MELA's Questions to Ask Your Landscape Professional

These questions were put together by members of the Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association as a guide for the public. They can help you get responsible, green-oriented design, installation and yard maintenance

During a Hiring Interview

•  Do you do a soil test?

•  Do you believe in using "green-best-practices" when designing a landscape? If you're not an installer, can you recommend one who shares your philosophy?

•  How do you reconcile aesthetics and the green approach? What drives your design process?

•  Do you use regionally appropriate plants? What kind? Why?

•  How do you decide which plants to group together? Do you use plant communities?

•  Is low water consumption a priority? Do you have information about rain barrels and rain gardens? Do you recommend an irrigation system? What kind?

•  When do you think that it is appropriate to use herbicides and pesticides? Do you practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM) or Plant Health Care (PHC)?

•  Will you teach me about my garden as you install it so that I can maintain it properly?

•  Will my garden be A low maintenance @ ? What does that mean to you?

•  When does your design call for the garden to be mature? When will it need renovation?

During the Design/Installation Process

•  Do you use herbicides to remove existing plants in the landscape? If not, how do you do it?

•  What will you do with the plants and soil that you remove from my garden?

•  What soil preparation do you recommend? Mulch? Soil amendments? Compost? Compost tea?

•  Are you using plants that will self-seed? Will I need to weed the garden frequently?

•  What will you do with your discarded plant containers?

•  What kind of fertilizer do you use? Why? How often is it applied?

•  What treatments will you use for insects or diseases? Before you treat, will you give me a list of substances you plan to use?

•  How do you decide when to prune trees and shrubs? Do you use a certified arborist?

Lawns

•  For new lawns, what type of turfgrass do you recommend? Why? Seed or sod?

•  What do you consider a tolerable number of weeds in a lawn? What kind of weeds? Do you consider clover a weed?

•  How high do you cut the lawn? Do you use mulching blades or remove the grass clippings? If the latter, what do you do with them?

•  Can I adjust how often the lawn is mowed?

•  Do you aerate and apply compost to the lawn?