Landscaping ideas for sustainable gardens are in the forefront of designers’ minds—and concern about climate change has us all looking for ways we can help. Here is our guide to 16 eco-friendly ways to make a difference.

Permeable Surfaces

Above: Landscaping ideas in Normandy frequently include a gravel courtyard, a permeable surface to prevent erosion. Photograph courtesy of A+B Kasha.

One of the most eco-friendly things a garden can do is decrease rainwater runoff. Consider a permeable surface if you’re doing a hardscape project, and use captured rainwater or gray water in the garden.

Above: An Abandoned Parking Lot Transformed to a Wildlife Habitat by landscape architect Christine Ten Eyck in Marfa, Texas. Photograph by Terrence Moore.

Landscaping ideas for surfaces that allow water to seep into the ground to aid filtration and slow the flow into drains and waterways are gaining momentum. From a design perspective, permeable surfaces introduce the satisfying crunch of gravel underfoot and add a softer element to hard surfaces.

Decomposed Granite

Above: Landscaping ideas for low-maintenance weekend homes: Used as filled stone between pavers, decomposed granite softens the surface of a patio on Shelter Island. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.

Our correspondent Ellen Jenkins thinks decomposed granite (aka DG) may be the ideal hardscape material: “After I started looking into DG, I began to notice it everywhere: The pretty little path through the local recreation field that never gets muddy? Decomposed gravel. The soft, natural-looking gravel driveway, where the gravel stays put? Also decomposed granite. The mulch at the base of trees that keeps the ground weed-free? DG again.”

For everything you need to know before deciding if decomposed granite is the right material for your hardscaping project, see Hardscaping 101: Decomposed Granite.

Pea Gravel

Above: In this hardscape detail, pea gravel abuts mulch, separated by metal edging. For more of this garden, see Architect Visit: Barbara Chambers at Home in Mill Valley, CA. Photograph by Nicole Franzen for Gardenista.

Pea gravel–a small, fluid stone found near bodies of water–has an appealingly smooth texture, the result of natural weathering. Pea gravel comes in sizes from 1/8 inch to 3/8 inch, about the size of a pea, and in a range of natural colors such as buff, rust brown, gray, white, and translucent. If you’re trying to decide between decomposed granite and pea gravel, see Hardscaping 101: Pea Gravel.

Ribbon Driveways

Above: A ribbon driveway has a strip of grass down the middle. For more of this garden, see A Very American Garden by Stephen Stimson.

Our East Coast correspondent Jeanne Rostaing grew up with a ribbon driveway—two strips of concrete with grass in between—in Memphis: “Ribbon driveways were a natural progression from the ruts carved in the ground by the wheels of wagons and, later, automobiles,” she writes. “It makes sense that if you’re driving your vehicle from the street to the garage every day, you’d want to avoid wearing deep, muddy grooves into your lawn. The simplest and most economical way to do that: paving the areas where the wheels go and leaving the grass in the middle.”