The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

The term sustainable landscaping has come into increasing usage in recent years. Regional differences in the definition and meaning of what constitutes sustainable practices exist. There are also differences among disciplines that share some of the terminology of sustainable landscaping. The term "landscape" is used by the urban planning community, in agriculture, by landscape architects, and horticulturists. It is also used in to refer to a nature scene, or to an overview of a topic. Sustainable is also used in various ways. Thus, research and developments occur across disciplines using common terms that sometimes have different meanings. In this study, a survey of the literature was conducted with the goal of examining issues and trends that comprise sustainable landscaping. Literature searches were conducted using Agricola and Google Scholar. The journals published by ASHS were also searched. Search terms used were “sustainable landscape” and "sustainable landscaping”. Searches were conducted in ten-year increments to identify whether publications on the topic were changing over time. Results indicate an increasing number of publications in the four decades from 1970 to 2010. Both books and academic journals were published on the topic. Some of the issues discussed included pest control, use of disease resistant plants, on-site water treatment, proper tree care, the carbon cycle, nature conservation and restoration, water conservation, and ecological management of landscapes. Types of publications were far more varied using Google Scholar than Agricola. In the latter, books and academic journals were the primary listings. With the former, dissertations and articles intended for the lay audience were also included.