You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July, 2007.
Links, links, links . . . a few things I have run across the past week or so that may be of interest to someone in the field of landscape design. Or; heck, anyone who has interest in stuff outdoors.
Wittstock makes some changes.
Greg Wittstock the owner and visionary of Aquascapes has made a big change in the upper tier of his pond empire. He has added T. D. Decker into the fold. Mr. Decker will become the new president of Aquascapes-it appears this will mean he has been given control of the nuts and bolts operation(s) of the company.
Where does this leave Greg. Well according to Greg;
“I am going to continue to focus on casting the vision, sharing my passion for water gardens, developing relationships throughout the industry and evolving our unique culture,”
Well it is a unique culture, and Aquascapes is the big giant fish in the pond industry(more like the whale). and it appears Greg is not sitting still and continues to stay in the attack mode.
The other big change is in distribution, from the article;
Beginning in 2008, Aquascape will sell its products through a new Authorized AquascapePRO distributor, doing away with its traditional catalogue and Web-based business. In response to on how to service its clients best, Aquascape has established a nation-wide base of 348 dealer locations.
Many thanks to LawnandLandscape magazine for this article and info.
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Addendum: The press release about Mr. Decker from Aquascapes website.
Tropicals remain hot, hot, hot.
A good read by Carol Polsky on how hot the tropical trend is on Long Island, NY. Some good insight to what has happened and this newer aspect of companies finding space to house( or over-winter) clients larger tropical plants.
One of the contractors I work for here in Ohio provides this service also. The large potted tropicals are shipped off to a nice warm greenhouse to spend the winter in. Then come back in the Spring-ready to go.
From the article;
“That’s what a lot of people like: They’re a lot of fun,” says Dennis Schrader, co-owner of Landcraft Environments, a Mattituck wholesale nursery that offers more than 1,000 varieties of tropical and subtropical plants. “You look at them, and go, ‘Wow. They’re wild-looking plants.’”
I think this is something that is going to be around for a long time as more designers, clients, and retailers realize that foliage, texture, and presence have more to do with designed landscapes than bloom.
Extreme Outdoor Carpet;
Well I’m not really sure what to make of this urban landscape in St. Gallen, Switzerland but here it is.
[From a Swiss website.]
There are plenty of pictures here at the original site, and then a few more here at archipedia’ plus there is some explanation here at deputydog with some NSFW language.
My biggest questions are how do you clean it? and what about spills(oil)?
Gators gone Crazy, or have They?
No not the Florida Gators over my beloved Buckeyes(they did though, twice) but the other Gators . . . Alligators. This is maybe the best read about the present situation and history of the Alligators in Florida, take a look if this sort of thing interest you. And please, you lawn-maintenance guys stay out of the “drink”.
Outdoor Living is not Going Away;
Much ado was made about an article that surfaced several weeks ago concerning homeowners who were fed up with their expensive outdoor spaces. This article is a counter to that using information from a major research group.
The main reason for the overwhelming preference is simple – 84% of survey respondents said they enjoy entertaining outdoors. Three quarters of these consumers said, “It feels more laid back than formal entertaining.”
Research group aside I can also say their is no slowing down on the major push to large expensive outdoor spaces, that have very little or nothing to do with plants and gardening. People want that outdoor room to entertain in, not to garden, or pull weeds, or smell flowers.
Considering the technology and available money I do not see this aspect of outdoor spaces going away anytime in the near future.
Using a strain of rice called Kodaimai the farmers in the town of Inakadate in the prefecture of Aomori create some fascinating works of art. I would call it the Japanese version of crop circles that we see here in the corn fields of America. Except this looks more like art and less like geometry.
[Mona Lisa in rice. Site is all Japanese, more pics here.]
[Low angle of the field.]
[Other towns have joined in including, Yonezawa of the , Yamagata prefecture, from 2006.]
I have always been fascinated how some folks will take the time in there live(s) to create something really beautiful and/or interesting even when the work to do so makes a difficult task more difficult, in this case rice farming.
I found these images and story(in English) at Pink Tentacle(interesting name). Many thanks. Oh; check out the story about fragrant pencil lead-seriously.
Lots of ways to build retaining walls for raised beds-I think this is a good one:
[Briarhill wall, concrete pavers, 6 months in the ground.]
I designed and built this several years ago in South Carolina, before this it was a gravel parking lot.
We move on through the front gate to get you to the walkway and seating area located by the front door. This small raised section for a small table was entirely my idea, and was not even hinted at by the homeowner.
[Pencil sketch of walk to front door.]
Technically* . . . I think it is a ‘crappy drawing’, but it does convey the feeling I am trying to get across; which is, what would a moving observer see if he stepped inside the gate and started for the front door?
- Some sort of hard-surface walkway, in this case brick or brick pavers.
- A small raised patio section, just big enough to hold a two-top table and maybe a pot or two.
- Strong evergreen plantings by the steps.
- Steps; deep, wide, slabs coming off the top patio. Steps need to keep up with the size of the columns flanking the front door.
- Hint of planting in the distance-this is where the stream would start that follows it way around the side and back of house . . . ending up in the lake.
- Lawn on both sides of walk and simple planting scheme for these non-gardeners.
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*When I say technically I am referring to the curve in my walkway. From a perspective standpoint I don’t think the curve looks correct, especially the way the walk turns to the left(on the far side of small raised patio).
This had been my 6th or 7th rough sketch and I finally just said %$$@#, this angle will have to do. For me . . . drawing curves and arcs in a 2 point perspective drawing is real tough.
I do not use a graph or chart underneath these drawings, I just freehand the lines, and eyeball where the vanishing points are. I suppose if I were doing more formal presentation drawings, or some other “final” type of drawing I would make a better attempt.
. . . but . . . I use these conceptuals as a way to start a dialogue between me and the client. This is the most important thing-the open dialogue . . . finding a way to get to their dream. Dialogue is much more important than a technicality in the detail of the drawing/rendering,
The 2 renderings below are part of the continuing series. This is a series of post to bring you along through the process of doing a design for this residence. Beyond just showing the conceptual renderings, but how I see the potential space(s) in this landscape.
[About the 4th attempt at an entry gate.]
The request given to me by the homeowner were to make a “presentable walkway” to the front door, and something that would keep up to the size and style of the house-nothing more.
With those kind of directions that basically leaves a designer pretty much on his own. Except for whatever hints of the homeowners taste we can pull from the initial interview, and from the site itself . . . in this case not much, not much at all.
The one hard fact I had to really work with was a wall(unknown type) coming down the driveway(right side of photo), I thought it would be great to tie into that wall.
Otherwise what do I have/know, to work with:
- It’s a large house(footprint was around 4,200 sg. ft.) . . . so need to pay attention to scale.
- Brick and a ’stone’ product . . . can I pull from this or use in the landscape.
- Large timbers were used in columns for front doors, overhead timbers, and detail work above garage doors . . . so if I build an arbor or wood fence should I pull from this element.
- Existing big trees in the very large front yard (over 8 acres total) . . . how best do I make the front landscape part of that ‘forest’ of trees
- Standard acceptance/expectation of large foundation plant material to help anchor the house/transition the house into the landscape . . . Traditional house, conservative clients, non-gardening clients, corporate executive type entertaining.
- The non-gardening issue . . this has a particularly large gorilla affect on design, especially something this size, and especially something this size with so much opportunity to put in great garden spaces, and I do mean great.
- Maintenance factor(s) who? how much? how often? what for? what company-installer? Again; to me, this is a big factor in how I will design something. I will hold back more because of this issue and the non-gardening issue . . . even moreso than the budget issue. Speaking of . . .
- Budget-never brought up, never discussed, never hinted at-at all. My read on the client was this was not an issue at all if, IF . . . everything came to pass in the way he envisioned/hoped/dreamed it would be . . . it just better be right. That’s fine with me(no budget discussion), especially on something this big. I would now set the table for the client to understand I was coming back with a bunch of conceptual drawings for them to look at.
[Another attempt at the entry.]
The top rendering is more about a looser style, wrought iron, no heavy overhead arbor, and a(better?) view into the private garden/front door entry from the public driveway/garages.
The 2nd rendering borrows heavily from the architecture of the house, and lays out a different style of entry into the private gardens.
In our 1st meeting the client immediately grasped the significance of public vs. private and was excited about that part of the design philosophy. He was actually someone who totally embrace the idea, even asking several questions about this design principle.
Another thing he asked(in detail) about was the table, and umbrella showing in the drawing. He even asked if this was more about the show than actual usage, and I replied the best way I know how-my intent(truthfully) . . . was to create a scene, a vignette, a space that was appropriate to fit into the overall scheme.
I also remember saying that it was impossible to know how, when, and how often the table would be used. But one thing was for sure-if it wasn’t there . . . no one would ever sit out front. Remember this(discussion for later) because there is a lake and a pond behind the house.
Their original way of thinking was that no one would want to sit in the front.
What if the morning light is better, or the evening shadows, or less bugs, or different plantings, or dappled shade, etc.
[One of "a lot" of random piles of old curbstone.]
Couple of weeks ago I went off to look at a small pile of curbstone. We had hoped to find enough to put in several sets of steps and landings. What I found went way beyond that. I hit the semi-motherlode, a mini-jackpot.
This guy has several thousand linear feet of this great old curbstone, several thousand . . .
The project only requires 400 linear feet or so, so there is a lot more to be had. If you are looking and can buy a semi-load at a time get in touch and I’ll fill you in on the details.
This old stuff has great patina, the old gray sandstone works well in most all outdoor situations, and let’s face it-it looks a heck of a lot better than modular block, and a hell of a lot better than concrete.
This is so ridiculous a statement I don’t know whether to be mad or cry, or have a stiff drink-I think I’ll have a stiff drink:
Landscape professionals rely on computer programs “100 percent,” most often choosing Rhinoceros or Maya, according to Mark Thomann, design director at Balmori Associates, a Manhattan-based landscape architecture firm.
The NYTimes is gullible for quoting this guy, and this is more evidence that New Yorkers don’t know there is a whole entire country to the left of them. Some using more than a computer.
It’s not just me, Mike Linn’s classes continue to sell out almost everywhere he appears . . . designers like the pen in their hand, the ability to sketch on-site. Manhattan-who knows?
Here’s the entire story . . . which is laughable in itself if you think some software will make you a designer, teaching you design principles, light, shadow, mood, soils, water, drainage, emotion, function, usable space, utility space, compost, plant life, spacing, growth by region, color, water, irrigation, electrical lines, bed preparation, form, texture, base material for walkways and installing, ponds, fish, bird habitats, ground plane to vertical relationships, art and science, fencing codes/style/application, evening light, and on and on . . .
Here’s a good one:
Technical fumbling aside, gardening by computer can be kind of fun.
Yeah who needs sunlight, the wind in your hair(I said your hair-not mine), smelly dirt, weeds, mulch, rain on your face, the soft sound of the water hose, mosquito’s, basil on your fingertips, Japanese beetles, that 1st tomato . . . for me: it was/is the standing back at the end of the day and saying . . . “yeah, I did that”
Heck no!
Garden in the computer-it’s fun!
She’s got a plan in hand for the fall . . . New Yorker’s . . . . sheesh.
[the ''before picture'']
[What it could look like-2 walls, and paved]
More about this in the next post-deadlines to meet . . .
This is the 1st of several drawings on this very complicated piece of property. I am going to go through the series of drawings and rehash conversations with the homeowner.
1st problem was how to lower the drive to get into garages-especially the garage door on the right. Tight angle and tough slope. This discrepancy led to a lot of the drive needing to be lowered-which in turn now leads to the need for retaining walls.
My look at how I would landscape after the lowering of the drive:
[Looking down drive to parking area, garages and view down left side.]
[3rd attempt at getting a "look" for the entry to parking/garages. ]
Walls needed on both sides, some higher landscaping on right to block the house-somewhat. The old mystery factor.
Paved of course, maybe some detail in the edging. Brick walls, maybe segmented modular block. There has even been talk of making the left side(in the picture’s) a boulder wall . . . this leads to the discussion-“did we run out of money look?”. My guess is the boulders will not go in.
I also made an attempt here to show some detail to the entry into the private area on the left side, leading away from the more public(driveway/parking) area. This gate/fencing/arbor will need to be shown in greater detail-but is okay for conceptual drawings . . . to see where the client really is in his/her thinking.
More of the public/private separation . . . philosophy/drawings in the next post.
[Mr. Simmons working in his blacksmith shop]
- “I always look at nature; that will never change. Even up until the day they come with the shovel, I try to branch out and do things I haven’t seen, . . .” -Phillip Simmons; Charleston, SC Blacksmith
- “No. The work of the blacksmith then is to shoe horses, to fire them, to shoe horse, broke wagon wheels, repair those wheels, fix the carriages, and you name ‘em, that’s what the work of the blacksmith was.” -Phillip Simmons
- “But let me tell you why I stick to that trade. The blacksmithing didn’t walk out like some of the others. I had loved that. I learned that trade, and since I was in that shop that 70 years, I learned how to create things on my own. I look at the things God created and made them. Look at it. You see the snake get out there. That come from creation. The bird. The fish. I got the palmetto-tree gate, the pecan-tree gate, the snake gate, and all kind of gate.” -Phillip Simmons
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has identified Mr. Simmons(95 by the way) shop as one of the 11 Most Endangered Places. They need our help, and having been to his shop and all the history involved it would be a shame to see another great piece of American History fall away. Help out if you can.
[From phillipsimmons.org]
Want to know more about the life and works of this great man?
- Here’s a long interview from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
- NEA Lifetime Honors Award page.
- A page on the Phillip Simmons Children’s Garden in Charleston.
- Another write-up, including a story about a coffee cup holder for a Volvo-good stuff.
- Lots of solid info and good stuff here at the Phillip Simmons Foundation page.
[2005 image of Childrens Garden]
Strange that I could not find an up-to-date image of this memorial garden, or from the dedication. I suppose somewhere in the Charleston paper’s archives there are pictures.
That 1st quote at the top of the post . . . man I wish I had said that, that exact same way.
However, what prompted me to post this is the fact his shop is on the Endangered List, and more people need to know about it. A great civilization is nothing without it’s culture, it’s history, and a respect for those that have gone before.
I would hate to see another drugstore on another piece of Americana . . . it would not speak well of us as a people.
[Ohio Memorial Shrine; Loundonville, Ohio]
[Detail of work in framing window-awesome stuff]
[Pachysandra does work in the right application-it's perfect here.]
The rest of the pics at full sizes are on this page at my Fotki site.
This is a request from Blackswamp Girl(love the name) who wanted to see my garden, after a April fool’s Day post on this Blog.
[Just a little something. ]
My hope is to use this site to spread some info about the art and practice of Landscape Design. It is a very misunderstood profession; I do not cut grass like the next door neighbor's cousin who carries 3 mowers and a blower in the back of his truck.
I will also pass along comments on industry happenings, events, etc., and any maybe a few other adventures going on in my world-after all this is "my" blog. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. Questions? Drop me an e-mail.
rick (at) whisperingcraneinstitute (dot) com
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