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 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 graceful double-lot solution for ongoing stormwater education and social events.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Sosanna.
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
Volunteer
Medium
Intermediate
Good
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
$50 to $1,000
Low
Beginner
Sun, Part Shade, 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.
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
Better
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
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 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
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
