Featured sustainable landscape resources

Students posing in new planting with Tree Campus USA banner
Urban Horticulture Institute

Developing superior plants and innovative planting and management practices to reap more ecosystem benefits from woody plants in urban landscapes. Includes woody plant database, information on CU-Structural Soil™, community forestry and more.

Plant breeder and willow expert Larry Smart inspecting willow seedlings in greenhouse.
Willow bioenergy crops

Willowpedia provides information on growing shrub willows for sustainable feedstock crop for bioenergy, biofuels, and bioproducts, as well as for environmental engineering and horticultural applications.

Summer intern Alexander Schaef '20 works in the Cornell Botanic Gardens.
Home lawns and landscapes

Tips for a healthy and more ecological landscape including lawns, trees and shrubs, and annual and perennial flowers.

Turf specialist Frank Rossi inspects putting green with graduate student.
Cornell Turfgrass

Managed right, grass can be an environmental asset. Learn more about ecologically sound practices for sports turf, golf courses and residential lawns, including lawn care without pesticides.

Bill Miller teaches undergraduates about flower bulbs forced in greenhouse
Flower bulbs and annual flowers

Growing practices for potted and cut bulb growers as well as landscape growing, Flower Bulb Research Program newsletter, and annual flower trials at Cornell Botanic Gardens.

Drone flying in vineyard.
Resource information sciences

Integrating environmental data and information using resource inventory, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and related spatial information technologies.

More sustainable landscape resources

Annual Flower Trials 

View results and photo galleries from more than a decade of annual flower and foliage plants at Cornell Botanic Gardens.

Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health – The Cornell Framework Manual 

Describes common soil constraints and soil quality issues, provides guidelines on how to conduct in-field  soil health assessment, and identifies management strategies for improving soil health based based on soil health tests.

Cornell Waste Management Institute 

Information on composting, farm waste management, sewage sludge, recycling agricultural plastics and more. 

Lawn Care: The Easiest Steps To An Attractive Environmental Asset 

Features seven short how-to videos and photo galleries plus iterative images and concise directions make it quick and easy to understand the steps to cultivating a healthy lawn that is an attractive environmental asset.

Permaculture online courses 

Permaculture gardens, farms, and backyards balance the provision of human needs with improvement of local ecosystem health. Expand your knowledge of permaculture through videos, readings, and activities and complete portions of design for a site of your choosing.

Turfgrass and Landscape Weed ID 

This website helps New York turf and landscape managers to identify weeds using easily discerned plant characteristics. Lists control strategies compliant with the NYS Child Safe Playing Fields Act. 

Urban Horticulture Institute videos 

Topics include CU-Structural Soil™, 'scoop and dump' planting, community forestry, woody shrubs for stormwater retention and more. 

Woody Plants Database 

Use this tool to help you choose the right tree, shrub or woody vine based on your site’s conditions, and learn about new woody plants that you may not be familiar with.