Congratulations on assembling your Green Team – and on deciding to bring sustainable landscaping to your community! This guide will help you navigate the project – and so will your planning partners. Let’s meet them first.
Meet Your Partners
Lauren Hubbard
Lauren Hubbard works with property owners and organizations to provide sustainable landscaping services including design, coaching, and installation. Lauren is on the board of the Maryland Native Plant Society where she focuses her effort on habitat protection and the preservation of genetic diversity in our native plant populations. Lauren holds a Ph.D. in Plant Biology; she is a certified Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional and a Weed Warrior Supervisor. Lauren will be helping you via her ecological landscaping business, Native By Design.
The Muddy Branch Alliance
The Muddy Branch Alliance is your local watershed protection organization. Our vision is for the surrounding streams, lakes, forests and parks to be teeming with life, safe for families, pets and wildlife to enjoy and to have a community connected to preserving the area’s intrinsic beauty. We’re here to connect you with the resources you need to beautify and protect the watershed we share!
The Chesapeake Bay Trust
The Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT) awards grant funding for hands-on projects that help to make the Chesapeake Bay cleaner, greener, and healthier. The Trust funded the original project that led to the creation of this guide, and it’s very likely that they will fund your landscaping project. Lauren can assist you with the application process.
Step 1: Introduction to Sustainable Landscaping and Site Consultation
You’ve already made important progress by assembling your Green Team and deciding to landscape your community with native plants! To really set things in motion, you will want to kick off the project with two important steps: an introduction session, and an initial site consultation.
In the introduction session, Lauren will meet with you via Zoom to provide key background information that will support the success of your project. The introduction session will cover how sustainable landscaping works, what types of landscaping options you can consider, and how to choose a location for your sustainable landscaping.
In the initial site consultation, Lauren will meet with you in person to answer three critical questions.
First, where will your new garden be located? A good location…
- Offers opportunities to address existing problems with runoff and erosion.
- Is accessible for maintenance.
- Is visible for enjoyment and impact.
Second, how will the garden be maintained? Consider…
- Who will do the work?
- Will the workers be paid or volunteers?
- How will you organize volunteers or fund wages?
- Is there access to water for installation and the first couple of years during establishment?
Third, how will the project installation be funded?
- If you are planning to apply for a grant, review the grant application and requirements and determine who in your organization is able to write the grant application.
- Costs vary greatly depending on the project design. You can estimate an initial ballpark figure with this resource from Montgomery County Rainscapes.
To get started, contact Lauren by emailing [email protected].
Step Two: Build Your Team
Once you’ve decided on the garden location and made preliminary plans for maintenance, it’s time to build your team.
Your grant application will need to include a letter of support from the Board of the Homeowners’ Association (HOA).
Begin by getting buy-in from your HOA Board. Present the location for the sustainable landscaping project and explain why that location was chosen.
Once you have approval from your Board, you’re ready to start the process of securing funding from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Lauren will help you contact the Trust to schedule a site review. The site review meeting may be either in-person or virtual, depending on the availability of the grant officers.
You may be relying upon members of your HOA as volunteers to help with grant writing, outreach, project maintenance, and general support for the project. Reach out to the community to involve them in the planning process and get more helpers on board.
Step Three: Creating the Design
The pieces of the project are coming together! With all the key partners now engaged, it’s time to start creating tangible plans for the project. If the project involves permeable pavers or other hardscaping or extensive regrading, Lauren will help you find a reputable contractor to work on that type of project. If your project involves conservation landscaping, a rain garden, and/or a rain barrel, Lauren will create a draft plan showing what it might look like.
The draft plan will show the size and shape of the garden, and it will list the plant species suggested for your garden.
Based on your comments on the draft plan, Lauren will then create a final design. The final design will include everything you need to bring your project to life! You’ll receive:
- A scale drawing of the planting area
- The drawing will indicate the square footage of the garden as well as the drainage area
- The drawing will show how plant species are distributed in the garden
- A list of plant species, including common name, Latin name, abbreviation, number of individual plants, pot sizes, and recommended spacing
- An analysis of the existing soil type, if necessary
- Calculations for the amount of compost and mulch needed to initially plant the garden
- Calculations of the nutrients and sediment that your garden will keep out of waterways
- An example maintenance plan, which you can use to create a plan specific to your garden
- Examples of informational signs, which you can use as a starting point for designing your own
Step Four: Bringing It All Together
You’re almost there! At this stage of the process, Lauren will help you work with your HOA Board to secure final approval for the project. This may include presentations and community conversations, which can happen in-person or virtually, depending on the space and technology available.
With a final design plan and the support of your community, you’re ready to plan for the installation of your garden. Lauren will help you contact landscaping partners who can turn your design into on-the-ground reality.
Step Five: Secure Funding
Funding options include self-funding by the HOA or a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. If you will be applying for a grant, having match funding from your HOA will make your application stronger. Examples of match funding include cash, maintenance provided by the HOA, use of facilities during outreach events, etc.
There are resources on the CBT website to help you write the grant application. Your application package will include all the components mentioned above, plus information on the makeup of your community. In addition, for a competitive grant application, you will want to get three estimates from installation contractors.
CBT grants can fund community outreach, so in this step of the process, you will want to consider whether outreach will be part of your project. Think about what type of outreach you could offer and what that would cost. Reach out to the Chesapeake Bay Trust with your ideas, get feedback, and ask Lauren for advice. Outreach can include signage, hands-on planting events, workshops, film screenings, and more. You may need contractors to help you with outreach; if so, you will need to know what they will be doing and the associated costs.
As you plan your grant-writing timeline, remember the Trust’s application deadlines are usually in August. The City of Gaithersburg has offered to review grant applications in advance (for projects where the City is also a funding partner). The City will have a representative on the CBT’s grant review panel, so having this early review is a real advantage in strengthening your application. Plan to have your draft application ready for review several weeks in advance of the grant deadline to allow for this additional step.
From pulling together the pieces to accounting for feedback from the City, expect the grant-writing process to take a substantial amount of time! Be sure to organize your team, start early, and keep an eye on your timeline.
You can expect a decision on your grant application in the winter, in time to plan for installation the following spring, when you can expect a new native plant garden to take shape in your community.
Congratulations on your successful sustainable landscaping project. Your partners can’t wait to celebrate the grand opening with you!
Resources
Landscaping With Native Plants by the Maryland Native Plant Society – This 12-page booklet will help you understand why it is important to choose native plants and lists plants that are suitable for use in landscaping projects.
Timeline
CBT grant applications are usually due in August. This timeline will help you plan your project so you’re ready to apply for funding when the grant window opens. If you will be self-funding your project, the sequence of steps and their relative timing is mostly the same, but the time of year when you complete each step is less important.
Year 1
Spring
- Introduction session
- Site consultation
- Engage allies
- Begin design discussions
- Familiarize your team with the grant application and process
Early Summer
- Finalize design
- Engage with installation contractors
- Determine outreach strategies (if applying for outreach)
- Begin drafting your grant application
Mid-summer
- Get installation estimates
- Refine your grant application
Late Summer
- Grant application due
Winter
- Grant awardees announced
Year 2
Winter
- Plan for installation with installation contractor
Spring
- Install project
Ongoing
Maintain your project! Maintenance needs are higher during the initial establishment of the garden. Usually the time required for maintenance drops off significantly within the first couple of months.
Ready to get started? Contact Lauren by emailing [email protected].
Learn about sustainable landscaping projects
in the form of a video.
Learn about resources for HOA Green Teams
in the form of a printable brochure.