We believe that a strong relationship between people and landscapes is essential for the long-term health of both. Stewardship means actively caring for a landscape—responding to its natural phases, changes, and opportunities for enhancement over time.

At Agrario, we treat your property as if it were our own. We take your goals for the landscape seriously and use them to guide strategies that improve plant success, increase biodiversity, enhance soils, manage erosion and runoff, reduce invasive species, and soften the impacts of development.

Our planting designs and ongoing edits are rooted in observation—drawing inspiration from the structure and function of native meadows, woodlands, wetlands, and other regional ecosystems. Through a detailed ecological analysis of your property, we apply these insights to create landscapes that are beautiful, sustainable, and dynamic.

Our design and management approach is cyclical and adaptive. We consider long-term care during the design phase and continually look for opportunities to refine, edit, and strengthen plant communities as they establish and evolve.

ECOLOGICAL DESIGN 

We use the local ecosystems as our guide for planning our client’s projects. Ecological design combines methods of ecological restoration with contemporary design aesthetics, allowing projects to meet the needs of the client and the environment. Biodiversity, soil health, water quality, and carbon sequestration are all environmental goals of successful ecological design. We believe ecological landscapes should also be aesthetically appealing to draw people to them and encourage a culture centered around stewardship. The best practices we apply are:

Plant Selection and Biodiversity

Our designs almost exclusively utilize plants that would be considered native to the immediate ecosystem or the region. There are times when the use of a non-native plant is best suited for the situation. In these specific cases, the use of these plants is minimal and they are never an invasive species. We select our plants for each site based on sunlight, water and soil requirements, and growth habits. We often use cultivars or select varieties of native plants that have commonly desired characteristics and typically behave better in a garden setting.*

Soil Health

We begin our planting designs with a focus on soil. The existing soil is examined to determine what types of plants will grow best on that site. If it is determined that the soil needs amendments, we use premium compost, organic amendments, and low or no-till methods. The use of native plants can build a better soil ecosystem over time. 

Water Quality

We can use ecological design to address stormwater issues on a site and reduce runoff. Covering the soil with vegetation and improving soil health will ensure that any resulting runoff is clean of excess nutrients or other polluting particles. 

Carbon Sequestration

The majority of the world’s carbon is held in soil. As a means of fighting climate change, we aim to draw carbon down into the soil. This is done through diversifying plantings, improved soil management practices, and reducing runoff. 

Natural Beauty

We understand that there are different design aesthetics appropriate for each project based on a client’s desires. Native plants can be used to create a formal garden as well as a completely naturalized landscape. Throughout our design process, we work to find a balance between the client’s vision and maintaining respect for the natural beauty of individual plants and whole ecosystems. We aim to emulate nature as closely as possible while still creating a landscape that people are craving to be surrounded by.

Management + Maintenance

All ecological landscapes are living and evolving systems. Depending on the design, there will be what is called an establishment period during which plants are beginning to root, grow, and take shape. Our design and installation process always includes a period of management and maintenance visits during the first growing season to ensure things are kicking off how we intend. During these visits we address weed competition, animal damage, and plant failure to make adjustments that support your diverse and functional landscape. Additionally, depending on the type of landscape, there may be required longer term monitoring and management as ecological designs may change from season to season and year to year. The design and installation is only the beginning of the process.