This article was printed as a special “Green Scene” section in the Ladue News on March 28, 2014. Reproduced with permission. Written by Julia Christensen.
Thumbs aren’t the only green things you’ll find at Quiet Village Landscaping. From reusing office supplies to recycling plant debris, the company is focused on eco-friendly practices both inside its office and out on the field.
“The primary thing we’re trying to go after is sustainable landscape designs for homeowners,” says Quiet Village owner Dennis Evans, who says that from rain gardens to hardscaping, there are a multitude of ways to take an area that may be physically green and make it metaphorically ‘green.’ “Traditionally, standard landscaping used a lot of non-native plants, and they are plants that required heavy irrigation and chemical applications–they just don’t succeed and thrive in our environment. Eco-friendly landscaping incorporates the native and lower-maintenance plants.”
Not only can native plants help to cut back on chemical applications, but often they can withstand extreme conditions that may wither other plants. Through a practice called xeriscaping, Quiet Village can create drought-resistant landscaping, which often uses native plants that are accustomed to the weather.
For homeowners hoping to maintain eco-friendliness in their landscaping, Evans recommends incorporating as many native plants as possible. “They’ll require no irrigation after established, and they’ll be resistant to disease and insects in this area.”
Quiet Village’s ‘green’ responsibility doesn’t end there. As Evans says, the business is committed to recycling materials whenever possible. Lawn debris from clients’ homes is brought to a facility to be turned into mulch, for example, and plastic pots are melted through Pots to Planks program to create plastic landscape timber.
Currently, Quiet Village is working with the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance as a preferred contractor to perform the rebate-supported landscaping work. “In certain municipalities, they’re trying to reduce the amount of water run-off that goes into the Deer Creek Watershed, so we’re creating rain gardens and installing permeable pavers to allow the water to slow down and go back into the ground,” Evans explains. “It’s a cleaner, better way to do it.”
Quiet Village is involved in a multitude of other eco-friendly organizations, including St. Louis Green, the U.S. Green Building Council, the Horticulture Co-op of Metro St. Louis and the National Wildlife Federation. “One of the big things for us is to give back to the community and share the success that we have,” Evans says. “We encourage our employees to give back and, organizationally, we like to lead by example.”
Follow these links for more information on organizations we support and how we “go green” at Quiet Village Landscaping.