Clean water landscaping

Simple activities in the yard and around the home can pollute water. Your landscaping and how you care for it can help or harm the watershed. Here are 10 tips for landscaping to protect the watershed where you live.

1. Plan and plant with care

   • Be aware of the needs and benefits of plant types.
   • Trees and shrubs have good root systems that help prevent erosion.
   • Ground cover needs less water and work than a lawn.
   • Placing plants with similar needs together saves water, work, fertilizer, etc.
     

2. Use native plants in your yard or garden. Use our Native Plant Finder to find the perfect fit for you!

   • Native plants need less water, fertilizer and pesticides than non-native plants.
   • Wildlife prefers native plants, too.
   • Just a few examples of native flowering shrubs:
     • Indian Plum
     • Pacific Ninebark
     • Twinberry
     • Snowberry
     • Oregon Grape
     • Mock Orange
     • Salal

3. Great ground cover

   • Ground covers choke out weeds and prevent erosion.
   • They’re attractive and need little care once they’re established.
   • Avoid landscaping plastic because it prevents water from soaking into the soil, causing runoff and erosion.
     

4. Less lawn, less work

   • Lawns need lots of water and work, fertilizer, weed killer, and so on.
   • Consider more natural land-scaping like trees, shrubs and ground covers.
   • You might have more time to enjoy your beautiful yard.
     

5. Bark dust manners

   • Keep bark dust where it belongs.
   • Avoid using bark dust near paving, ditches, storm drains, and on steep slopes where it’s likely to wash away.
   • Bark dust clogs storm drains and can cause flooding.
     

6. Fertilize nature’s way

   • A compost pile provides a steady supply of fertilizer and mulch.
   • Use only clean organic matter that is free of chemicals.
   • Keep the pile away from ditches, storm drains, and streams.
     

7. Water with restraint

   • Water only as much as the ground can absorb.
   • Water running down your driveway and into the street or ditch is water wasted.
   • Mulch with compost or grass clippings, especially around plants that need lots of water.
     

8. Careful with chemicals

   • Chemicals that kill insects, weeds, moss, and rodents can also injure the plants and animals you want.
   • Use the minimum amounts,
   • follow directions, and apply with care.
   • Keep chemicals, including fertilizer, off pavement so they don’t wash into storm drains and to streams.
     

9. Do you overkill?

   • Use the least toxic methods of pest control.
   • Pull a weed, pick a bug off a leaf.
   • Make sure the pests are still around before using a chemical control.
   • Accept a little plant damage instead of resorting to costly and toxic chemicals.
     

10. Be responsible for proper disposal

    • Buy only the chemicals you can use or share with a neighbor.
    • To dispose of leftovers and the container, follow the package instructions.
    • Call Metro at (503) 234-3000 for disposal advice.