The body of knowledge focusing on environmental and landscape practices that preserve and enhance our urban environments is growing at an astonishing rate, reflecting the recognition by our society that we can't continue to waste and misuse our resources — our water, our fossil fuels, our soils, etc.
Those of us in the Green Industry (product manufacturers/suppliers, plant producers, landscape architects, designers, contractors) have a special and direct relationship to our urban and suburban environments. In fact, the products we use, the planning we do, the practices we use to install and maintain landscapes as we maintain and grow our businesses and our industry have a huge impact on these ecologies.
The following is a list of information sources that you may find useful in meeting our society's expanding environmental consciousness.
If you can add to the list, please do so for the benefit of all. — Ron Hall
Valuable websites
Professional Landcare Network: landcarenetwork.org
American Nursery & Landscape Association: anla.org
American Society of Landscape Architects: asla.org
Irrigation Association: irrigation.org
American Society of Irrigation Consultants: asic.org
Golf Course Superintendents Society of America: gcsaa.org
U.S. Composting Council: compostingcouncil.org
Sports Turf Managers Association: stma.org
Turfgrass Producers International: turfgrasssod.org
Synthetic Turf Council: syntheticturfcouncil.org
Sustainable Sites Initiative: sustainablesites.org
LEED: usgbc.org/leed
Sustainable Land Development International: sldi.org
Sustainable Horticulture: sustainablehort.com
U.S. EPA WaterSense: epa.gov/WaterSense
U.S. EPA GreenScapes: greenscapes.org
Lawns & the Environment Initiative: lawnsandenvironment.org
Edible landscapes
“The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping, Home Landscaping with Food-Bearing Plants and Resource-Saving Techniques,” by Rosaline Creasy (author) and Marcia Kier-Hawthorne (illustrator), Sierra Book Clubs, 1982
“Edible Flower Garden,” by Rosalind Creasy, Periplus Editions, 1999
“Landscaping with Fruits and Vegetables,” by Fred Hagy, Overlook Hardcover, 2001
“Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally,” by Robert Kourik, Permanent Publications, 2009
Water issues
“Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What to do About It,” by Robert Glennon, Island Press, 2009
“Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters,” by Robert Glennon, Island Press, 2004
“When the Rivers Run Dry,” by Fred Pearce, Beacon Press, 2007
“Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition,” by Marc Reisner, Penguin, 1993
“Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water,” by Maude Barlow, New Press, 2008
“Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource,” by Marq de Villiers, Mariner Books, 2001
Sustainable landscaping
“Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies,” by Owen Dell, ASLA, 2009
“Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors, Second Edition,” by J. William Thompson and Kim Sorvig, Island Press, 2007
“Living Systems: Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture,” by Liat Margolis and Alexander Robinson, Birkhäuser Basel, 2007
“The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals,” by Barbara W. Ellis and Ferm Marshall Bradley, Rodale Books, 1996
“Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses,” by Michael A. Dirr, Stipes Publishing, 1998
“Turfgrass Management (8th Edition),” by A.J. Turgeon, Prentice Hall, 2007
“Landscape Plant Selection, Soil Preparation & Planting,” DVD by A.C. Burke & Company
Landscape water conservation
“New Waterscapes: Planning, Building and Designing with Water,” by Herbert Dreiseitl and Dieter Grau, Birkhäuser Basel, 2005
“Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainability in the Garden and Designed Landscape,” by Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden, Timber Press, 2007
“Design for Water: Rainwater Harvesting, Stormwater Catchment, and Alternate Reuse,” by Heather Kinkade-Levario, New Society Publishers, 2007
“The New Create an Oasis with Greywater: Choosing, Building and Using Greywater Systems-Includes Branched Drains,” by Art Ludwig, Oasis Design, 2006
“Builders Greywater Guide,” by Art Ludwig, Oasis Design, 2006
“Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands,” by Brad Lancaster, Rainsource Press, 2006
“Xeriscape-Appropriate Landscaping to Conserve Water,” DVD by San Luis Video
Green roofs
“Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls,” by Nigel Dunnett and Noel Kingsbury, Timber Press, 2008
“Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction,” by Earth Pledge Foundation, Schiffer Publishing, 2004
“Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide,” by Edmund C. Snodgrass and Lucie L. Snodgrass, Timber Press, 2006
“Green Roof: A Case Study: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates’ Design for the Headquarters of the American Society of Landscape Architects,” by Christian Werthmann, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007
“Roof Gardens: History, Design, and Construction,” Theodore H. Osmundson, W.W. Norton & Company, 1997
“Award Winning Green Roof Designs,” by Steven Peck, Schiffer Publishing, 2008
Healthy soils
“Handbook of Soils for Landscape Architects,” by Robert F. Keefer, Oxford University Press, 2000
“Urban Soil in Landscape Design,” by Phillip J. Craul, Wiley, 1992
“Soil Science and Management (5th Edition),” by Edward Plaster, Delmar Cengage Learning, 2008
“Soils in Our Environment (11th Edition),” by Raymond W. Miller and Duane T. Gardiner, Prentice Hall, 2007
General reading
“Green to Gold, How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage,” by Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston, Yale University Press, 2006
“Smart Green: How to Implement Smart Business Practices and Make Money,” by Johnaton Estes, Wiley, 2009
“Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How it Can Renew America,” by Thomas L. Friedman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008
“Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things,” by Michael Braungart, North Point Press, 2002
4 comments:
Thank you for including my book "Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies." Please correct your listing to show me as the author, not "For Dummies." Thanks so much.
Owen Dell, ASLA
www.owendell.com
PLANET Crystal Ball report #29 Green Industry ECOnomics
Don't forget your state's Extension Service. They have tested, local/regional information and most of their help is free to use. They're a great and often underappreciated part of our community.
You can also get a lot of local sustainable landscaping information from your extension web-sites. For example, in Massachusetts, the UMASS extension services provides the Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forest web-site, http://www.umassgreeninfo.org/. This has a lot of information required to manage eco-friendly landscape solutions.
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