3 Tips for Energy-Efficient Landscaping
When it comes to making your home more energy efficient, you probably think of double-pane windows and adequate insulation. But your landscaping can also help make your home more energy efficient, not only saving you money but also reducing your carbon footprint. After all, when you need less energy to heat or cool your home, you’re less dependent upon fossil fuels.
According to the United States Department of Energy , Minnesota is in the country’s “cool” zone. Knowing this can help you make decisions that will help block the sun’s heat in the summer and retain it in the summer, as well as block cold winter winds and take advantage of cool summer breezes. Here are a few tips to make your landscaping work for you.
1) Know Your Microclimate
Have you ever walked down to a stream or pond at night and noticed that the air gets noticeably cooler? This is one example of a microclimate. Microclimates are created by differences in elevation, slopes, or even a change in the surface of the ground (from soil and grass to water, for instance). These can be as large as a few square miles, or as small as a few square feet. Simply put, microclimates are wherever the local area differs somehow from the larger area’s climate.
Knowing your property’s unique microclimate can be helpful when it comes to designing your landscaping. For example, say you live on a lake. In the summer, the temperature inland may rise to the predicted daily high, but your property stays a hair cooler and you get a nice breeze off the lake . This is because the water’s temperature remains cooler than the air around it, thus cooling the air directly above it. As cool air reaches the shore, its density means it pushes below the warm air, creating a breeze. This breeze is especially noticeable for a few hours after daybreak. Knowing this about your home’s microclimate might mean you keep the path from the lake to your home free of trees, so the breeze can easily reach your home.
2) Construct a Windbreak
Windbreaks are great for Minnesota properties, as they can help reduce heating costs in winter. True to its name, a windbreak will reduce wind speed for a distance up to 30 times the windbreak’s height. (So, if the windbreak is 30 feet high, wind speed will be reduced for up to 900 feet. If the windbreak is 60 feet high, wind speed will be reduced for up to 3,600 feet.) As the trees in your windbreak mature, the benefit only increases. For maximum protection, the US Department of Energy recommends planting your windbreak at a distance away from your home that is two to five times the mature height of the trees. Ideally, windbreaks should block wind from the tops of the trees all the way to the ground, so many homeowners use a mix of trees, bushes, and shrubs. Use varieties that have low crowns, such as dense evergreens.
Winter storms often come from the northwest, so it’s best to plant a windbreak along the north and west sides of your property. Planting shrubs on the windward side can help trap snow there, reducing drifts near your home. For added protection, pair the windbreak with a fence or earthen berm to help deflect wind over your home.
3) Plant Trees to the South
If you have windows on your home’s southern side, you know how warm the summer sun can make your living space. This heating from the sun results in more energy put out from your air conditioner, and increased costs to you. One way to mitigate this is to plant trees on the south side of your home. You’ll want to do your research on which trees work best
for the size of your yard and home and where to plant them. Because we live in a cooler climate, we recommend deciduous trees for this purpose—they’ll provide wonderful shade in the hottest months and then drop their leaves in the fall, opening up the south side for the winter and letting the sun help heat your home in the coldest months.
Ready for some landscaping to help make your home more energy efficient? Our experts are happy to help. Give us a call at 763-568-7251 or use our quote system to send a message.
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When Pergolas Don’t Last, There’s Always a Reason After nearly two decades of building outdoor spaces across Medina, I’ve seen what happens when pergolas aren’t designed for Minnesota’s conditions. You can spot them a mile away—posts that lean, beams that twist, and concrete pads that have heaved out of level after just a couple of winters. It’s not because homeowners cut corners intentionally. It’s usually because whoever built it didn’t account for what our climate really does to structures that aren’t anchored right. Medina’s heavy clay soil doesn’t drain well. It holds moisture, freezes solid, and then expands like a hydraulic press pushing on everything above it. When pergolas are set on surface-level post bases, that pressure has nowhere to go but up—and the whole thing moves. Even small shifts can cause joints to separate, wood to crack, and hardware to loosen. That’s how a $15,000 structure starts looking tired after a few years instead of standing straight for decades. The truth is, pergolas here aren’t just about shade or looks. They’re about structure, drainage, and how every piece ties into the patio beneath it. A pergola that stands tall through Minnesota winters is built on the same principles as a good foundation—it’s only as strong as what’s underneath it. If you live in Medina and want to enjoy your backyard without worrying about your investment warping or sagging, start with design that respects the environment it’s built in. That means thinking beyond lumber and stain colors. It means understanding soil movement, water management, and the importance of integrating your pergola with the patio below it.
Solutions for Properties in Minnetonka You can always tell a Minnetonka yard that’s fighting its slope. Water doesn’t lie, it finds the weak spots every time. I’ve walked plenty of properties where a backyard starts beautiful in June, but by September, the patio is heaving, the grass near the pool looks like a marsh, and the homeowner is wondering how it got so bad so fast. The truth is, when you’re dealing with rolling terrain and heavy clay soils like we have around Minnetonka, you can’t just move dirt and hope gravity behaves. You need a plan that manages water from the surface all the way down through the subsoil. This is what I’ll walk you through here. You’ll see what actually causes drainage issues on sloped properties, how poor planning leads to cracked patios and shifting pool decks, and the smart drainage systems that can stop those problems for good. Whether you live near Lake Minnetonka or up in the higher ridges closer to Deephaven or Woodland, understanding how your yard sheds water is the difference between a property that lasts and one that’s constantly under repair. The Real Challenge of Sloped Minnetonka Yards Minnetonka is known for its hills, lakefront properties, and mature trees, but all that beauty comes with a set of challenges below the surface. Most of the soil here is dense clay. It holds water like a sponge and drains slowly, which means after every heavy rain, that water looks for a way downhill. If it doesn’t have a proper outlet, it ends up collecting right where you don’t want it, like along your patio, at the base of a retaining wall, or near your pool deck. I see this every season: homeowners trying to solve slope problems with a quick regrade, a layer of rock, or a simple surface drain. Those things might help for a while, but they don’t address what’s really happening underground. Clay soil doesn’t just get wet—it becomes saturated, expanding and contracting with every freeze-thaw cycle. When that happens under a patio or wall, it doesn’t matter how well-built the surface looks. The ground will move, and that movement cracks stone, shifts pavers, and slowly tears apart everything on top. The other challenge with sloped lots is how water interacts with gravity. It accelerates downhill, gaining momentum as it goes. When it hits a flat area like a patio, the water loses speed but not volume, pooling instead of flowing. That’s why I tell clients that “flat spots” on a sloped property are both an opportunity and a responsibility. They’re the best spaces to create usable outdoor areas, but they have to be engineered to handle water movement. I’ve worked on plenty of Minnetonka yards where the backyard has a beautiful view but terrible grading. You can have a perfect slope on paper, but if it directs water toward your house or creates a bowl effect between structures, you’ll end up with soggy soil and standing puddles that never dry. The goal is to move water off and away while keeping the surface level enough for comfort and usability. It’s a fine balance, but when it’s done right, it completely transforms how a property functions.