Native Plantings | Wheaton
Bedrock Earthscapes, LLC provides native plantings services commercially throughout Wheaton, Carol Stream, West Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Downers Grove, Schaumburg, St. Charles and surrounding areas. We invite you to read further about native planting below and to contact our team by filling out our short form today.
The issue is no longer only resource conservation or saving remnant native areas as it once was, the issue is now the need for resource re-development and the installation of more created native plantings!
Why Use Native Plants?
Native plants provide a beautiful, hardy, drought resistant, low maintenance landscape while benefiting the environment. Native plants, once established, save time and money by eliminating or significantly reducing the need for fertilizers, pesticides, water and lawn maintenance equipment.
Native plants promote biodiversity and stewardship of our natural heritage. In the U.S., approximately 20 million acres of lawn are cultivated, covering more land than any single crop. Native plants are a part of our natural heritage.
Natural landscaping is an opportunity to reestablish diverse native plants, thereby inviting the birds and butterflies back home and reestablishing the important balance between water, soil, plants and people.
Native plants help reduce air pollution. Natural landscapes do not require mowing. Lawns, however, must be mowed regularly. Gas powered garden tools emit 5% of the nation’s air pollution. Forty million lawnmowers consume 200 million gallons of gasoline per year. One gas-powered lawnmower emits 11 times the air pollution of a new car for each hour of operation. Instead of creating excessive carbon from the burning of fossil fuels, native plants sequester or remove carbon from the air.
Native plants do not require fertilizers and require fewer pesticides than lawns. Vast amounts of fertilizers are applied to lawns. Excess phosphorus and nitrogen (the main components of fertilizers) run off into lakes and rivers causing excess algae growth. This depletes oxygen in our waters, harms aquatic life and interferes with recreational uses. It is estimated that 60% of the nitrogen from lawn fertilizers leaches out of the turf root area.
Nationally, over 70 million pounds of pesticides are applied to lawns each year. Pesticides run off lawns and can contaminate rivers and lakes. People and pets in contact with chemically treated lawns can be exposed to pesticides.
Native plants provide shelter and food for wildlife. Native plants attract a variety of birds, butterflies, and other wildlife by providing diverse habitats and food sources. Closely mowed lawns are of little use to most wildlife.
Why not allow us to explain our services to you in more detail, and then take the first no-cost step of having Bedrock Earthscapes, LLC perform a site evaluation? Please join us as we work to enrich life through improving our environment.
Benefits of native plantings:
- Reduces maintenance cost by up to 80% on converted areas.
- Increases soil absorption of rainfall, reducing site water runoff, and eliminates the use of potable water for turf irrigation.
- Increases visual interest and beauty through the use of a variety of native grasses and perennial flowers.
- Increases biodiversity and enhances the site ecosystem, attracting birds and butterflies.
- Reduces energy use and engine emissions associated with weekly mowing.
- Eliminates use of fertilizer and chemical weed control used to maintain turf quality.
Benefits of rainwater collection and reuse:
- Reduction or elimination of cost for water to irrigate lawns.
- Use of rainwater for other non-potable purposes, if desired.
- Reduction of site water runoff and of downstream flooding.
Calculate your roof’s runoff
- Calculate the collection area of your roof in square feet. Make it simple by using the square footage of the foundation of your building.
- Find the average annual rainfall for your location in feet. You will likely need to convert from inches to feet. For instance, 36 inches average annual rainfall equals 3 feet.
- Multiply your roof’s area (step 1) by the average annual rainfall (step 2) to get cubic feet of runoff per year.
- Calculate gallons per year by multiplying the result from step 3 by 7.48.
Examples
- A building in Chicago has a roof area of 1800 square feet. Northern Illinois averages 34 inches of rain a year, or 2.83 feet. 1800 x 2.83 x 7.48 = 38,103 gallons per year.
- In a .25″ rainfall on the same roof: 1800 x (.25/12) x 7.48 = 280 gallons. That will more than fill a few rain barrels!
Benefits of wall and hardsurface shading:
- Reduction of cooling costs through seasonal shade on building walls and paved areas.
- Enhanced beauty by visually screening the view of massive wall and parking lot areas.
- Improved air quality through filtration of airborne pollutants, plant consumption and reduction of carbon dioxide, and air cooling through plant transpiration.
Benefits of permeable pavement:
- Reduced lifetime cost of paved area maintenance.
- Less water and pollutant runoff, and a cooler site footprint.
- Potential to capture, filter and use water for landscape irrigation.
- Reduced slip hazards, and more buildable site acreage.
Benefits of a Green Roof:
- Reduces cooling demand 25% or more by shading and reducing roof temperatures >60°.
- Extends the life of the roof up to two times normal life by blocking deteriorating sunlight from reaching the roofing material.
- Absorbs up to 60% of seasonal rainfall, reducing site water runoff.
- Increases visual interest.
Sustainable Landscapes | Wheaton
Wheaton, Carol Stream, Lombard, Oak Brook, Naperville, Plainfield, St. Charles and South Elgin.