An inexpensive, hands-on method for improving the soils on your lot.
Photo CC BY-SA 3.0 Jean-Pol Grandmont
$50 to $1,000
Volunteer
Medium
Beginner
Better
Sun, Part Shade, Shade
A colorful, full-season design creates space to accommodate social gatherings while providing privacy to neighbors.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Magnus Manske
$1,000 to $2,500
Intermediate
Good
Sun, Part Shade
Create habitat and improve biodiversity with this set of guiding principles for managing an existing forest patch or emergent stand of trees.
Photo © Erin Kelly, Lambert, Rotherstien & Associates.
Volunteer + Professional
Best
Embrace the poor quality rocky soils of commercial lots in Detroit with this mix of succulents in a range of painterly colors and textures.
Photo Public Domain, Leonard G.
$2,500 to $5,500
Low
Reduce drainage fees, manage dust, and enhance the identity of your commercial corridor with this colorful and fragrant edge-maker.
Photo CC BY-SA 3.0 ForestWander
The clean, hardy, and colorful living perimeter of this lot design is easy to build and works well on multiple lots.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Manuel
Neighborhood-friendly tapestry of small and large trees reduces mowing maintenance and creates energy savings.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Tjukka2
Part Shade, Shade
A floral landscape that stabilizes lead in the soil while registering your household caffeine levels.
Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 Blucolt
This theatre of seasonal design features four ornamental trees, each crowned by a seasonal rain garden.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Sandstein
Colorful, hardy plants form a clean and urban edge while creating a barrier to limit lot access.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Framboise
This maple tree mix creates beautiful shade, fall color, and offers routes to wealth creation over time.
Photo CC BY CAFNR
A clean, planted edge borders this native meadow—a pollinator-friendly option for every neighborhood.
Photo CC BY 2.0 Liz West
Choose-your-color native meadow with a crisp hedged edge.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Peter Gorman
Rain garden and living fence provide a soft way to split a lot between neighbors while managing roof runoff.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Raul654