Plainfield business prioritizes nature with eco-friendly landscapes

With a sustainable approach to gardening and focus on conservation, Plainfield-based Good Steward Ecoscapes is out to transform homeowners’ outdoor spaces.

Andrew Hedman opened Good Steward Ecoscapes about 16 months ago with a focus on incorporating ponds, waterfalls and fountainscapes with native plant gardening.

“I was first drawn to ponds because they are good for wildlife and the environment. It is naturally filtered water for wildlife,” he said.

With previous experience in pond construction and maintenance, Hedman ventured into native plants after connecting with people involved in conservation and protecting wildlife.

“A common theme I kept hearing was how important native plants are,” he said.

Hedman said his approach is not “building a forest preserve in a homeowner’s backyard, but instead building a garden that is both beautiful and functions in a way that supports the larger ecosystem as a whole.”

Not only do native plants help birds, insects and other wildlife thrive, but once established, they don’t require pesticides or fertilizers and can be low maintenance for homeowners, Hedman said.

“During the latest drought, I didn’t need to water my native plants at all,” he said.

The No. 1 cause of extinction and population decrease among threatened species is the loss of habitat, Hedman said.

In Illinois, Hedman said, only 1% of tall grass prairie remains because it has been converted to farmland.

“Now that farmland is being developed into housing or commercial developments,” he said.

The book “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard” by Douglas W. Tallamy was instrumental in guiding Hedman’s new business venture.

During the latest drought, I didn’t need to water my native plants at all.”

—  Andrew Hedman, owner of Good Steward Ecoscapes

“His message is if we can convert one-half of our landscaping to native plants, we will be able to support 80% of native wildlife in Illinois,” Hedman said.

For example, he said one native plant – milkweed – received its name because it was considered a nuisance to farmers.

“Milkweed is pretty important in conservation because monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed,” he said. “In landscaping, many homeowners probably have invasive plants species, typically from Europe and Asia, which naturalize so aggressively they can take over native plants in forest preserves and destroy local ecosystems.”

Furthermore, Hedman said, Kentucky bluegrass is actually from France.

For many homeowners, their No. 1 lawn-related activity is mowing it, he said.

Hedman recommends short-growing native grasses or short-growing flowers as an alternative to traditional sod, something he will be incorporating in the 3-acre property of Frankfort resident Amanda Leong.

Currently, it takes Leong about three hours to mow her property using a commercial mower.

Hedman, who already does pond maintenance for Leong, will be transforming a portion of her lawn into a native prairie this fall.

Once the transformation is complete, Leong’s only maintenance will be to mow the area once a year to regenerate it.

Leong, who said she found Good Steward Ecoscapes to be one of the few eco-friendly landscapers in the greater Chicago area, now has a 10-year plan to transform other parts of her property to natural prairie.

“This was our opportunity to remove the use of pesticides on the property and stop fighting the environment and use what we have while helping wildlife and insects,” she said.

Another of Hedman’s clients, Hay Joosten, also “inherited” a pond when he bought his Palatine home – something he said he really didn’t know anything about.

Joosten said he wants to honor his stewardship of the fish, the pond and the garden.

With more than 100 koi fish in the pond, Joosten said, he began to use Good Steward Ecoscapes to care for it when he bought the home.

“Not only did Andrew know how to take care of the pond, he also really cares for the fish, the wildlife and the ecosystem as a whole,” Joosten said. “Andrew helped us get several fish into quarantine that were treated and released back into the pond.”

Understanding how to care for and manage koi ponds “is a huge need in our area,” Hedman said. “There are many cases where a homeowner sells their home and don’t know what to do with the fish.”

As a result, Hedman said one of his long-term goals is to be able to rehome pond fish, which also serve another, somewhat lesser-known purpose.

Although mosquitoes are attracted to stagnant water, Hedman said, ponds and waterfalls can reduce mosquitoes because fish eat mosquito larvae.