This Closed-Loop Design on Long Island Provides a Formula for an Eco-Friendly Lawn

Creating a resilient, eco-friendly yard often entails ripping out lawn and replacing invasive plants with native ones. But what if your house is already surrounded by wilderness and you actually want some lawn?

That was the challenge for landscape designer and horticulturist Tony Piazza of Piazza Horticultural at a "modern surf shack" residence adjacent to wetlands in Amagansett on Long Island’s East End. There, artists Phoebe Washburn and A. J. Bocchino desired a small lawn for their three children to play on. But they also wanted to improve the dynamic between their yard and the picturesque natural landscape.

Piazza addressed both requests. He raised the landscape around two feet above the surrounding wetlands and planted a modest strip of Kentucky bluegrass and fescue—a low-maintenance, drought- and cold-tolerant grass. And he seeded it with clover, a sustainable addition to turf. "Most people would consider clover a no-no. But this family is 100 percent committed to everything being maintained organically around their property. And clover in the Northeast is an essential part of an organically maintained lawn."

Piazza populated the nearby surrounding property with native plants suited to thrive in the brackish confluence of freshwater and salty seawater. The wetlands-adapted species he chose benefit migrating birds and endemic waterfowl.

What’s more, "introducing native plants that are already evolved to live in an area requires less work, less water, less fertilizer, less labor, and, if done wisely, less disruption," he says.

Traditional lawn areas were reduced by the installation of "patios"—for a dining and firepit area—made from compacted aggregate surfaces built from gravel mixed with sand and stone dust. "Maintenance is super easy, just light weeding and raking a few times a month in the summer season," says Piazza, who notes that the surface is 100 percent permeable and sourced entirely from local materials.

The landscape is now a self-perpetuating "closed loop" system where "nothing comes into the property and nothing leaves the property," says Piazza. In other words, no toxic fertilizers or pesticides enter, and yard clippings are recycled as compost rather than taken away.

"It’s great cocktail party fodder," says Piazza, referring to the subject of lawn care. "‘Oh, you’re still using chemicals on your lawn?’... It’s like ‘Oh, you smoke?’"

Dwell: What’s your advice for treating soil organically?

Piazza: I don’t believe in amending the soil very much, but without healthy soil, you cannot have healthy plants. So I recommend that every garden include a composter. Compost can help jump-start dry and barren soil the first year. I especially like the Green Johanna, a hot compost bin that you can throw all sorts of kitchen scraps into—avocado pits, citrus peels, and even animal bones. Layer it with brown material and it starts to break down a lot of material quickly.

Did you have a specific vision for your landscape?

Phoebe Washburn and A. J. Bocchino: We wanted to control the yard a little bit. There are patches on the far side of the property along the edge that are really wild with all different sorts of weeds. And we just wanted to try to rein it in a bit and add some uniformity, while also speaking to the landscape that is already here. It’s a nice marriage between what naturally grows here and our necessities as a family.

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