Quercus is dedicated to creating landscapes that benefit the ecological functions of the land as well as the needs of people and wildlife. Through the use of native plants, attention to water management and replicating natural processes, we attempt to integrate the natural landscape with urban elements to create a cohesive, sustainable, functioning environment in which to live. As Ecological landscapers, we attempt to consider every impact that our landscape designs and implementation will have.
Ecological landscapes focus on using native plants and replicating natural functions that occur within local ecosystems. These designs help provide habitat for wildlife and plants that rely on similar ecosystems which have diminished greatly due to widespread habitat loss. The native plant species used in our designs have been present on the landscape for thousands of years, making them well suited to survive the local climate, as well as provide ideal habitat and forage for wildlife. Native plant gardens can be formal or more natural in style, depending on personal preference or intended use. Utilizing natural styles achieves aesthetic cohesion through mimicking naturally occurring scenes, providing pleasing variations of texture, colors and sizes of plants and materials.
The cost of maintaining an ecologically informed landscape results in lower costs due to the reliable growth, survival rate and low maintenance cost. We design gardens to include groups of plants that would occur naturally on the landscape which minimizes maintenance costs of plants that may compete with one another or eventually prove to be disproportionate. Ecological landscapes reduce the municipal burden of water management due to ecological landscapes being better suited for assisting the filtering and infiltration of storm water. This characteristic is especially important to consider in urban areas adjacent to water bodies and tributaries highly susceptible to flooding and nutrient balance disruption.
“I like to envision the whole world as a jigsaw puzzle… If you look at the whole picture, it is overwhelming and terrifying, but if you work on your little part of the jigsaw and know that people all over the world are working on their little bits, that’s what will give you hope.” – Jane Goodall
