DIY Network

Eco Landscaping From "Desperate Landscapes" episode DDSL-307

This eco-conscious family is desperate to turn their disaster of a front yard into something they can be proud of, but Geoff and Sarah spent all their money on a green rehab of their house. Landscape pro Jason Cameron and the Desperate Landscapes' crew is set to turn a pine-straw covered front yard into an environmentally-friendly landscape — one that will make the neighbors on 8th Street green with envy.

Before: This home looks uninviting with its mostly bare, weedy yard.

After: Landscaping softens the look of the house. Every plant is either native, non-invasive or low-maintenance, making this yard one that an eco-conscious family can be proud of.

advertisement

Before: Visitors have to navigate a junk-filled porch.

After: New planters at the end of the driveway and colorful flowers accent the sparkling clean porch.

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

Channeling the rain

Because the family want their yard to be as environmentally-friendly as possible, they want to avoid using municipal water to take care of the landscape. So the Desperate Landscapes team adds a rain barrel (figure A).

How much rain can you collect with a rain barrel? For every inch of rain that falls on an area of 1,000 square feet, you can expect to collect about 600 gallons of rain water. To figure out how much roof area you're collecting water from, multiple the square footage of your house and add any extensions of eaves or porch roofs.

A rain barrel works best with a standard downspout, but the homeowners wanted a rain chain to match the Arts and Crafts style of their home (figure B).

Constant moisture can ruin the new wood planters, however, so Jason paints the inside of the planters (figure C) with a natural wood treatment that consists of mineral and plant materials.

Page  1 | 2