- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Engineering
- Water Resources
- Landscaping for Water Quality
Landscaping for Water Quality
Plant your garden and yard to be drought resilient, pollinator friendly, and water quality improving!
As you prepare your yard, plan your gardens, and get new plants each spring, don’t forget to plant for clean water and pollinators! By using proper yard design and planting pollinator-friendly plants, our yards can help filter rainwater where it falls, rather than flowing straight to our water bodies and picking up pollutants along the way. Native plants in yards have many benefits like supporting pollinators and native ecosystems, being resilient during flooding and drought, enhancing soil health, providing food for wildlife, and stabilizing land to reduce erosion… just to name a few! While planning native gardens may sound daunting at first, there are a lot of resources to help you along the way.
Where can I buy native plants?
- Minnesota also has many native plant nurseries and retailers, some of which offer online ordering and delivery services. View Blue Thumb's guide of local Twin Cities sales, but for a more comprehensive list, check out Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ statewide list of native plant suppliers.
- Visit the Garden Sale in Champlin every spring!
Can I get financial support for creating pollinator habitats?
- Yes! All Minnesota residents are eligible to apply for Lawns to Legumes cost-share funding of up to $400. .
- Champlin residents are eligible to Environmental Improvement and Education Grant.
Where can I learn more about planting for clean water?
- Visit Blue Thumb for workshops and online learning events!
- Visit Metro Blooms Design+Build, they provide design, installation, and landcare services for residential and commercial landscapes.
What kind of plants should I use?
- Look at Blue Thumb’s plant finder to find plants that fit your aesthetic and are suited to the environmental conditions of your yard.
Additional Information to Improve Water Quality:
- Directing rooftop gutters away from driveways and sidewalks and into lawns and gardens
- Installing rain barrels
- Removing invasive exotic plants
- Planting trees
- Installing raingardens
- Installing a native plant buffer or shoreline stabilization
- Replacing patios and walkways with pervious pavements