Is Sustainable Landscaping More Expensive? What Commercial Property Managers Should Know

You care about the environment as much as the next guy, but you also have a budget to meet. Maybe you’re worried about how much green it will cost you to be green.

Is sustainable landscaping more expensive? Not necessarily, especially if you’re starting an installation from scratch. And while sustainable landscaping sometimes has a higher upfront installation cost than traditional landscaping, it uses native plants, water-saving smart irrigation, and other smart strategies. That means it’s typically significantly cheaper to maintain over time.

Let's learn more about sustainable landscaping costs for commercial properties, including:

• First, What Is Sustainable Landscaping?

• Is Sustainable Landscaping More Expensive?

• Smart Irrigation Saves Money

• How Perennials and Native Plants Save Money Over Time

• Green Landscaping Cost Savings: Rain Gardens and Bioswales

• One Exception to Green Landscaping Cost Savings: Organic Lawn Care

• Partner with a Proactive Landscaping Company that Prioritizes Sustainability

• Budget Worksheets Help You Plan Sustainability Features

• Make Sure Your Stormwater Ponds Aren’t Risking Costly Fines

• Frequently Asked Questions About Green Landscaping Cost Savings

First, What Is Sustainable Landscaping?

Sustainable landscaping is an approach to designing, installing, and maintaining outdoor spaces in a way that minimizes harm to the environment.

It focuses on conserving resources like water and energy; reducing waste; minimizing pollution and the amount of chemicals used; and creating landscapes that support nature. That includes being friendly to pollinators and wildlife.

Is Sustainable Landscaping More Expensive?

Commercial property managers sometimes assume sustainable landscaping is more expensive when they consider replacing irrigation systems, investing in perennials and native plants or switching to organic weed control.

But as sustainable landscaping efforts become more mainstream, most new landscaping projects are installed with sustainability in mind, from including native plants to incorporating rain gardens.

If you include sustainable features from the start, it really isn’t more expensive.

And while replacing some of your current landscaping features with more sustainable versions costs money upfront, it saves you money in the long run, from lower water bills to fewer plant replacements.

Yes, sustainable landscaping is about being kind to the environment. But it’s also a smart, cost-effective strategy to create outdoor spaces that save water and are easier to maintain.

Check out these examples:

Smart Irrigation Saves Money

You’re probably wasting a lot of water without even realizing it if your irrigation system is older and outdated.

Is sustainable landscaping more expensive when it comes to irrigation? You might not need to replace your entire irrigation system to make it more efficient.

Some of your irrigation system’s outdated components can probably be swapped for new, more efficient ones. Newer irrigation heads use less water and spray water more efficiently. Drip irrigation targets water at the roots specifically where plants need it, making every drop count.

Update to a smart irrigation controller and you’ll save even more water, using local weather forecasts and your property’s landscape conditions to tailor watering schedules without waste.

Beyond that, take advantage of regular irrigation system checkups where irrigation pros catch water-wasting problems like broken sprinkler heads and clogged lines.

How Perennials and Native Plants Save Money Over Time

Planting perennials, including native plants, often requires a higher initial investment than flats of annuals. It’s part of sustainable landscaping costs for commercial properties.

But these sturdy plants come back year after year, while annuals have to be replaced two or three times a year.

Once they’re settled in, native plants typically need less water than other plants, and they’re also less susceptible to diseases and insect pests. That’s because they’re naturally from here and adapted to our climate conditions.

Native plants also need little to no fertilizer or pesticides compared to the high maintenance needed for a lawn or annual flowers.

Is sustainable landscaping more expensive? When you consider the reduced maintenance costs of perennials, including native plants, these plants quickly pay for themselves.

Bonus: Level Green crews divide perennials as they grow and use them to fill in empty spaces, adding more plants at little cost.

Meanwhile, you’re helping the environment. Perennials, especially native species, offer beneficial pollen, nectar and habitats for essential pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds.

Green Landscaping Cost Savings: Rain Gardens and Bioswales

Rain gardens are increasingly popular features on commercial properties, helping the environment while adding garden appeal to your site.

A rain garden is a shallow depression that’s planted with deep-rooted native plants and grasses. It encourages stormwater to soak slowly into the ground instead of rushing into the nearest storm drain.

The soil of rain gardens filters oil, grease, and other pollutants before slowly releasing the cleaner water into the water table.

Plant one near a water runoff source like a downspout, roof, or driveway and water soaks into the garden rather than gushing straight into the stormwater system.

Installing these gardens are often part of sustainable landscaping costs for commercial properties.

But they also help your budget, by preventing flooding that can cause costly damage to your property.

Bioswales are beneficial in the same ways. They’re landscape elements that provide a path for water to run through slowly, rather than rushing off into a storm sewer or local waterway.

Many local municipalities and state governments offer credits or tax rebates for installing rain gardens and other green infrastructure features. So you can sometimes get them for little to no cost. Your Level Green account manager can help determine if you might be eligible.

One Exception to Green Landscaping Cost Savings: Organic Lawn Care

One sustainable practice that will cost you more is one we don’t recommend: organic lawn care.

Organic lawn care is expensive, especially weed control. It costs

twice as much as more traditional synthetic weed control products and it doesn’t work nearly as well.

A better strategy: partner with a landscaping company that limits the use of chemicals, applying the minimal amount possible to still be effective. Level Green crews use only liquid fertilizer and weed control, which reduces the amount applied.

Meanwhile, focus on lawn care strategies that encourage a thick, healthy lawn that naturally crowds out weeds, including aeration and overseeding; proper irrigation; mowing grass taller and adding beneficial organic material.

Partner with a Proactive Landscaping Company that Prioritizes Sustainability

When your landscaping company cares about the environment and prioritizes proactive ways to protect it, you have a partner that can help you identify green landscaping cost savings for your commercial property and how to phase sustainability features into your plan and your budget.

Here’s how:

Budget Worksheets Help You Plan Sustainability Features

If you want to add sustainability features like native plantings or irrigation upgrades to your property, you’ll need to plan for them in your landscaping budget.

Budget worksheets are a huge help.

Level Green Landscaping account managers prepare annual budget worksheets for clients to help plan their commercial landscaping budgets, including sustainability features.

The worksheets help property managers prioritize services, guiding you in how much you’ll need to spend each year in addition to your regular maintenance contract. Line items are listed for each month throughout the year so you can plan green landscaping cost savings.

Keep in mind that adding water-saving features to your irrigation system or replacing high-maintenance annual flowers with perennials and native plants are expenditures that save you money in the long run.

Make Sure Your Stormwater Ponds Aren’t Risking Costly Fines

If you have a retention basin or stormwater pond on your commercial property that manages runoff, you’re using sustainable landscaping.

But only if it’s working properly. Without skilled maintenance, these ponds can fail, clogged by debris or overgrown plants.

Municipalities want to make sure that doesn’t happen. So, they conduct regular inspections of these ponds. And they’ll fine you if you fail.

Not all landscaping crews are qualified to do the precise upkeep to keep these ponds working properly.

Hire skilled landscaping crews certified by the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council, a non-profit dedicated to conservation landscaping to protect the Chesapeake Bay. They offer training and certification that teaches landscaping professionals how to properly maintain stormwater ponds, preventing damaging runoff from entering waterways like the Chesapeake Bay.

The training brings participants on site to retention and detention ponds and rain gardens, all designed to filter pollution from urban and suburban stormwater to keep pollutants from making their way into the Chesapeake Bay.

Many Level Green team members are certified, and our goal is to have all our managers certified.

It’s a great example of how your concern for the environment and the right landscaping partner work together.

Frequently Asked Questions About Green Landscaping Cost Savings:

Q: Why should I consider sustainable landscaping if my current property is doing fine?

A. There are quite a few benefits you might not have considered:

• Lower operating costs. Sustainable landscaping uses strategies like efficient irrigation and native plants, which reduce your water, fertilizer, and maintenance expenses over time, creating green landscaping cost savings you’ll appreciate.
• Increased property value. Properties that use sustainable landscaping features are often more attractive to buyers and investors. People have come to expect it.
• It attracts and keeps tenants. Sustainability is popular, attracting people to greener, more natural outdoor spaces.
• Smart stormwater management. Sustainable landscaping solutions like rain gardens and permeable pavers reduce runoff and flooding risks.
• It’s good for your brand. Your sustainability efforts boost your property’s reputation with customers, tenants, and the community.
• Easier maintenance over time. Sustainable landscapes typically need less mowing, watering, and chemical treatments once they’re established.
• You might get money back. Your sustainable landscaping might qualify for green landscaping cost savings with rebates or tax incentives.

Q: What’s a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to turf?

A: Add a wildflower or meadow garden.

Planting meadow gardens instead of turf reduces mowing and the use of fertilizer and weed control products. Pollinators love them, so you’re helping the environment.

If you have a sloping hillside, planting a meadow garden will help control erosion.

They’re pretty, too, with lacy pink queen of the prairie; cheerful black-eyed Susan and drifts of butter-yellow coreopsis.

Q: Does planting trees really save energy costs?

A: Yes! Strategically planting trees on your commercial property acts as natural climate control. Planting trees lowers your energy costs by providing natural shade in the summer and blocking cold winds in the winter, reducing the strain on your heating and cooling systems.

Ready for Green Landscaping Cost Savings? Trust Level Green.

Is sustainable landscaping more expensive? Often, it actually saves you money.

We’d love to tell you more.

The sustainability experts at Level Green have you covered, with sustainable commercial landscaping in DC, Maryland, and Virginia that stands out from the rest.

If you’re not already a Level Green Landscaping client, we’d love to add you to our growing list of happy customers. Our focus is on commercial properties like offices, mixed-use sites, HOAs, municipalities and institutions in Maryland, Washington DC and parts of Virginia.

Contact us at 202-544-0968. You can also request a free consultation online to meet with us one-on-one.

We’d love to hear from you.