Brought to you by Southern Landscape Group, Inc.

A rain garden is usually a small garden which is designed to withstand the extremes of moisture and concentrations of nutrients, particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus. These two nutrients are found in extremes in stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are sited close to the source of the runoff and serve to slow the stormwater as it travels downhill, giving the stormwater more time to infiltrate and less opportunity to gain momentum and erosive power.

What makes a rain garden is how it gets its water & what happens to that water once it arrives in the garden.

On the surface, a rain garden looks like an attractive and healthy garden. It supports a habitat for birds and butterflies. Rain gardens can be a formal landscape element, or be incorporated into a larger garden as a border or an entryway. What makes a rain garden is how it gets its water and what happens to that water once it appears in the garden.

Below the surface, a number of processes occur which mimic the hydrologic action of a healthy forest. Soils are engineered and appropriate plants selected for the garden. The garden is a small bioretention area in which stormwater is cleaned and reduced in volume. Sediment loads in the stormwater are reduced by the action of the plants and growing media on the water. Multiple rain gardens over an area will have a positive effect on both the volume and quality of stormwater run off.

There are two basic forms of rain gardens — under-drained and self-contained. Each is incorporated to improve stormwater quality, reduce runoff volumes and facilitate infiltration of cleaned water. LEED credits are available for implementation of rain gardens.

To learn more, visit the Southern Landscape Group, Inc. website or give them a call.

Trees and Shrubs.

Lawns can require a staggering amount of upkeep, but to get the perfect turf we’ve come to expect, it takes a lot of lawnmower fuel, fertilizer, lime and time. Lawns also need watering, thatching, and aerating. Depending on how far you want to take it, there are ways’ to reduce a lawn's demands or, possibly replace the lawn altogether. Planting trees and shrubs is definitely a way to make a house more comfortable in the summer and winter.

While it may be easier to build on a clear cut site, it’s hard to find anything that multitasks better than a tree. Trees can block cold winter winds and the hot summer sun, all while making the oxygen we need to breathe. It may be easier to build on a cleared job site than a wooded one. Before the chainsaw is cued up, consider the long term benefits of standing trees. Trees take a long time to reach maturity and when they become large enough to grace a site, they will also be expensive to replace. Trees block the wind and provide shade. Take time to think about how trees or their absence will affect the house when preparing a site for construction and make decisions accordingly. On a hot day it is far more comfortable to rest under the shade of a tree than in the glare of the sun. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that plantings can reduce cooling costs by 25 percent. Trees and shrubs make effective windbreaks when they’re planted (or left standing) some distance from the house, lifting wind up and over buildings. The result can be lower energy consumption and greater comfort. Windbreaks can also control drifting snow and create habitats for birds and animals.

The Initial Design of a Building Plays a Major Role in How "Green" It Will Be

Integrated Building Design & Green Building by Wiley|Wilson

A new building is complex from concept to occupancy. Nothing can have more impact on project success in a green building than the owner, architects, engineers, and builders working together from the onset to establish goals and design/construction strategies.

This integrated team approach allows each to leverage their expertise to create a greater whole. Integrated design can include location, building envelope, general architecture, internal systems, healthy building strategies, and building commissioning. Contractor participation can improve construction efficiency, minimize material waste, and reduce site impacts. Without integrated design, an owner may waste money on an extremely tight and highly insulated shell only to poison the interior environment with toxic finishes or poor HVAC systems.

Enormous amounts of energy and material are wasted during construction and over the life of a building by using conventional approaches. The greatest benefit of integrated design to an owner can be reduced costs throughout the lifecycle of the building — another green advantage. An integrated team approach to the design, incorporating the owner’s goals, the contractor’s expertise, and the knowledge of each discipline of the design team, is the best way to build or renovate a truly green building.

Lynchburg Green Building Initiative Website is now live!

Hello everyone! Jenny - signing on. I am very happy to announce that the Lynchburg Green Building Initiative Website is up and running. Although we still have our fair share of "under construction" links, we aim to have them completed soon. I hope that this blog and the LGBI website will provide pertinent information for all those who view it. Visit us at www.LynchburgGreenBuildingInitiative.com