Question 1

What is ecological land stewardship?

Accepted Answer

Ecological landscaping is a nature-friendly approach to creating outdoor spaces. Instead of fighting against natural processes, we work with them to create gardens and landscapes that thrive naturally. Think of it as designing with nature as your partner!

Our approach creates beautiful spaces that serve multiple purposes. Your garden becomes a haven for local birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, while also providing you with fresh herbs, fruits, or vegetables if you wish. We carefully choose plants that naturally grow well in our climate, which means they need less water and care to stay healthy. As the seasons change, your landscape transforms - offering different colors, textures, and wildlife activity throughout the year.

The best part? These landscapes actually become easier to maintain over time. As soil health improves naturally (without chemical fertilizers), and as plants establish strong root systems, the garden starts to take care of itself. We focus on creating healthy soil through natural processes like composting and mulching, which leads to stronger, more resilient plants.

Most importantly, we believe humans and nature can thrive together. Your outdoor space becomes more than just a garden - it's a place where you can connect with nature, grow healthy food, find peaceful moments, and create lasting memories with family and friends. Whether you're enjoying the buzz of pollinators in spring, harvesting fresh eggs or adding food waste into your own backyard compost, ecological land stewardship helps you feel more connected to the natural world right in your own backyard.

Question 2

How much upkeep can I expect out of an ecological landscape?

Accepted Answer

Ecological landscapes take time to develop. Not only are we building the soil over many years to create a more resilient ecosystem, but we are letting nature work at her own rhythm—rather than forcing our own expectations onto the landscape.

That said, upkeep will depend on a number of factors: your aesthetic preferences, how often you’re watering, the size of your property, as well as the types of elements present or are added into your ecosystem. Leaving things a little more “wild” is better for nature, while watering less frequently--but deeply when you do-- slows growth but encourages better root development over time.

These landscapes do require less “maintenance” over time, but this often requires a bit of retraining to our stewards-in-training (that’s you!) to learn how to steward your property in a way that is sustainable and regenerative for the earth.

Question 3

Do you use native plants?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we prioritize native plants in our designs as they are adapted to local conditions, support local wildlife, and typically require less maintenance and water once established. We will especially tailor this type of planting for those who are pursuing their Backyard Habitat Certification.

Additionally, we often incorporate plants that serve multiple purposes - not only supporting local ecology but also providing edible fruits, nuts, and berries, as well as plants traditionally used for their medicinal properties. This approach creates landscapes that are both environmentally beneficial and productive for human use. Many times these are native, and at times we bring in plant species known for their resiliency in face of our changing climate.

Question 4

Are your practices organic and sustainable?

Accepted Answer

Yes! As much as we can be.

We don't use pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, and we generally practice no-till methods (when applicable). We strive to use practices that encourage the natural development of healthy, diverse soil. We sheet mulch and never use plastic barriers or weed fabric in our projects.

We reduce, reuse and recycle. All of our mulch, soil and compost comes from local sources, which allows us to buy in bulk and skip plastic bags almost entirely. Much of our mulch and logs even come from free sources like local arborists! We repurpose what is found on site, whether in the client’s design or on another property if something needs a new home.

All of our pots are returned to our suppliers to be reused for future plantings. Debris waste is placed into the client’s debris bin and heavier loads are returned to local processing facilities, while when possible we leave leaf debris in beds to benefit healthy soil development.

We use natives, medicinals and edibles over ornamentals. While we’re not wholly against ornamentals, we value plants that serve as many purposes as possible. Natives are especially apt at providing abundant habitat and food sources for local native wildlife, and are often quite hardy, versatile and drought resistant. Medicinal and edible plant varieties support a landscape that can be used to support the humans that live near these spaces, especially in times of great need. This type of land stewardship considers the well-being of future generations of humans and more than human beings.

We believe in people and earth over profit. This is why we are a for-benefit company, as it is important to us to return a portion of our profits back to the community. Learn more about this here. (https://www.urbanvillagedesigns.com/forbenefitcompany)All of our contractors and the majority of our suppliers are small businesses owned and run by people in our community.

Question 5

How long does it take for a new ecological landscape to become more self-sustaining?

Accepted Answer

An ecological landscape takes several years to mature into a regenerative, self-sustaining system. To see this type of landscape in its full glory typically takes 5-10 years. This timeline reflects nature's own rhythms and processes, influenced by various factors. The soil needs time to develop strong, complex webs of microorganisms that work in symbiosis with plant root systems. As time passes, plant communities support and strengthen one another.

But stewardship with the land is a life-long journey. When we install a permaculture landscape, we’re planting the seeds of resiliency both in the landscape and within you—the land’s long term steward! Folks who are apt to throw fertilizer or insecticide onto their plants, for instance, may find their landscape never really develops into a self sustaining landscape.

It often takes just as much time to tend to the landscape over the years as it does to reeducate participants so that they can slow down and recognize the impact of their actions. A dog trainer doesn’t nearly train a dog—it has to retrain the entire family in order to help reinforce those behaviors. Similarly, moving towards regenerative practices in your landscape and seeing them take hold requires a behavioral shift from not only the land, but from it’s caretakers.

Think of it as building a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship with your landscape rather than simply installing a garden. Each year brings new discoveries and changes as the ecosystem evolves. While you'll see improvements within the first year, the most remarkable transformations occur as both you and the landscape grow together. Our hope is that your landscape will serve as a profound teacher, supporting the development of your ecological awareness as you mature into your own expression of sustainable living in the urban environment.

Question 6

How long does the design process take and what’s included?

Accepted Answer

Living Landscape Design: Our design timeline typically takes 3 months from initial consultation to final design presentation, varying based on project complexity. This allows us to thoroughly understand you and your landscape (though as ecological stewards, we highly recommend observing through a full growing season before making changes—which is why we're currently designing our Ecological Design & Stewardship Journey--a 9 month design experience. If this is of interest to you, please get in touch!).

Our Living Landscape Design package includes multiple meetings (minimum of 3) and opportunities for input from all family members (our design activities are kiddo approved)! The final design package includes multi-layered hand-drawn designs (PDF and printed materials), plant lists, educational resources and installation details—including estimate costs and DIY suggestions. If you have children, we’ll also include nature play ideas and curriculum related to your landscape.

Learn more about our Living Landscape Design package.(https://www.urbanvillagedesigns.com/design)

Question 7

How much do you charge for a design?

Accepted Answer

Design prices are very specific to your landscape size, as well as the type of features you hope to have included. The average price for a full design is about $3000.

50% of the design is due up front, and the remaining cost is paid for in installments as the design is completed.

Additionally, if you are interested in on-going Land Stewardship and you get on a monthly plan, we can work in design, installation and education hours into these plans to develop a site slowly. We love creating packages like this! Inquire if this is of interest.

Question 8

What makes your Living Landscape Design different?

Accepted Answer

Our Living Landscape Design is tailored to you. We don’t put a minimum on how many meetings are included—if something comes up, we get in touch as we value your input and want to see that integrated into the final design. We’re flexible—sometimes we meet in person and, at other times, we meet remotely. We’re also highly communicative via text and email, so you’re always in the loop.

We work with the whole family or community. We implement hands-on activities that get you and those around you thinking in a new way about what your landscape might offer. These are fun and educational! Our landscapes are meant to increase human engagement with nature, restoring not only ecological health, but human health, too!

We truly care about sustainability. With a Master's of Science in Sustainability Education, Drake brings a holistic understanding of this field into our work. This expertise shapes everything we do—from creating regenerative landscape systems and building healthy soil for long-term success, to offering hands-on DIY installation options that better work with your budget while getting you more involved in your landscape’s development, as well as highlighting installation procedures that work in harmony with the seasons. We also include material suggestions that are natural, repurposed and often use what is already on site.

Our Designs are a Living Document. We spend extensive time in the field and around your home to truly understand your landscape as the design progresses. Our final hand-drawn designs, as well as the detailed resource guide we create for your property, reflect this intimate knowledge and prepare you for years of exciting landscape stewardship as you continue to develop your hands-on education. The final product offers flexible plans with generalized placement and plant options that can adapt based on availability and budget when you're ready to install—recognizing that these things can and will likely change.

Question 9

What is involved in ongoing Land Stewardship (Maintenance)?

Accepted Answer

Stewardship includes regular maintenance tailored to your landscape's needs, such as pruning, weeding, mulching, and seasonal clean-ups. We focus on maintaining ecological health while keeping your space beautiful and functional.

We also tailor each site's care to your unique needs. On top of general care, we can adjust weekly agreed upon hours to include design, installation and education along the way, too! Please get in touch if this is of interest!

Question 10

How much is Land Stewardship?

Accepted Answer

We charge $60 per hour, per person, plus material, delivery and removal fees as needed. We have a minimum of four hours per month, which can be done in one visit, or two separate visits, depending on site needs as the season progresses.
These hours may need to be temporarily increased, for instance during times of year when we bring in mulch or compost, which will be communicated and approved by you ahead of time.

Question 11

How do I get started?

Accepted Answer

Begin by filling out the contact form on our website.(https://www.urbanvillagedesigns.com/contactus) Once submitted, we’ll be in touch within a few days to talk about next steps, get your consultation fee paid for and set a date on the calendar for one or both of us to meet with you.

Question 12

How much is the consultation fee?

Accepted Answer

General consultations rates $60/hr.

Consultations + estimates for one time clean-ups and those interested in on-going stewardship (maintenance) are $60.00.

Consultations + estimates for design and project implementations are $150.

By thoroughly filling out our contact form, we will determine if we're a good fit for your project before sending you a link for a consultation payment to get scheduled. If we determine we may not be a good fit, its outside of our scope or we don't have availability, we will do our best to refer you to one of our community partners.

Frequently Asked Questions