We recently connected with Matthew Fields and have shared our conversation below.
Matthew, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
Buzzwords like sustainable, local, xeric, modern, and low maintenance have been trends in the landscape industry for a while. Amid the COVID pandemic, the landscape industry noticed a significant increase in the demand for landscape needs and improvements. People were interested in creating pollinator gardens or growing backyard produce. But as a Colorado landscape designer for Fields Landscape Design, there are other requests that get asked due to a rapidly depleting river and following a devastatingly destructive fire.
Wildfires will always be a natural aspect of the Colorado ecosystem and environment. It is vital for the restoration of the soils in forests and grasslands as well as the germination of certain plant species such as the lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta. However, humans are occupying these same spaces. On December 30, 2021, numerous people were evacuated during the Marshall Fire while housing developments and personal belongings burned making the disaster the most destructive fire in the state.
In the aftermath of the Marshall Fire, many homeowners were left without homes and landscapes. Simultaneously, Colorado and several other states are battling a critical crisis regarding the Colorado River and the overuse of resources. The Colorado River supplies water to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, nearly 40 million people. People living in Colorado are left wondering how to have fire mitigated landscapes while conserving water and remaining sustainable and aesthetically engaging. How can we work with nature elements and ecosystems around us while still being able to have the “human experience” in our backyards?
Proper fire mitigation sources recommend plantings such as trees and evergreens be placed a minimum of 30’ from a structure. Furthermore, long lines of plantings such as shrubs, grasses, and trees should be avoided. On smaller lots such as those found in most housing developments, this means most homeowners cannot have heavily planted landscape to avoid fire spreading.
These open spaces in the landscape with the purpose of preventing the spread of fire are called fire breaks. Fire breaks can include spans of gravel or rock, patios, concrete, and other hardscape material. Irrigated and well-maintained lawns can function as a fire break due to the residual moisture in the ground around them. However, lawns require excessive water usage in a desperate time where water conservation should be viewed as a perilous threat.
Colorado clients are looking for a low-maintenance, water thrifty, modern aesthetic landscape that attracts pollinators. Occasionally, a client will be an avid gardener, but typically, most clients are typically working professionals who would rather spend time enjoying their landscape and relaxing than maintaining it.
Lawns alone require significant upkeep from regular fertilizing, excessive watering, and continual need for mowing. If human energy is considered in the theoretical equation of energy conservation and sustainability, then one can consider the reduction of lawn and water-loving landscapes to save human energy. In a closed system, when objects work in harmony, then there is less resistance, so less energy is used. The same principle can be applied to water-loving non-native plantings in an arid climate. Equipment and tools like leaf blowers and mowers contribute to the deficit on energy conservation as well.
By removing unnecessary lawn space in landscapes, it opens the possibility for alternative solutions that inspires more sustainable and purposeful uses of space. Using native and xeric plantings and thick layers of mulching will reduce the exposure of bare soil where weeds germinate. Weeds are opportunist and thrive in poor, disturbed soils such as new housing development construction sites. Weeds naturally spread by winds and animals, so creating wind blocks can offer a solution to houses near open space.
Housing developments could preemptively reduce the start and contamination of the weeds by designing open spaces with more native plantings to create these wind blocks. Ideas such as the Miyawaki Method inspire the use of pocket forests as a fantastic opportunity for new developments or rebuilds to incorporate native and denser plantings, thus allowing for humans to become more engaged in their natural environment surrounding them without sacrificing fire safety.
The Miyawaki Method was developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki and uses native plantings and vegetation that are ecologically beneficial to the land. The vegetation used in this method could be established without human influence, thus reducing the human energy element. Pocket forests are small areas, as small as six parking spots, which use the Miyawaki Method to speed up the cycle of a forest. Native plantings are placed with the intention that not all planting may survive. This is expectant because the fallen planting materials provide the surviving plantings, new seedlings, and soil with boosts of nutrients.
Since most fire mitigated landscapes will be sparser, these pocket forests can become communal areas where people can feel engaged with nature. Housing developments can design and form shared areas to recreate the native ecosystems that do well in Colorado. Landscape designers can utilize native plants that grow in the various regions of Colorado, such as the Plains, Foothills, Montane regions to maximize the method.
Using the multiple layers within the landscape adds more than one native planting in an area to encourage a wide variety of materials and foods for pollinators and wildlife. This concept is called matrix planting in which sequential vegetative layers are planted to create a multi-dimensional ecosystem. These areas would integrate groundcovers and various heights of perennials, annuals and biennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees. Each height of planting creates a unique layer. The concept is much like a student learning about the layers of the rainforest; however, this is on a much smaller scale.
The boom of business in the Denver Metro area has led to movement of people from wetter regions. New inhabitants may not realize the importance of water conservation and fire mitigation. Organizations such as Colorado Native Plant Society connect professionals and people together to discuss the latest research in native plants and how they can be used in landscapes. Resource Central in Boulder, Colorado offers a rebate program called Gardens-in-a-Box that encourages the replacement of lawn with xeric or low-water use plantings. The program is remarkably successful and allows people to enjoy more than bluegrass lawns. Local Nurseries have been providing better selections and varieties of native plants for landscape purposes.
In a landscape, elements like clean lines add a modern, contemporary touch. Commonly used in landscapes is Karl Foerster feather reed grass which is a non-native ornamental grass. Using native grasses in lieu of Karl Foerster feather reed grass can benefit the native ecosystem. Fortunately, Colorado has plenty of native and native cultivar grasses that offer a wide range of interest. My personal favorite is Standing Ovation Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Standing Ovation,’ which is impactful and offers seasonal interest by changing color from blue-green in the late spring and turning into red-violet in autumn. The seed heads remain gorgeous throughout the winter, especially when the hoarfrost clings, snuggling in the warm golden morning light, turning each seed head into a “prismic” masterpiece.
The use of negative space can help fire mitigation techniques creatively make landscapes aesthetically appealing and safe. Long, straight lines should be avoided to prevent fires from having a direct line of fuel. Rock mulches can function as a fire break and aid in the use of negative space for modern aesthetics.
Many HOA’s are now regulating the type of mulch used onsite for fire mitigation and preferring homeowners to use gravel or rock mulches. Fortunately, several Colorado native plantings can tolerate and even prefer rock mulches. Rock or gravel mulching at a thickness of 3-4” helps trap water into the soil and protects it from evaporation during sunny days. Since water molecules have the property of adhesion, water molecules would rather be in the soil where the soil particles (0.002mm-2.0mm) are closer together than gravel or rock which we can visually see the space between rocks. A downside to rock mulch is the heat radiation which can increase temperatures around dwellings. Strategically designed, negative spaces in the landscape can highlight the various natural stones native Colorado has to offer.
With wildfires continuing to be a threat to humans, people are concerned of how to properly landscape while considering fire safety. Concurrently, people are requesting landscapes to have pollinator gardens and focus on lawn removal and reduction of water use. The new trend for Colorado landscapes is the modern blending of fire mitigation and water conservation while employing native and xeric plants. The older ways of thinking of landscapes are antiquated. The combination of natural disasters and a water crisis is shaping the contemporary trends and needs in Colorado landscapes. It will be exciting to see the creativity and inspiration as these landscapes mature in the following years.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Gardening and working the land has been in my family for generations; it is even my surname Fields. I used my name to create Fields Landscape Design, LLC as an homage to my love of plants and tending gardens and my family.
My landscape designs feature water conservation with sustainable practices and showcase the multitude of low-water-use and native plantings. Recently, landscapes request has been the need for presenting better practices of fire mitigation. At the end of the design process, each client has a design package they can use for implementation, including soil improvement and mulching suggestions based on the plants used in the design, sprinkler and drip irrigation layouts, lighting plans, hardscaping details, and planting design. Planting designs are a client collaborative process, meaning I work with clients, so they can get the right plants for the right space that they adore.
When I go onto a clients’ site for the initial consultation, I am elated to express the possibility of the landscape. This is an opportunity for the client and I to connect and form a relationship. We will walk around the landscape and discuss the possibilities and landscape goals. If the consultation is for garden coaching, we walk and discuss how the landscape can be best maintained and fostered with the best intent for plants and sustainability.
Education is a significant principle behind Fields Landscape Design. Not all clients may be acquainted with Colorado native plants, so being able to familiarize clients with the colorful and interesting plantings gives me a sense of purpose. Each time a client says they are more engaged with their landscape, I feel proud. Additionally, when a client says they always see something of interest throughout the seasons, such as multiple seasonal flowering, wind movement of grasses, or wildlife perching on a boulder, I feel my design is effective.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My primary mission at Fields Landscape Design is to offer sustainable and native alternatives for common landscape plants to Colorado landscapes. Every landscape design focuses on water conservation while providing beautiful landscapes for our clients to enjoy for several seasons.
In Colorado, water conservation is grave, so rethinking and educating how landscapes are designed is imperative. Education starts with being current with the latest research in native plants and how best to maintain and cultivate them in a landscaped environment. Landscapes can show reverence for the Colorado River and still showcase the colorful Colorado plants.
Likewise, local wildlife and pollinators can use native plants for food and nesting materials. Landscapes can engage more of the natural world around and bring humans and nature together.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
As more research, information, and availability of native plants becomes accessible, the landscape industry is seeing how these plants can be used. When starting my landscape design trek, it would have been very helpful to have more native plants already existing in landscapes. People would then be more accustomed to the plants like they would a hydrangea or tulip.
At Front Range Community College, the horticulture department was exceptional at offering a survey of sustainability and landscape design courses. The classes offered a glimpse of native and low-water-use plants, but the landscape industry is slow to change.
Resources like the Colorado State University Extension Office offer help and information for inquisitive people. The Colorado Native Plant Society and Denver Botanical Gardens are immense resources for native plants and host webinars, seminars, and classes. One can even go to their plant sales which are a blast to attend.
However, part of the enjoyment from specializing in native and low-water-use plants, is the opportunity to introduce and educate clients about the wonderful plants of Colorado or other colorful, remarkable, xeric plantings.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.FieldsLandscapeDesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldslandscapedesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FieldsLandscapeDesign/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-fields-294226113/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FieldsLandscape
Image Credits
Fields Landscape Design LLC