Landscaping at Miller Brooks– A Green Perspective.

The Miller Brooks office building is a registered LEED^® site, and we are making good progress toward LEED certification. The MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) assessment is completed and Luke Leising, AIA, LEED AP, is working up the list of things that need to be addressed.

One of the areas where we’ve actually been ahead of the curve is landscaping—often a neglected aspect in many initiatives (seems ironic, doesn’t it?).

A big issue is trying to keep water that lands on the property (rain and snow) on the property. We have installed bioswales with deep sandpits (replacing the hard clay that’s common in Central Indiana) so that runoff is retained and cleansed. Then, water naturally enters the aquifer—an underground formation that supplies groundwater.

Other water runoff from the parking and roof areas is diverted onto landscaping to be absorbed naturally.

Engledow, our landscaping contractor, has been a big supporter of our green efforts. We’re a lawn watering “free-zone” which means that Engledow has planted trees and shrubs that do not require routine watering to stay healthy.

Engledow is also helping us plant more native plants and grasses that require no watering, stay green all summer and add a wonderful lushness to the grounds overall.

The fertilizer that is applied (on an as-needed basis only) is phosphate-free. And herbicides and pesticides are rarely used, and then only on very specific areas.

What have we learned over the past year or so? Landscaping is a great work-in-progress activity. It’s fun to experiment with different approaches. And sometimes, even when they don’t work (ask about Tom’s weed patch), lessons are learned with little cost involved. Plus, it keeps us thinking how we can continue doing the right thing to make sure our property is not just green, but sustainable.

Here are a few photos that give you a look at some of the things we’ve been doing outside.