New Canaan Earthscaper Offers Tips on Sustainable Gardening

NEW CANAAN, CT — For more than 30 years, Denise and Joe Martin have been partners in business and in life. Together, the couple runs Fairfield County based AJM Septic & Excavating, named after their first-born son Austin Joseph Martin.

In addition to installing septic systems, drainage, excavation and earth work of all types, the business is happy to be celebrating five years of superior landscape and hardscape design and installation under the name of AJM Earth and offer suggestions on outdoor living while integrating sustainable practices for healthier living.
With the sustainability movement gaining traction, more and more consumers are looking to integrate such practices into their outdoor living spaces, not only to support the environment, but to protect the health of their family, friends, neighbors and pets now and in the future.

So what exactly is sustainable living? In 1987 the United Nations, defined the movement in the Brundtland Report as, “design, construction, operations and maintenance practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sustainability is based on a simple principle: "Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment.”

So why is sustainability important? The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 states that the national policy “to create and maintain conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.”

What can homeowners do to support this movement?

“Sustainable practices can start at very small, seemingly insignificant level with a change that may even save you money— less chemical treatments for grass, trees, shrubs and plantings.”

This one change will have a huge impact on the sustainability of your neighborhood,” said Denise Martin, the creative force behind the duo.

“Composting and recycling organic waste into your gardens, your flower beds and around your shrubs to use as a natural fertilizer is another great way to be a good steward of the environment,” she said.

After a health scare, she said she learned that making small changes can make a huge difference.

“After a period of chronic coughing and bronchitis, we discovered during a doctor’s visit that I had a spot on my right lung. It was during this time that I came to the realization the choices that I could make to take back my health,” she said.

“From what I put into my mouth, on my body and what I added to my personal environment, I began to understand the impact of what choices I made and how they could affect my health. I can choose options to be my best advocate and make decisions that will not only benefit me, but my family, and also consider the impact it will have on the earth. Now I not only feel healthy, but I feel good knowing I am not harming the earth.”

AJM guides their clients through every landscape installation with watering, pruning, weed and pest control, soil enhancement, sustainable planting, run-off control and more.

Joseph Martin said sustainability includes using plantings that are native to the region and climate and, although homeowners can find plants that do well in other zones and may do well here for the first year, may not return in subsequent years. Many times they can be an invasive species.
Planting native plants, Martin said, not only supports the environment, but also ensures a garden that will thrive.

“This will save our clients money and will help the environment at the same time by protecting it from intrusive plants,” he stated.

“We care deeply about what we bring to each property. Our approach is not to mow everything down and start from scratch, but to enhance and work with existing plantings as much as possible. We follow the lead of our client while keeping an eye on how we can support that particular property in the most sustainable way,” said Martin.

“Our approach with our waterscape installations are not only one-of-a-kind and unique to the personal taste of each client, but include options from water walls with art walls to natural ponds with rock gardens.”

Denise Martin works one-on-one with clients to design their personal custom water space that offers natural beauty as well as a haven for wildlife while utilizing safe, natural water management practices.

She said, “There is nothing like the sound of running water after a long day at work. But the excitement one gets when you see a pair of finches bathing near on one of the falls, as well as other forms of wildlife that you didn’t realize lived in your neighborhood, cannot be described, it has to be experienced.”

Both Joe and Denise are involved from design to installation working together on site from day one to completion.

The EPA offers the helpful information regarding Greenscaping on their website.

Learn more about AJM by clicking here.

Photo: A waterscape custom design create by AJM Earth for New Directions Counseling Center in Danbury, Conn. Photo credit: Denise Martin, AJM Earth