Life Cycle
Plants are living breathing organisms. All living organisms go through life stages. Plants germinate, grow, develop and decline. During this process they establish, flourish and eventually decline. So why are we so surprised when plants die? As stewards of our environment, it's important that we replace the plants with material that is sustainable, efficient and aesthetically pleasing.Sustainability in a broad sense, is the capacity of maintaining a certain process or state. An example of a sustainable plant would be an appropriate material that is allowed to grow to maturity with minimum maintenance.
Efficiency is much the same- an efficient planting will allow for minimal maintenance, water and fertilizer. Efficient landscapes allow for reallocation of resources.
Aesthetics -There is no perfect palette for every situation. So here is a list of question to ask when considering removing material:
1. In what way will the property be effected by removing this material? Will this removal add or subtract value?
2. What grade would you give the quality of the material? A, B or C ?
3. What life cycle stage is this material in. Improving or Declining. If declining, what is your plan for replacement. Give a grade for the declining material and create a list of plants that fall in to "A" material.
Establishment-
Now you have made great decisions on removals and replacements. What's next? Make sure the contractor is attending to the new material. New plantings require TLC up front.
