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 graceful double-lot solution for ongoing stormwater education and social events.
Photo CC BY-SA 2.0 Sosanna.
An inexpensive, hands-on method for improving the soils on your lot.
Photo CC BY-SA 3.0 Jean-Pol Grandmont
Medium
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
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.
A floral landscape that stabilizes lead in the soil while registering your household caffeine levels.
Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 Blucolt
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
Choose-your-color native meadow with a crisp hedged edge.
Photo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Peter Gorman
Very affordable mix of warm and cold season grasses provides habitat and nesting grounds for birds.
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
