Developed a national sustainable landscape rating system (SITES)

Tuthill Corporate Headquarters Campus. Photo from Conservation Design Forum.

If you’ve heard of green buildings, you’ve likely heard of LEED. Like LEED before it, SITES is set to transform the way landscapes are valued. SITES is a rating system and set of comprehensive guidelines that help landscape developers achieve sustainability – by making choices about ways to use less water, to use native plants, to opt for sustainable materials, to support wildlife and more while developing a site.

Forty-five projects across the country have received certification to date under a pilot program of SITES, which is now available for any landscape project team to use. The pilot landscapes already have collectively saved more than 400 million gallons of drinkable water per year.

SITES was developed by the Wildflower Center in collaboration with the American Society of Landscape Architects and the U.S. Botanic Garden. It was recently purchased by the Green Business Certification Institute, Inc., the very same organization that implements LEED and many other green building rating systems

Keep an eye out for SITES-certified landscape projects near you.

Developed a low water native turf grass

Habiturf lawn at the Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas. Photo by John Clark.

Lawns drink more water than we do. Up to 60 percent of drinkable city water is used to irrigate some 20 million acres of lawns in the U.S.

To turn this trend around, Wildflower Center ecologists created and trademarked a less resource-intense turf grass that is adapted for the southwestern U.S. Composed of four native grasses, this Habiturf mix requires low to no water, and little chemical input and maintenance once established. As a bonus, this native turf that has the small blades and softness of traditional lawns can go dormant during a watering hiatus. And Habiturf supports butterfly and moth caterpillars adapted to eat its blades.

When landscape irrigation accounts for nearly 9 billion gallons every day, it’s a good time to invest in eco-friendly lawn options.