Use nature to your advantage

The tree offers a beautiful center-piece as well as shade in this yard. [PHOTOS: HOSEA OMOLE/STANDARD]

Kenya: A successful landscape development is one that recognises and works with natural systems. Such a landscape is easier to maintain, is less wasteful and looks more beautiful in the long run.

Nature is more perfect than anything man can ever create.

It recycles everything: water, waste and nutrients back into new life.

It is resilient and is able to withstand and recover from disturbances such as adverse weather, pests and diseases. It adapts perfectly to local conditions of sun, soil and water and never imports a thing.

Yet it manages to remain elegant and inherently beautiful.

Here are some tips to help you make the most out of the natural conditions on your site.

 Fit design to site

Adapt your design to your site and not the other way round. Before you begin, assess the soils, sun exposure, drainage and slope conditions.

Note the existing vegetation with a view to preserve as much of it as possible. Look beyond your own boundaries and take into consideration nearby land uses and sensitive areas such as wetlands and waterways.

When you take all these into account during your planning and design, you produce a much richer master plan to guide you through your development.

If you disregard them, the long term implications may be dire. Mother Nature always wins in the end. A good case in point is the recent floods in the city.

Much of it can be attributed to the runaway development that has been going on without regard for her own storm water drainage strategy.

 Choose the right plants

Select plant varieties that naturally thrive in your site’s conditions (sun, soil and water), the local climate, and that grow well together.

These are usually native plants or plants that come from other areas with similar climates and soil conditions to yours.

Such plants often thrive with less maintenance and provide a habitat for local birds and butterflies.

Another good strategy is to select plants with multiple benefits.

A native tree that can provide fruit, shade and habitat for birds would be an excellent choice.

Also, plan your lawn, only where it is needed and where it will grow without too much fuss such as a spot with light shade, well-drained soils and moderately sloped areas.

Lawns often requires a lot of maintenance and water, so choose other plant groups where turf is not necessary or won’t grow well.

 Go with the flow

Conform to existing drainage patterns as much as possible when designing your site levels and terrain.

This will reduce incidents of flooding and storm water channelling, which increases the speed of flow and discourages percolation.

Also try and minimise impervious surfaces.

You can try porous, interlocking blocks instead of the conventional ‘cabro’ for instance.

You can also use stepping stones in place of solid paths in low traffic areas. Instead of using culverts and concrete channels for drainage, include natural drainage systems to slow and filter storm water as well.

Such systems include bio-retention swales, rain gardens and water detention ponds.

— The writer is a landscape architect