United States Department of Agriculture Office of Operations Safety and Environmental Branch July 2007

Developing an Environmentally

and Economically Beneficial

Landscape

United States Department of Agriculture

USDA Headquarters Beneficial Landscaping Plan

July 2007

Prepared by: ________________________________________________ Date: ________

Reviewed by: ________________________________________________ Date: ________

Approved by: ________________________________________________ Date: ________

United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Ave, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20250-9877

Matthew Pilger - Fellow in Environmental ProgramsMatthew Pilger - Fellow in Environmental Programs

Ed Hogberg - Safety and Environmental MangerEd Hogberg - Safety and Environmental Manger

Becky Garbarino - Safety and Environmental Branch Director

- 1 -

Contents Section

Introduction

Objective

Goals

Current Conditions and Practices

Costs Associated with Landscaping

Existing Plants and Landscaping

Policies Currently Followed

Plant Identification

Conceptual Plan

Artistic Plan

Plant Recommendations

Potential Future Phases and Suggestions

Page

2

2

2

6

6

7

7

8

9

11

12

14

- 2 -

Introduction The Beneficial Landscaping Plan is intended to meet the Energy Reduction Goals from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, along with Executive Order 13423 – Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management, dated January 24, 2007, and the Department Manual 5600-001. USDA is committed to creating a sustainable future for every American, by implementing a broad range of actions and activities to achieve increased levels of environmentally sound landscape management practices to reduce adverse impacts to the natural environment.

Objectives

1. Reduce overall environmental footprint of USDA headquarters complex grounds, by utilizing beneficial landscaping practices.

2. Exceed requirements of environmental laws and executive orders pertaining to landscaping.

3. Reduce agency costs by conserving natural resources, by implementing sustainable practices and preventing adverse affects to the environment.

Goals To achieve the objective, USDA and its agencies have identified five major goals of this project. They are: Goal 1 – Utilize the most suitable plant materials available. Action elements to achieve this goal:

1. Use native plants or cultivated forms of plants, when feasible, that are known to have increased levels of pest- and disease- resistance to reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides.

2. Use plant materials that are well adapted to

regional areas. For example, drought tolerant plants should be used in dry or xeric regions to reduce water consumption and ensure their ability to thrive under local conditions.

3. Use suitable native and non-native plant materials

that have been nursery grown and propagated. Native plants will not be dug or harvested from their natural habitat for use in landscaping.

4. Conduct native plant rescue or reclamation

efforts, where feasible, when sites are cleared for construction, or when native plants are

- 3 -

transplanted from sustainably harvested sources for replanting on appropriate Federal facilities.

5. Encourage the use of industry certified, nursery

grown, and propagated native plants in the regions where they naturally occur.

Goal 2- Manage and seek to reduce the impact of invasive plants on facilities under the jurisdiction, custody, and control of USDA. Action elements to achieve this goal:

1. Develop and promote the use of non-invasive plant species within all USDA units/facilities.

2. Avoid distributing existing stocks of invasive

plant species to areas where they can potentially do harm; eliminate or control existing stocks or use appropriate safeguards for all stocks maintained for research and education.

3. Support the development of environmentally and

economically sound methods to control harmful invasive species, strive to control such species on public lands, and promote their control on adjacent lands.

4. Develop partnerships and incentive programs to

reduce the impact of invasive plant species and, where practicable, provide native or cultivated selections of native restoration (replanting) materials to achieve a diverse landscape.

Goal 3 – Utilize environmentally and economically sound management practices and materials on facilities under the jurisdiction, custody, and control of USDA. Action elements to achieve this goal:

1. Where feasible, recycle all green waste on site or

a central location or contribute green waste whenever possible to local, state, county, or city recycling programs. Green waste includes leaves, grass clippings, plant trimmings, and woody material, In general, green waste from areas having obvious incidence of weeks or diseases, or from areas subject to frequent pesticide applications, or from areas known to contain undesirable contaminants, are unacceptable for subsequent use in compost or mulch and should be discarded in ways that are consistent with appropriate laws or guidelines.

2. Use weed-free hay or straw, or sustainably

harvested pine straw or salt marsh hay to mulch seeding projects or planting beds.

3. Use compost to the greatest extent practical to minimize the use of fertilizers, improve soil texture, promote growth, suppress some plant diseases, and prevent soil erosion. Compost can be derived from green waste, crop residue, or appropriately managed animal manure.

- 4 -

4. The use of disease- and pest-fee stones or gravel, wood chips, leaves, and compost over soil surfaces is highly encouraged. Mulch reduces moisture evaporation from soil surfaces, reduces soil erosion, and inhibits weed growth.

5. Employ Integrated Pest Management practices to

optimize pesticide and herbicide use that may be harmful to human health and pollute wetlands, waterways, and other lands.

6. Minimize the use of fertilizers on landscape

plantings and use only when needed. Encourage nutrient level monitoring to avoid excessive applications of fertilizers in order to reduce overuse and nutrient loading in watersheds and possible groundwater contamination.

Goal 4 – Utilize environmentally sound landscape practices in the planning, development, and management of USDA facilities without compromising security. Action elements to achieve this goal:

1. Where appropriate, properly plant suitable shade

trees and buffer trees to help conserve or reduce energy consumption in the operation of facilities.

2. Where feasible, establish and interpret

demonstration plantings or landscapes to serve as a living educational exhibit to inform the public

about proper landscaping techniques and the most suitable plant materials for each region.

3. Employ low impact storm water management

techniques when practical, to help retain rainwater on site to help re-charge aquifers, and delay and reduce the release of storm water into streams and rivers.

4. Reduce or eliminate irrigation run off and loss due

to evaporation by designing irrigation systems to maximize the benefits of applied irrigation water. Minimize impermeable surfaces when feasible.

5. Encourage the collection and use of gray water on

landscapes.

6. Strive to reduce irrigation on lawns, shrubbery, and managed woodlands. Trees and shrubs should be watered using drip irrigation whenever possible.

7. Conduct site landscape design to minimize the

need for re-grading or disruption of woodland, meadow, grassland, wetland, and other natural habitats. Where opportunities exist, plantings should consist of a diversity of plant types and species that will perform well in the region with special consideration given to the use of native species.

- 5 -

Goal 5 – Serve as an example for other Federal agencies and to inform the public about environmentally and economically beneficial landscaping. Action elements to achieve this goal:

1. Consult with appropriate land grant universities

and the Cooperative Extension Service to utilize relevant existing information or the need for new, landscape design and management educational materials.

2. Prepare appropriate web sites to inform and

educate the public regarding:

a. The suitability, propagation, and the use of native plants for landscaping.

b. The suitability and use of appropriate non-

invasive, non-native plants for landscaping.

c. Environmentally sound landscape and pest

maintenance practices.

d. Techniques and methods of planning, design, and constructing environmentally sound landscapes

e. Invasive plants and the conditions that

promote their establishment.

3. Encourage a multifaceted program employing interpretation, publications, press releases, television and radio spots, and printed and electronic media to inform and educate people about environmentally and economically beneficial landscaping.

4. Cooperate and share appropriate information

within and between units of the USDA to facilitate the implantation of Executive Order 13423 and promote interagency cooperation and information sharing and partnering with other Federal agencies as appropriate.

5. Strive to establish models or pilot demonstrations

throughout the country and encourage agency pilots and demonstrations to include the collection of data to determine cost savings and economic and environmental benefits.

- 6 -

Current Conditions and Practices Landscaping Costs Monthly cost associated with all landscaping activities at the USDA headquarters complex is $16,554.59, which equates to $198,655.08 annually. This cost includes salaries, materials, and any incidental expenses permitted under the landscaping contract. Contract specifications for individual wages are displayed in Table 1. Annual costs of plants and other related landscaping materials are displayed in Table 2. Table 1. Hourly wages for landscape workers

Position Hourly Wage Supervisor $23.88 Gardener $22.33 Laborer $18.86

Table 2. Yearly costs of plants and landscaping materials

Plant/Material Yearly Cost Begonias $20,700.90Tulips $8,280.36Pansies $690.03Fertilizer $501.00Grass Seed $253.39Mulch $4,588.98Peat Moss $182.44Weed Killer $4,964.52 Sand $844.62

The turfed areas of the Jamie L. Whitten building are irrigated by an automated sprinkler system during the spring through fall growing season. Weather permitting, the sprinkler system is turned on in mid-May and turned off in October, for an average of 150 days of sprinkler operation. Data collected by facility engineers reports an average of 16,670 gallons of water used each summer. Currently, water and sewer fees are charged at the rate of $5.09 per 100 cubic ft (774 gallons). This equates to a $110 annual charge for the turf alone. Water used for irrigating the perimeter ornamental plants, the ivy, the dedication trees, and the vegetable garden is not metered separately from domestic drinking water used in normal facility operations. On several occasions, landscaping personnel were observed leaving water hoses running for hours at a time. It is estimated that several times the annual rate is actually being spent on landscape irrigation.

- 7 -

Existing Plants The Headquarters complex employs a laborious and costly strategy of planting and removal of biennial flora from multiple sites around the buildings. This strategy not only depletes the soil of nutrients, requiring supplementation, it also requires importation of large quantities of tulips from Europe. The annual consumption is displayed in Table 3. Table 3. Planted flowers on the USDA headquarters

Flowering Plants Amount Planted Petunias 500 Chrysanthemums 96 Tulips 16,300 Begonias 17,230 Geraniums 3,198

In addition to any annuals planted, there are several perennial ground covers and low plants which are distributed around the complex. These plants include English Ivy, Fountain Grass, Miscanthus, and Gooseneck Loosestrife. Each plant is maintained on a different schedule, which is described in detail in the landscaping contract. English Ivy is an exotic invasive plant. Currently, its coverage includes the sloped moats of the Whitten Building. Due to trimming and upkeep operations the ivy is creating a weakened soil condition. Erosion is affecting the drainage of storm water and causing sporadic flooding into interior office spaces. In the south side moat of the Whitten building, Poison Ivy has been

identified growing amidst the English Ivy. The Ivy is also a harborage area creating ideal accommodations for rodents and other pests. Large quantities of rodents have been removed from the ivy and costs associated with pest management are not enumerated in this document. Landscape Materials Around the Whitten building, multiple products are used in the maintenance and upkeep of the landscaping. These materials are displayed in Table 4. Table 4. Amount of landscaping materials used

Landscaping Material Amount Used Fertilizer 1,325 lbs and 2 bags Mulch 175 yd Grass Seed 150 lbs Peat Moss 271 lbs Pre-Emergent Weed Killer 525 lbs Post-Emergent Weed Killer 2.5 gallons Pre-Emergent Ornamental Weed Killer

5 bags

Current Policies USDA’s landscaping plan is developed and coordinated with Melwood: Growing Together, and the landscaping contract. The contract was issued on July 16, 1996, but does not focus on beneficial landscaping.

- 8 -

Plant Identification Whitten building

Plant # Common Name Scientific Name

1 Holly Shrubs Ilex opaca

2 Flowering Dogwood Cornus Florida

3 Bradford Pear Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’

4 Holly Tree Ilex aquifolium

5 Saucer Magnolia Magnolia x soulangiana

6 Crape Myrtles Lagerstroemia indica

7 Locust Tree Robinia pseudo acacia

8 Star Magnolia Magnolia stellata

9 Smoke Trees Cotinus obovatus

10 Viburnum Virburnum

11 Yews Taxus Canadensis

12 English Oak Quercus robur

13 Japanese Maple Acer palmatum

14 Blue Spruce Picea pungens

15 Pond cypress Taxodium distichum notons

16 Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba

17 basswood Tilia Americana

18 Red bud Cercis Canadensis

19 Pyracanthum Pyracanthum

20 Heavenly Bamboo Nandina domestica

21 Wigelea Wigelea

22 Sweet Bay Magnolia Magnolia Virginiana

23 Camellia Tree Camellia japonica

24 Border Grass Liriope muscari

25 Pampas Grass Cortaderia selloana

26 Nikko Deutzia gracilis

27 Virburnum Virburnum

28 Burning Bush Euonymus alata

29 Golden Evonymous Aureo marginata

30 Gooseneck Loosestrife Lysimachia clethroides

D Dedication Tree

- 9 -

Conceptual Plan Outline The beneficial landscaping conceptual plan is divided into eleven separate areas. This is done to allow for sufficient English Ivy removal and to potentially create different phases in the implementation of the plan.

Area I - Southwest moat and ground

Area II - Southeast moat and ground

Area III - West moat and ground

Area IV – East moat and ground

Area V - Northwest moat and ground

- 10 -

Area VI – Northwest Corner

Area VII - Northeast moat and ground

Area VIII - Northeast Corner

Area IX - South Entrance Area

Area X - North Entrance Area

Area XI – East Lawn

- 11 -

Artistic Plan

- 12 -

Plant Recommendations Below are suggested plants for the Whitten Building landscape. All are native to the Washington, DC area. Sun Exposure Soil Moisture

F = Full Sun W = Wet

P = Part Sun A = Average

S = Shade D = Dry

Shrubs

Common Name Scientific Name Sun Moist. Ht.

Common Alder Alnus serrulata F-S W 15-20'

Red Chokeberry Aronia arbutifolia P-S A-W 6-10'

Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa F-P D-W 3-5'

Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis F-P W 6-12'

Sweet Pepper-bush Clethra alnifolia P-S A-W 5-8'

Silky Dogwood Cornus amomum P-S A-W 6-10'

Black Huckleberry Gaylussacia baccata P-S D-A 1-3'

Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana P-S D-A 15-30'

Inkberry Ilex glabra P-S D-A 4-8'

Winterberry Ilex verticillata F-P A-W 6-15'

Virginia Willow Itea virginica P-S W 3-6'

Marsh Elder Iva fruitescens F A-W 8'

Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia P-S A 5-12'

Spicebush Lindera benzoin S A 6-12'

Southern Wax Murtle Myrica cerifera P-S D-A 15-20'

Northern Bayberry Myrica pensylvanica F D-W 5-8'

Pinxter Flower Rhodo. periclymenoides P-S A-W 4-6'

Swamp Azalea Rhododendron viscosum F-P A-W 2-8'

Fragrant Sumac Rhus aromatica F-P D 2-6'

Pasture Rose Rosa carolina F-P D-A 1-3'

Common Elderberry Sambucus canadensis F A-W 5-12'

Lowbush Blueberry Vaccinium angustifolium F D 6"-2'

Highbush Blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum F-S D-W 6-12'

Arrowwood Viburnum Viburnum dentatum F-P D-A 5-9' Possum-haw Viburnum

Viburnum nudum P-S W 5-20'

Black-haw Viburnum Viburnum prunifolium F-P A 12-15' Flowering Perennials

Common Name Scientific Name Sun Moist. Ht.

Heart-leaved Aster Aster cordifolius F-P M 1-4'

Whte Wood Aster Aster divaricatus F-P D-A 1-3'

New England Aster Aster novae-angliae F-P D-A 3-7'

New York Aster Aster novi-belgii F-P A 3-4'

Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris F-P W 1-2'

White Turtlehead Chelone glabra P-S W 1-3'

Black Cohosh Cimicifuga racemosa P-S A 3-8'

Dutchman's Breeches Dicentra cucullaria S A 5-12"

Shooting Star Dodecatheon meadia F-P D 1-2'

Mistflower Eupatorium coelestinum F-S A 1'

Common Boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum F-P A-W 2-4'

Wild Geranium Geranium maculatum F-S A 1-2'

Sharp-lobed Hepatica Hepatica acutiloba S D-A 4-9"

Round-lobed Hepatica Hepatica americana S D-A 4-6"

Alumroot Heuchera americana S D 1-3'

Eastern Rosemallow Hibisicus moscheutos F W 4-7'

Dwarf Crested Iris Iris cristata P-S A 4-8"

Virginia Blue Flag Iris virginica F-P W 1-2'

Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis F-P W 3-5'

Great Blue Lobelia Lobelia siphilitica P-S W 1-3'

Lupine Lupinus perennis F-P D 2-3'

Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica P-S A-W 1-2'

Monkeyflower Mimulus ringens F W 2-5'

- 13 -

Arrow Alum Peltandra virginica F-P D 1-2'

Moss Phlox Phlox subulata F D 4-6"

Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum P-S A 1-1.5'

Solomon's Seal Polygonatum biflorum P-S D-A 2-3'

Pickerel Weed Pontederia cordata F W 3-6"

Bowman's Root Porteranthus trifoliatus P-S A 2-3'

Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta F-P D-A 2-3'

Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis S A 6-12"

Lizard's Tail Saururus cernuus F-P W 1-3'

Early Saxifrage Saxifraga virginiensis F-S D-A 4-10"

Wild Stonecrop Sedum ternatum P-S A 4-5"

Fire Pink Silene virginica F-P D-A 1-1.5'

Roughstem Goldenrod Solidago rugosa F-P A 2-5'

Seaside Goldenrod Solidago sempervirens F-P A 1-8'

Clumping Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia S A 6-12"

White Trillium Trillium grandiflorum S A .5-2'

Blue Vervain Verbena hastata F-P A-W 5'

New York Ironweed Vernonia noveboracensis F-P W 4-6'

Marsh Blue Violet Viola cucullata F-P W 6-12" Ferns and Vines

Common Name Scientific Name Sun Moist. Ht.

Maidenhair Fern Adiantum pedatum S W 18-36"

Sensitive Fern Onoclea sensibilis F-P A-W 12-24"

Cinnamon Fern Osmunda cinnamomea F-P A-W 24-48"

Royal Fern Osmunda regalis P A-W 2-6'

Christmas Fern Polystich. acrostichoides S A 12-36"

Virginia Creeper Parthenoc. quinquefolia F-P A 30-50'

Wisteria frutescens Wisteria frutescens F-P A-W 30'

- 14 -

Potential Future Phases and Suggestions Jamie L. Whitten Building

Introduce an adopt-a-plot landscape management plan. This plan would allow tenant agencies to adopt an area around the Whitten Building. Using beneficial landscaping, each agency would design and upkeep their designated plot of land. This would allow each participating agency to have a living billboard, highlighting the missions of their agency and the USDA.

Build rain gardens in the northern lawn area, to lower watering and maintenance costs.

South Building

Establish tree boxes in various locations around the building to control the flow of storm water.

Add permeable pavers along 14th street to accommodate the heavy foot traffic.

Construct green roofs on the elevator penthouse roofs, arch ways, and along the cafeteria patio.

Sidney Yates Building

Adapt the area along Independence Avenue, to serve as a rain garden or beneficial landscape.

Plant native perennials in the plant boxes situated around the daycare playground, to create a more colorful and useful environment.