Is the term 'Green Landscaping' redundant?

Green landscaping? What does that mean? Up until recently I didn't know of such a thing.

Our builder recommended a landscape architect who also does landscape design for our County parks. I learned a lot from this experience.

Much like any 'Green' design a major component when designing a Green landscape, is to limit the impact the landscaping has on the rest of the environment. This is accomplished in several ways.

First, the vast majority (~95%) of the plants and trees we are planting are native to our region. By doing this we not only reduce the likelihood of bringing disease into the area but we are also selecting vegetation that is well adapted to the environment. Because we have a lot of deer in our area we have selected some plants that are not necessarily native to our area but do well in our climate and do not attract deer, such as Hostas.

Second, our land backs up to a wooded area, instead of a lawn that runs right up to the area we are planting Meadow field, so there is a transition from lawn, to meadow, to trees. This has the additional benefit in that it limits the size of the grass lawn, reducing some of the water runoff (see below).

Third, one of the biggest impact lawns, homes, driveways, and patios have is that they increase water runoff. In our area, 80% of the homes are not linked to a sewer system, so we utilize a septic tank for our indoor water waste. This also means that rain water that enters the drainage pipes in the street flows directly to a nearby river, increasing erosion. This has been such a problem that our county sewer district is starting to assess fees on all homes as sort of an erosion impact fee. One of the ways we can reduce this fee is by reducing the amount of water that flows off our land. To accomplish this we have incorporated the following design elements in our landscaping.

1) We have tried to limit the lawn space, especially in the back of the house.
-most people, me included, still think a lawn is a great place to play, and ofcourse have a picnic. So we have not eliminated the lawn altogether. But we have a large meadow field in the back and front of the house to limit some lawn space.
2) We have incorporated bioswales and rain gardens on the property lines and near our rainbox. Many properties are sloped to encourage water to drain away from the house, which is fine, but the water then ends up in the sewer system and, in our case, out to the rivers. By planting vegetation that is able to tolerate a 'wetland edge' you can allow some water to collect in the area thus limiting runoff.
3) Our patio area will be made with permeable pavers, which allow for movement of water in and around the pavers, also limiting water runoff.

Finally, we have designed a landscape to conserve water. In our area of the country most people don't think of water conservation because it is relatively abundant. However, that is not the case everywhere.
-We are not putting a sprinkler system in for the lawn, certainly this has the added benefit of saving us money.
-The grass seed we are planting is relatively drought resistant. Of course during the first few years it will be necessary to water the lawn until it is established, but by not cutting the grass to short during the summer months and allowing the root system to develop, it will not need as much water in the long run and will be more resistant to dry spells during the summer months.
-In the Southwest corner of our house we have a rainbox collection system. This will be used to water our vegetable garden as well as the landscaping around the house. The landscaping surrounding the box will also be a rain garden and overflow from the rainbox will be used to water this area.

For more information:
University of Minnesota has a website, Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series.
University of Missouri has a fact sheet on how to manage and control storm water runoff.
An article on the effects of water runoff in the Cleveland Metroparks.