Middlebrook Proving Grounds for Ecological Landscaping

"Everything connects with everything. The Indians were very wise and had lived without conflict with the land for 10,000 years. We can't manage it for a year!" notes Alrie Middlebrook, founder of Middlebrook Gardens.

Ecological Gardening Precepts

"Living lightly on the earth" is the heart of ecological gardening and landscaping. By working within the natural resources system, the balance of plants, soil, local weather, and wildlife is preserved in choices of plants and structure of the landscaping.

There are real benefits to ecological landscaping.

• ECOLOGICAL: lawn is a monoculture and is useless to nature. Nature wants diversity -- that's why weeds swoosh in! Nature wants a community of plants. Birds think of lawn like concrete -- there's no food there.
• AESTHETICS: Nature as we know it is beautiful. Nature unaltered by human beings is what we long for. Nature reduces stress and provides rejuvenation.
• ECONOMICS: Once you plant it, you have a two-year establishment period, then you shut your water off completely in most of California. If your landscape is not a natural habitat you continually slake its thirst!
• ETHICS: If we're going to take what Al Gore says seriously, we need to look at our behaviors and choices seriously. We need to change how we make our choices. Ethics is about making choices with enlightened self interest.

Read the complete feature story about Alrie Middlebrook's innovative approach to "ecological landscaping".