Landscapes that last: Firm specializes in combining science with beauty

Jack Pizzo graduated from the University of Illinois with conventional eyes. He landed a job at a Chicago-area firm where he designed beautiful, conventional landscapes.

Then a simple assignment changed his vision, and he became passionate about natural, sustainable landscapes.

A client asked him to restore native wildflowers on his property.

Pizzo had no knowledge of native vegetation, and he began researching. It was a transformative awakening. He discovered the aesthetic and environmental value of natural landscapes. Within six months he was self-employed and possessed by a mission.

That was 1988, and today Pizzo & Associates is a nationwide firm, considered preeminent in ecological restoration.

"I never returned to ornamental horticulture," Pizzo said. "I'm not willing to accept the status quo. I'm not willing to compromise. I want to do what's right for long-term sustainability."

Pizzo was in central Illinois recently to speak at the winter meeting of the Illinois Green Industry Association.

"Sustainable landscaping is not a fad, it's here to stay and it's beautiful," Pizzo told his audience. "In the 1970s, companies fought the concept, didn't want to lose the status quo, and today we see the degradation."

Rather than landscape maintenance, which implies a static system, ecological restoration involves stewardship, he said, noting, "The natural world is dynamic and changing every day, minute, year, season. Landscaping is ecology on a small scale."

Pizzo has worked with a number of Chicago-area developers to design sustainable subdivisions. Rather than conventional site plans with homes facing other homes across the street and across backyards, Pizzo designs site plans with sweeping views and natural vegetation.

It is not prohibitively expensive, he said.

"In fact, it costs less. Sometimes a lot less. It costs less long-term and short-term," he said. "Homes can be clustered, less roadway is needed and utilities are easier. Homes can have small lawns and large open spaces. The homes become more saleable. It 'decommodifies' the housing."

With conventional subdivisions, Pizzo said, sales are dictated by a fairly uniform pricing structure. With sustainable subdivisions, people will pay more for the unique environment and beautiful views.

"All the answers to every problem are out in the natural world. We have to observe more carefully. Yet landscape architects continue to think in terms of broad sweeps of the same species. The monoculture uniformity," Pizzo said. "Then you have designed a landscape for catastrophe."

For example, when Dutch elm disease swept across the country, cities and towns lost their signature main streets lined with elm trees.

More than art with plants

Good horticulture is not just art using a palette of plants, but good horticulture must include science and environmentalism, Pizzo said.

"A good artist is a good scientist who understands materials and light," he said. "Nature is highly diverse."

Typical development alters the hydrology of land by leveling the site, adding extensive pavement, installing turf grass as ground cover and channeling water into pipes. "Pipe dreams," Pizzo calls that kind of development.

He views riprap and gabion baskets, two common man-made methods to stem erosion, as obsolete solutions that try to create a static landscape. Both concepts require regular maintenance.

Pizzo prefers natural slopes and deep-rooted native vegetation.

"Ecosystem restoration is not Dr. Frankenstein created by sewing a lot of disparate parts together. You'll end up with a monster," he said.

Some suggestions

Pizzo said he often suggests landowners scale back plans to ensure success. Rather than a half-acre prairie restoration, he might suggest a section of the property devoted to a perennial garden.

Other suggestions include:

- Mowing or burning prairie restorations in order to give native grasses a survival edge.

- Adding dye to herbicides so landowners can spray invasive species like garlic mustard and later identify the spot for future examination.

- Eliminating carp from ponds. Eliminating turbidity enables native plants to grow. ("Eliminate the carp and in three weeks the water will go from muddy to crystal clear," he said.)

Experience counts

Mike Miller, chief naturalist with the Peoria Park District's Forest Park Nature Center, recommended Pizzo to the Peoria Wilds group when it was looking for a landscape architect skilled in native landscapes and stream bank protection.

"He's been doing this for a while. This takes experience. There's a lot of trial and error . . . baptism by fire," Miller said. "He has learned what works and doesn't work. That gives him a higher success rate.

"You can't always put Humpty Dumpty back together, but you'd want to go with someone who's been doing it a long time."

Too late to restore

David Pittman, one of the founders of Peoria Wilds, said Pizzo & Associates helped with seeding and stream bank protection on the long-contested site behind The Spotted Cow restaurant on Glen Avenue.

The site, called Lake View Wilds, is not a restoration, Pittman said. It was old-growth woodland that was destroyed and that's impossible to restore.

"But the site is amazing on some levels. It's not what it used to be, and that's a terrible psychological obstacle. But the stream is fairly healthy," he said. "It can't be restored, but we're very satisfied with what has been created."

Pizzo & Associates stabilized the stream bank and planted a mix of prairie seeds. Volunteers with Peoria Wilds planted over 150 plants.

Pittman said Lake View Wilds was a process instrumental in the adoption of Peoria's stream buffer ordinance. Pittman and his group are working with the owner of Metro Shopping Centre to connect a hiking trail through Lake View Wilds to the shopping centre and Lakeview Museum.

Pizzo's company is hosting a 20th anniversary celebration on June 20 with seminars, camping and plant sales. The event is free and open to the public. More information will be posted on the company's Web site at www.pizzo.info. He can also be reached at (815) 495-2300 or jack@pizzo.info.

Clare Howard can be reached at (309) 686-3250 or choward@pjstar.com.