Louisiana Yards and
Neighborhoods
Planning Your
Louisiana-friendly Yard
www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn
About the LY&N Program
• The goal is to encourage homeowners to
create and maintain landscapes in ways that
minimize environmental damage/impact
through educational programs and outreach
activities.
• Implemented through parish LSU AgCenter
Extension agents with the support of LSU
AgCenter Louisiana Master Gardener
volunteers.
7 interrelated principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Right plant, right place
Water efficiently
Maximize mulch and recycle yard waste
Fertilize appropriately
Manage yard pests
Protect surface waters and wetlands
Provide for beneficial wildlife habitat
Using the Handbook
• It is organized into 2 sections:
1. Background information; also covered in
this training session.
2. Detailed descriptions of the 7 basic LY&N
principles.
From Yard to Waterway
• Rain that falls on yards, roads and parking
lots can wash into waterways or leach into
groundwater, carrying pollutants.
• In particular, improperly applied fertilizers
and pesticides from urban and suburban
residential areas can play a role in polluting
Louisiana’s waters.
The ideal Louisiana-Friendly Yard should
reflect the beauty of natural habitats and
ecosystems in our state.
To be effective, landscapes should be
created and maintained by practices that
have a low impact on the environment,
such as –
•
Cooperate with pre-existing natural
conditions instead of altering them or
changing them to suit the desires of the
gardener or needs of plants not suited for
those conditions.
•
Conserve water and energy.
•
Use more native species, like Louisiana
irises. And plant native and non-native
plants that require minimal water, fertilizers
and pesticides in the right growing
conditions.
Louisiana Irises
Iris spp. and hybrids
• About 2’ to 5’
• Very showy colorful flowers
March through April
• Tolerant of standing water
or drier conditions
• Active growth fall through
spring
• Spreads slowly by rhizome
• Choose plants that are appropriate and
attractive but also provide environmental
benefits, such as food for wildlife.
• Tolerate some pest damage in the
landscape and focus on gardening
techniques that reduce pest problems.
Use pesticides only when necessary,
follow label directions and choose the
least toxic products that will do the job.
Creating Louisiana-Friendly Yards
When designing a landscape more in harmony
with the environment, you should consider:
1. Your family’s needs and desires.
2. The conditions of your site.
3. Maintaining a healthy environment.
Proper Planning Is Critical
• Selecting the style
– Guides the esthetic aspects of the design
– Should be influenced by the architecture
of the house
• For the LY&N program, informal, naturalistic
or ecological (appropriate for Louisiana)
styles would be most appropriate. Avoid
formal styles because they increase
maintenance.
Naturalistic/Ecological
• Use of native plants and well-adapted
introduced plants in a setting that duplicates
naturalistic settings, such as woodlands,
meadows, ponds, bogs, etc.
• Uses natural settings as an example to
follow.
Informal
• Relaxed style that makes use of graceful
curving lines and naturalistic shapes.
• Plants are allowed to develop more natural
forms.
• Lower maintenance.
• Casual building materials and styles.
Formal
• Straight lines and strict geometric shapes.
• Plants clipped and pruned into architectural
geometric shapes.
• Symmetry.
• Crisp, formal building materials such as
milled, painted wood, brick, flagstones, etc.
• Higher maintenance.
Landscape Design
Landscape design combines art and science to
create a functional, aesthetically pleasing and
ecologically sound landscape that meets the
needs of the family and complements the home
and other structures.
Elements of art, such as color, form, line and
texture, interact with design principles of unity,
balance, simplicity and focus.
Decide what your landscape should
provide for your family’s needs, and
include those in the plan.
• Examples of needs include:
– Play area
– Shade
– Privacy
– Flowers/color
– Outdoor living: patio, deck
– Utility/work area, compost
– Look at what you need; it will be different for each
family
In the LY&N program, other needs
might include:
• Habitat for wildlife
• Food for wildlife
• Water for wildlife
• Minimal maintenance
• Reduced water runoff
SOIL
The foundation of healthy plants
Improving the soil
• Organic matter
– Compost, aged manure, leaf mold,
composted pine bark, soil conditioner
• Sand
• Fertilizer
• Lime
• Soil test
• Plants adapted to the type of soil you have
Deciding which plants to keep when
redesigning an existing landscape.
• You do not have to leave a plant in a
landscape simply because it is there.
• But you should consider very carefully
before removing plants, particularly trees
and shrubs.
• If you decide to make changes or redesign
your landscape, it’s important to determine
what you will keep and what will be
removed/replaced. Here are some guidelines.
Keep healthy plants that show good
form and are in desirable locations.
Prune overgrown trees and shrubs if
necessary to make them more
suitable for the new landscape.
When developing a lot with existing
trees:
Retain trees with long life spans, such as
live oaks, Southern magnolia and
baldcypress.
Mature short-lived trees are less
desirable, such as water oaks, silver
maple and flowering pears.
Also, when developing a wooded lot,
save clusters of trees and the plants
growing beneath them rather than
individual trees.
Clusters of trees are more resistant to
high winds and are usually more
attractive.
Avoid damaging trees during
construction.
Proper Tree Planting
Look Up
• Check for overhead wires, power lines,
security lights and buildings that a tree could
interfere with as it grows larger.
• You must anticipate the MATURE SIZE of the
tree when choosing a species and deciding
on a spot for it in the landscape.
• Dig the hole.
• Find the root flare.
• Place the tree into the hole.
• Fill the planting hole with backfill soil.
• Generously water the tree in.
• Mulch around the tree.
• Stake the tree, if necessary.
Watering New Trees
• Most critical the first summer after planting.
• Water 2 to 3 times a week during hot, dry
weather (consider rainfall).
• At each watering, apply about 1-2 gallons of
water per inch of trunk diameter directly to
the root ball. Add water slowly so that it
seeps into the root ball.
• Watch for drought stress symptoms, such as
wilting, scorched leaf edges, poor color and
leaf drop.
Hire Reputable Professionals
• Must be licensed by the state
– Horticulture license
– Landscape contractors license
– Landscape architect license
– Commercial pesticide applicators license,
category 3 ornamentals and turf
Louisiana Yards and
Neighborhoods
Planning Your
Louisiana-friendly Yard
www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn