A barber-inspired pattern designed and cut into a lot using lines, edges, shapes or images.
$50 to $1,000
Volunteer
Low
Beginner
Good
Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Transforms the basement area of a recently-demolished house into a series of stepped raingarden tiers.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Frank Mayfield
$5,500+
Volunteer + Professional
High
Advanced
Best
Sun, Part Shade
A set of guiding principles for preparing any lot for a happy, healthy, and lower maintenance future.
Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 Jurek D.
A people-friendly green infrastructure solution that creates flexible spaces for neighborhood gatherings and manages stormwater on site.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Vmenkov
A new, neighborhood-scaled infrastructure designed to better manage snow as it accumulates.
Photo CC BY 2.0 Hormiguita Viajera mir.
Professional
N/A
A graceful double-lot solution for ongoing stormwater education and social events.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Sosanna.
This underground water storage tank is a long-term solution to save money and water, reduce risk of basement flooding, and contribute to the health of our Great Lakes waterways.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Adrian Benko
Medium
An inexpensive, hands-on method for improving the soils on your lot.
Photo CC BY-SA 3.0 Jean-Pol Grandmont
Better
Off-street parking option for those with alley access.
$2,500 to $5,500
This off-street parking design holds two vehicles with extra room for a lawn—great for sharing with a neighbor who also needs parking.
Photo Public Domain Immanuel Giel
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
A collection of spreading groundcovers that can be planted over your entire lot, or planted and maintained as distinct paisley patches.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 TM Weddle
Three playful mounds create an area for play and informal gatherings.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Julia Manzerova
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.
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.
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
Make money with trees over time with this hedge-organized space for growing and selling trees within neighborhoods.
Photo © Erin Kelly, Lambert, Rotherstien & Associates
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
Save water and money with this sidelot greywater harvesting system.
Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 maggie_and_her_camera
Luscious rain garden for lots with crushed-in-place basements.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Dmitry Marochko
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
Improve soil quality on your bald lot with this suite of low cost and low maintenance groundcovers.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Philip Chapman-Bell
Temporary planting scheme improves soil health, prepares your lot for what's next.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Tom Potterfield
A low-maintenance lawn custom tailored for Detroit.
Photo © Ernst Conservation Seeds
A clean, planted edge borders this native meadow—a pollinator-friendly option for every neighborhood.
Photo CC BY 2.0 Liz West
Very affordable mix of warm and cold season grasses provides habitat and nesting grounds for birds.
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
Native meadow design for lots with clay soils.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Pat Dumas
Easy-to-build side lot rain garden designed with plants commonly available at local shops and national chains.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Pat Dumas
A playful adaptation of the tulip fields found in the Netherlands.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Illia Frenkel
