BELLPORT LAWN RECLAMATION

WORK IN PROGRESS

What is happening here?

The Bellport Garden is a proposal by Dimastery Studio to reconnect the suburban front yard to the larger ecosystem of plants, pollinators, and animals—including humans. Our goal is to create a garden that is as equally functional to wildlife as it is handsome.

With a foundation of native species, we have reimagined the Long Island landscape through a Mediterranean lens, with the water-wise gardens of the south of Spain as our inspiration.

We invite visitors to engage with the landscape in new ways, and hopefully transport them to an exotic place in their own neighborhood.

How was this accomplished?

After removing the existing turf piece by piece, we designed a garden that would thrive within the restraints of the inherent site conditions, instead of working against them. The nutrient-poor and rapidly draining sandy soil demands that plants grow without additional fertilizer and withstand long periods of drought.

We selected plants with qualities that made them both beautiful and uniquely suited to the environment. Silvery foliage reflects and scatters sunlight. Fleshy succulent leaves allow plants to retain water over long periods. Waxy leaves are able to withstand salt spray. Dark purple foliage absorbs excess sun. Prolific flowers attract bees and butterflies. Native, fragrant, or prickly plants are less appealing as food to deer and rabbits.

The aim of the planting plan was to create a harmonious balance in the absence of a traditional lawn and foundation planting.

Why replace the conventional lawn?

Lawns offer some desirable qualities: simplicity, durability for sport and play, ease of establishment. It is no wonder that they enjoy widespread favor - approximately 40 million acres of land is covered by lawn in the United States. But despite their popularity and minor carbon sinks, lawns also come with serious ecological costs: high water use, chemical inputs and limited habitat value. For this project, we’ve chosen to reduce the footprint of the lawn entirely in the front yard and reserved a small area in the backyard for recreation - balancing function with a more ecologically beneficial design.

The typical maintenance of lawns, through the use of gas powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and synthetic fertilizers can cause a significant amount of pollution (including noise pollution), environmental hazards, and potential health risks to humans. Over the timespan of a year, a consumer grade leaf blower emits more hydrocarbons into the atmosphere than a pick up truck or sedan.

With the Bellport Garden, our goal was to go further than improving the maintenance of the lawn, but to provide an alternative vision of the front yard. The redesigned landscape has also dramatically reduced water usage. Currently the plants are watered once per week, but once established they should require little to no additional water.

Who designed and built this garden?

Dimastery is a landscape design and build studio based in Brooklyn and Bellport, New York. Our designs aspire to balance the elegance of the landscape with the functional needs of our clients, and the sustainable requisites of the environment.