Regenerative Landscape: Plants with Benefits
Regenerate (to renew/restore/respect)
Keywords: food security, community, Indigenous (native) plants, invasive species,
Let’s take another look at the base plan for the regenerative landscape for reference on the topic of plants with benefits. During this phase of construction, the forested border has been left untouched to provide wildlife habitat and encourage native plants.
The residents chose to install large raised vegetable beds for the family to produce food on-site. This not only enhances food security for the family but also for the surrounding community (due to prolific zucchini and tomato production) by reducing carbon emissions from the transportation of food over long distances. As a result, the local community can gather and share in the locally produced food, which promotes social relationships and strengthens the community ecosystem.
Another feature to showcase at this stage of construction is the informal and natural forested border between the back garden and the city park neighbouring the residential lot. When the homeowners first moved in, the border area and slope into the park were covered with invasive species. The homeowners were shocked to find some of the worst invasive species, including Fallopia japonica (Japanese Knotweed), Daphne laureola (Daphne), Rubus armeniacus (Himalayan blackberry), Ipomoea purpurea (morning glory), Lamium maculatum (spotted dead nettle) and Hedera helix (English ivy). As a result, the residents of the landscape took action to safely remove the invasive species along the slope leading into the forested parkland.
The Regenerative Landscape Design
Reflect
Please use the following questions to guide your reflection:
- Which plants are you most attracted to in your favourite garden?
- What sort of benefits do these plants give you and the surrounding environment?
Additional Resources
Listed general, and then west to east.
| Resource Name | Resource Description | Resource Link |
| Braiding Sweet Grass by Robin Wall-Kimmer | Purchase at your local bookstore | |
| Nature’s Best Hope by David Tallmany | Purchase at your local bookstore | |
| Canadian Council of Invasive Species | The Canadian Council on Invasive Species (CCIS) serves as a national voice and hub to protect Canada from the impacts of invasive species. The website contains free educational resources for the identification and management of invasive plants. | https://canadainvasives.ca/invasive-species/ |
| Invasive Species Centre (Canada) | https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/ | |
| Invasive species reporting (BC) | “Invasive species are plants and animals not naturally found in B.C. that can potentially harm the province’s natural environment or adversely affect people’s health. Report invasive species before they cause harm through the invasive plant database or through the mobile apps”. | https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/invasive-species/reporting-inv