Going Native: Talking to Your Landscaper with Dominique Biondi of Ecologic

Going Native is our gardening series highlighting the contribution of native plants to building resilient landscapes. MyRye.com will introduce you to native plant experts that will tell you ways to get started with a small garden patch, a complete property or just a few garden containers.

Today we speak with Dominique Biondi of Ecologic.

MyRye.com: Many homeowners in Rye have landscapers that do some or all of the work taking care of their property.

What are three or four things each homeowner could ask their landscaper to do to lower their environmental impact and create a welcoming environment for pollinators and other wildlife?

Biondi: Communication is key. Since crews often rotate, make it a priority to meet the crew leader, and kindly but firmly instruct what services you would like and where (even better if you can walk around and point). 

Consider finding the polite way to say that since these are specific directions, you won’t be able to accommodate multiple “accidents” that might push you to hire elsewhere. All too often, these skipped steps end in upset because the crew was just treating your property in the conventional manner. The best ending note with them is “If you are unsure, leave it and ask me!”

• Don’t do a spring clean up until early April. When the temperatures are reliably around 50° F at night, the creatures have “woken up” by then.
• Cut old flower stalks at various heights, some short, some tall, some not at all. Everyone has a preference on where they like to live!
• Mulch the leaves that fall onto the lawn by driving the mower over them, and blow/rake whole leaves into garden beds and the designated “wild areas.”

Also read: Going Native: Gardening with Ecologic’s Dominique Biondi and our Going Native series.