, but I am not comfortable recommending all of them, so lets go with 8,000.
What does a Landscape Architect do? Do they dig holes? Sell flowers? Or do they just draw “pretty pictures?” The profession of Landscape Architecture has been perceived incorrectly by many and this upcoming Wednesday that starts to change. Unknown to most, but Landscape Architecture actually requires a college degree which is a little longer than the typically 4 years. Internships are becoming the norm at universities giving students professional experience between their studies. Then even once you graduate you technically can’t even call yourself a Landscape Architect until you further your experience and pass the gauntlet that is the LARE (Landscape Architect Registration Exam).
So getting back to the original point, what does a Landscape Architecture do? Well they design and plan the environment that surrounds you. Basically everywhere you live, work and play at, has had a Landscape Architect’s touch put on it. Here are just a few examples of places that Landscape Architects create:
College Campuses
Commercial Property
Public & Therapeutic Gardens
Hotels & Resorts
Golf Courses
Parks & Recreational Areas
Residential Sites
Land Reclamation
Monuments
City Planning
Streetscapes
Transportation Corridors
Urban Environments
If you would like to see a little bit more, this video is a sample of what is to come this Wednesday 08-17-2011. http://www.asla.org/Multimedia.aspx
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
The following video by Brad Lancaster illustrates how much water the landscape is capable of absorbing- Check it out! I first saw Brad do a presentation a couple of years ago in Denver, and he is a really funny and effective presenter with some great ideas.
How can this be applied to our own residential and commercial landscapes?
Brad advocates a change in the way rainwater and storm drainage is thought of. Often times buildings are designed to get water to drain off of the site as quickly as possible, and into an elaborate system of storm drains. This approach treats rainwater as a nuisance, where it is not being used on the site at all. With a landscape design and drainage design that captures and directs water so that it can be used for gardens, flowers, and trees, this water can be utilized on-site as a valuable resource.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
We are very excited to have moved into the Jehn Center in Olde Town Arvada. Our new address is 5690 Webster Street, Arvada, CO 80002. We have been in the new office location for about 3 weeks, and are loving the new surroundings. It took a lot of work to pack up everything and make the move, while in the midst of the middle of summer with dozens of projects in full swing!
Below are some example graphics we are doing for of one of the many exciting new projects we are working on, a resort near Cape Coral, Florida.
Needless to say, I have been slacking on making new blog posts lately. But please stay tuned as I have a ton of ideas for new articles full of great tips and ideas!
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
water supplies and delivery systems, causing many water providers to provide great incentives to reduce water use. Homeowner’s, businesses, and HOA’s are also looking for ways to trim their budgets and increase their long-term sustainability.
The Challenges of High Elevations
