“We have head-to-toe landscaping, but it requires no irrigation or chemical treatments whatsoever and the No Mow grass does not have to be cut,” says Nicole. “We wanted to respect and preserve our environment and be kind to all of the wildlife around us. We have so many more butterflies and bees in our yard now.”

Jeff Lorenz, the founder of Refugia Design in Philadelphia, is known for designing immersive, native landscapes, but he’s also developed something of a knack for creating gardens that effectively manage stormwater. Refugia’s style is naturally well-suited to the task: The native plants that they work with are good at Lorenz’s three rules of stormwater management:

A mid-Atlantic design/build firm is converting homeowners into native plant advocates, one lawn at a time.

For the past eight years, Jeff Lorenz and his team at Refugia, a landscape design-build firm, have been part of a quiet revolution in the Philadelphia suburbs. Little by little, they’re transforming yards, replacing traditional—and ecologically sterile—lawns with vibrant native gardens that teem with pollinators, handle weather extremes with ease, and flaunt their good looks four seasons of the year.

Jeff Lorenz and his team at Refugia Design specialize in creating native landscapes in the Philadelphia area. In addition to looking better than turf grass …