Homeowner Pollution Prevention in Landscapes and Gardens

There are at least 1 million acres of lawn and landscape in Georgia with a large percentage of that land being under the care and control of homeowners. The average annual expenditure by Georgia homeowners on their landscapes is about $400. From these numbers, we can see that homeowners love their yards, landscapes, and gardens, and work hard to make their landscapes something desirable. The Environmental Horticulture AgP2 program provides resources and information on research-based best management practices for home landscapes that are simple, straight-forward and economical.

The key to preventing water pollution with landscapes is to limit the amount of water that runs off of the landscape area and preventing pollutants from getting into the runoff or groundwater below a landscape. Everyone’s yard or landscape is a part of a watershed. A watershed is the area of land that contributes water to a waterbody. A landscape does not have to be adjacent to a stream or lake to contribute water and therefore pollutants to that waterbody. Pollutants can enter a waterbody from runoff from the landscape or through water that has infiltrated into the soil. In many places in Georgia, chemicals that move with water into the soil can impact groundwater beneath the landscape.

Green waste such as grass clippings and brush should be recycled in the landscape. Proper use, handling and disposal of chemicals and containers used outdoors is another way to prevent pollution.

A home landscape can either be a place where pollutants are added to the environment or a place where a healthy environment is enhanced and unharmed by pollutants. The homeowner or their landscape managers make the choices that determine which way their landscape will be connected and contribute to the surrounding environment.

There are many specialists and professionals in Georgia equipped to help homeowners with design or renovation of their landscapes. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, there is lots of information from the Georgia Cooperative Extension Service (GCES) publications that can help. Those publications will be found listed under “ Homeowner References” in the “Resources” page of this Environmental Horticulture AgP2 section.

Other valuable websites to link to for home landscape pollution prevention information are:

Research and Education Garden in Griffin

Center for Urban Agriculture

H2OUSE.org Landscaping Tour