Did you watch the State of the Union address last night? This year’s election is a critical one for all of us and in particular, landscape design professionals. Whether you are a red state conservative or a blue state liberal, one thing is for sure - you're a member of the Green-Industry. While most of us may have already made up our minds, there are a suprising few that are still sitting on the fence.

Yes, I know that what candidates say can vary with the direction of the wind, but how do the two major parties stand on some of the green-industry’s more important issues? It's unfortunate that we don't have a more rigorous dialogue within our industry. And we can’t go to many of our landscape contracting trade magazines to gain any clarity either. Many of their “opinion pages” simply can’t be trusted to present an open minded viewpoint and often just parrot the thinking of advertisers. So what’s an inquiring mind to do?

Fear not intrepid DonD readers, for I have distilled the issues down to three salient green industry areas and cut n' pasted some political propaganda for you to sift through from the respective party websites...

1.     Business & taxes: Landscape designers not only weather the seasonal downturns, but often find themselves at the tail end of construction sequences or remodeling projects. Small design businesses in particular are dependent upon slim margins and have had difficulty staying in business during this economic downturn. Republican thinking points out that more taxation will stifle economic growth, while Democrats supports the idea government can guide and help stimulate growth. Will greater regulation possibly include stricter licensure standards for landscape designers? Who stands for what here?

Democrats: “Democrats are moving forward with a “Made in America” economic plan to strengthen American industries and create jobs for American workers by: Ending tax loopholes that let corporations hide profits overseas, and investing those dollars in small businesses that create jobs in America; Providing tax cuts to small businesses and expanding lending so that businesses can create new jobs; Investing in a clean-energy economy, and providing tax credits to spark manufacturing of windmills, solar panels, and electric cars here at home; and Putting Americans to work rebuilding roads, bridges, rails, and ports, strengthening our economy and our infrastructure across all 50 states”.

Republicans: “Cut taxes to stimulate economy and help families. Budget surpluses are the result of over-taxation of the American people. The weak link in the chain of prosperity is the tax system. Foster capital investment and savings to boost today’s dangerously low personal savings rate. Tax cuts & low interest rates lead to home ownership. Low interest rates open up more housing opportunities than any government program. Affordable housing is in the national interest. That is why tax reform should continue to encourage homeownership. We will turn over to communities abandoned HUD properties for urban homesteading, a citizen effort that has been successful in revitalizing neighborhoods. We affirm our commitment to open housing, without quotas, and we applaud the efforts by the housing industries to assure access for everyone”.       

2    2. The environment: Most of us would define ourselves as ecologically minded, but how do we draw the lines between environmental regulation and business responsibility? Is it true that prohibiting the use of certain lawn & garden chemicals is destroying landscape businesses? Are regulations stifling growth or providing much needed environmental protections? Or both?

Democrats: “During the Obama Administration, the Department of Transportation issued new fuel-economy standards, the first mandated increases in fuel economy for cars in decades. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken the first steps toward regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. For the first time, the U.S. will catalogue greenhouse gas emissions from large emission sources-—an important initial step toward measurable and transparent reductions. Democrats have made investments in weatherization programs, energy efficiency, and renewable-energy research, as well as investments in public transit and new rail transportation. For decades it has been clear that the way Americans produce and consume energy is not sustainable. Our addiction to foreign oil and fossil fuels puts our economy, our national security, and our environment at risk. Democrats are working to develop comprehensive energy and climate legislation to protect our environment and grow our economy”.

Republicans: “Private property ownership key to environmental agenda. Republicans know that economic prosperity is essential to environmental progress. We link the security of private property to our environmental agenda because environmental stewardship has been best advanced where property is privately held. People who own the land also protect it. Republicans will safeguard private property rights by enforcing the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment and by providing just compensation whenever private property is needed to achieve a compelling public purpose. Economic prosperity and environmental protection must advance together. Environmental regulations should be based on science. The government’s role should be to provide market-based incentives to develop the technologies to meet environmental standards. We should ensure that environmental policy meets the needs of localities. Environmental policy should focus on achieving results processes”.

 Environmental issues to watch and contact your legislators about:

                        Fertilizer & phosphorus runoff: The EPA has been a lightning rod for controversy, from banning pesticides to enforcing property regulations. Recent studies have shown that phosphorus runoff, largely from fertilizers, is negatively impacting Americas watersheds. What do you think? Should individuals be restricted in the amount of fertilizer they can apply and where? Should phosphorus be further restricted or even eliminated from fertilizer?

                        Pesticide use: Continuing disagreement will arise as more Americans try to limit chemical use on the basis of ‘The precautionary principle” and try to limit the use of legally available garden chemicals. What do you think? Do individual municipalities have the right to restrict the use of legal, but possibly harmful garden chemicals?

3.  Labor & immigration: With record numbers of Americans out of work, will immigration reform be backburnered or become a primary issue in 2012? How does it affect your landscape design business? Are you concerned about illegal labor? Does illegal labor have any impact upon your projects? Will changes in labor standards, immigration amnesty or stricter enforcement affect the quality and costs of landscape projects? 

Democrats: “Support comprehensive reform grounded in the principles of responsibility and accountability:Responsibility from the federal government to secure our borders: The Obama Administration has dedicated unprecedented resources to securing our borders and reducing the flow of illegal traffic in both directions.Responsibility from unscrupulous businesses that break the law: Employers who exploit undocumented workers undermine American workers, and they have to be held accountable. Responsibility from people who are living in the United States illegally: Undocumented workers who are in good standing must admit that they broke the law, pay taxes and a penalty, learn English, and get right with the law before they can get in line to earn their citizenship”.

Republicans: “Ensuring the integrity of our borders is vital to ensuring the safety of our citizens. We must know the identity of all visitors who enter the US, and we must know when they leave. We must strengthen our Border Patrol to stop illegal crossings, and we will equip the Border Patrol with the tools, technologies, structures, and sufficient force necessary to secure the border. We will seek stiff penalties for those who smuggle illegal aliens into the country and for those who sell fraudulent documents. The Republican Party supports reforming the immigration system to ensure that it is legal, safe, orderly and humane. To better ensure that immigrants enter the United States only through legal means that allow for verification of their identity, reconnaissance cameras, border patrol agents, and unmanned aerial flights have all been increased at the border. We support these efforts to enforce the law while welcoming immigrants who enter America through legal avenues. We oppose amnesty because it would have the effect of encouraging illegal immigration and would give an unfair advantage to those who have broken our laws”.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Yes, I know that I didn’t include any discussion regarding abortion, gay rights or many of the other important issues. I also didn’t include libertarian, tea party or green party views here. In the interest of brevity, I think you might generally know that when the election comes down to the two major parties, (which it will), in which direction these parties will skew.

 That said, how are you voting…and why?           

 

Info from websites such as:

http://www.issues2000.org/Republican_Party.htm#Environment

http://www.democrats.org/

For more on these issues and text go to:  http://www.factcheck.org/. 

 

 

I was in Sydney, Australia over the holidays and had a chance to litterally smell the flowers, as it's summer there.  Walking about with time to spare, especially in the Royal Botanical gardens I was so impressed by the trees, the natural skyscrapers that have grown up with the city.

Don't you just go into "AGH" mode when you see trees butchered to accommodate powerlines or worse  when a ficus is stuffed into a small planter like an evil stepsisters foot into the proverbial glass slipper.  Its downright....not right....right?  

But there in the parks, Norfolk Island Pines held there cross-like leaders to the heavens and majestic Moreton Bay Figs spread shelter and shade for the citizens and birdlife. (and those frightening creatures called flying foxes, a bat creature that feasts on fruit) Its an impressive sight to see trees reach a mature height and size.

Along the rivers edge, eucalypts age gracefully swaying their tassled tops in the breeze, mirroring that beauty to the murky water. sigh. Not a nip or tuck in sight.  Its a wonder to be awed by nature.

So take a look at these pics.

 I did include one of a monsterous plumeria, taking up any airspace possible.  Here this decades old plant enchanted me.  I wanted to sit on that balcony inhaling the intoxicating perfume or pull up a cushion under it and have blossoms rain down on me-even if it was on the sidewalk.  Trees like this should be untouchable for the strength they convey and the measure of time they convey.

A few others show a recently installed succulent/cactus garden of steel and spike and one of the entry gates with golden barrel cactus and bromeliad in bloom.  Clearly not designs fearful of size or using space and mulch to enhance the beauty of form.

Enjoy.

 

 

 

One of the most time consuming tasks of creating a landscape design often is locating property lines.  My residential design clients seldom know the locations of these lines.  Frequently, they think they know and are miss-informed.  I am not concerned when working on large properties where my design encompasses a large area around the house and out buildings and where that area is a great distance from the edge of the property.  Most projects, however, involve locations where the house takes up a great portion of the property.

Usually the property lines are close enough to the house, garage, shed, play structure, driveway, the street, trees and other existing features to create an edge to the design.  The relationship of all elements in the landscape with the property lines is integral to the design.  In addition, zoning and building regulations reference the property lines. 

On rectangular lots I can usually with some detective work arrive at close approximations for the locations of the lines.  With house dimensions (hopefully from house plans or plot plans filed with the city) and lot dimensions (filed with the city or on the county GIS site) I can locate the property lines and am able to draw and an accurate representation of the site plan.  However, on oddly-shaped lots this is impossible.  Usually, the building footprint with setbacks if available from the city is not accurate.  The GIS images include roof lines, so do not represent the true dimensions of the houses.

Our local realtors do not provide their clients with accurate information about their property lines and do not advise them to add the location of pins as a contingency to their offer to buy contracts.

I have been considering adding to my design services contract a line stating that the client must provide the location of the pins, the property lines and the location of the house.  If they are unable to do so, I will need to charge them for that service.  I am interested in how other landscape designers handle this kind of situation.  Do you require an accurate site plan before starting work on a project?

I currently have a new project where the house sits on an irregularly-shaped lot.  There is no house plan and the new owners do not yet have access to the abstract which may or may not include a site plan.  Both neighbors are fairly close and neither know the exact location of the property lines.  The driveway, new shed and existing trees and hedges are very close to where the lines most likely are located.  In addition, the house does not sit on a north-south or east-west axis.  I need to be able to reference its location to a least two property lines.  The photos are from this project.

All suggestions are welcomed!

Vanessa Gardner Nagel, APLD, NCIDQ
Author of Understanding Garden Design
http://SeasonsGardenDesign.com

A contractor's set of plans is kept handy at the site for frequent reference.

Since writing about this topic last month, I chatted with a number of individuals about this issue. I spoke with a designer in California who was, well, fit to be tied because she was trying to cover her client and work around the restrictive laws in California. I’m not an expert on the California law, but it is my understanding that designers in that state need to stay within the realm of “conceptual design only”. Since my discussion with her, I consulted with a good friend who, after many years as an architect, recently retired. He grew up saturated with legal lingo too, because his father was a well-known attorney in Indiana. This comes in handy as an architect, because the profession is rife with liability issues. So he and I had a lengthy discussion over our annual Christmas dinner about “conceptual only” drawings.

            What he told me is that a designer cannot stipulate requirements in a drawing when the plans are labeled “conceptual only”. I wasn’t happy about this so I pursued the issue. “What can we do to give our clients some recourse with contractors”, I asked him. He said that we can write a set of guidelines for our clients, not as notes on our plans, but as a document that our clients can attach to their contractor agreement. So while I strongly suggest that you verify, in your own state, whether you can use notes on your plans or not, this is a workaround that will help protect your clients. You may want to have an attorney review your notes to assure that you are not putting yourself in a libelous situation with your client. I would still recommend attaching your drawings to the contract, as well. Reminder: this is not an issue in states where designers do not need to include “conceptual only” on their plans.

            As Alan Burke noted last month, PLANET may not be the perfect set of standards when it comes to anything to do with soil and plants. They include non-sustainable methods, but as the California designer suggested to me, we may want to consider the Sustainable Sites initiative to cover that. I would suggest reading through any standards you use to determine which sections you want to reference. Also, I suggest regular review of your referenced standards to make sure nothing has changed since the last time you referenced them. I heard through the grapevine that it’s possible Sustainable Sites may recommend use of only native plants (read: no other plants, not even friendly, non-invasive plants from realms beyond your region). This might be a deal changer as a reference. I know this would not work for me. Although Sustainable Sites didn’t ask my opinion, I offer it anyway. I think it’s an extremist approach. I’ll stop here before I get myself in trouble.

By Jane Berger, APLD
www.gardendesignonline.com
@gdndesignonline
Facebook page: Garden Design Online

I'm writing an article about a garden in Rhode Island ... and while visiting late last fall, I was struck by the utter simplicity of two outdoor showers designed by the architect.

You enter from the side, step up onto a bluestone platform supported on blocks ... and ... yes ..the cool part about it is that it drains into a gravel pit beneath.  What could be easier???

Then, at the guest house down the road, the shower is built directly into one side of the entrance, draining through deck boards (ipe, of course) into the garden bed below, which is planted with water-tolerant species.

Very simple.  Very cool.

By Danilo Maffei, APLD

Ever have a hard time getting the client to visualize the end product? Yup, me too and I am sure all of you are nodding your heads right now. In my on-going efforts to increase efficiency and productivity so I can make more money and still have a life, I made the decision earlier this year to take an offer from Vectorworks and test drive their CAD software. After nine months of use I have finally broken out of the 2D paradigm and into the virtual world of 3D design. It has not been all sunshine and lollypops, as I am still figuring out how some of the tools work (I am largely an autodidact, so I have yet to actually take one of their classes), but I have managed to circumnavigate this little issue by combining what I have learned about the program and combined it with the skills I already have. This has produced a nifty little work-around with which I am temporarily satisfied. The images here show how I have taken my 2D/3D plan (which are drawn simultaneously with one action. nice.) which lacks the detail that would otherwise be there had I known how to create it, printing that image out, trace it and add in the details freehand, then add color. 

I am taking the long way around right now, but this sure is faster and more accurate than what I was doing before. This spring you can come to my office where I will be having a yard sale with Chartpack markers and trace paper going for cheap!

Christmas and this wintry season have me thinking about holidays, history and horticulture. It’s somewhat troubling to think about how far our national holidays have strayed from their original meanings, whether you consider the Coca-cola symbolism of Santa sliding down a chimney or the candy colored creation of Valentine’s Day, our holidays have lost almost all their true significance, from the corruption of harvest festivals into Halloween to the far from the Mayflower - bloat of Thanksgiving. And don’t get me started on Easter, either. What ‘peeps’ have to do with Christ’s resurrection is beyond me. These holidays were founded in the seasons and mythology, but flounder now as buying sprees from Madison Avenue.

But I digress.

In addition to the misplaced meaning of our national holidays, we have also lost a large piece of our botanical past. Within your garden lies a deeper, botanical layer of meaning and myth long forgotten, as surely as we don’t recognize the ancient Roman festival of ‘Saturnalia’, the precursor to this modern holy day. It’s fascinating to consider the hidden folklore that surround plants that we see every day. In my own small way, I’ve tried to merge these hidden histories into my efforts, in theatrical gardens and in select projects in which a client will work with me to embrace the spirit of place.

These hidden mysteries of horticulture lie under the leaf clutter of centuries, composting far from our memory. With a bit of careful investigation, I believe that we can open up a novel and new perception within landscape design and develop a fundamental understanding that will help us transcend the mundane and common knowledge of plant shape, color and placement.  We malign the simple Juniperus horizontalis as commonplace, forgetting that it was discovered by Meriwether Lewis and brought to Thomas Jefferson. We roughly plant a Witch hazel without knowing that at its base, the faeries sleep in Irish mythology. Innocent daffodils remind us of spring, but are really a sign of death and rebirth. A world of history and mythic belief exists alongside our scientific botanical knowledge. Rich and steeped in magic, it informed our ancestors but we cannot hear it speak to us - of color, fragrance, healing and our past – a time when we were closer to the earth and to our gods than we are today.

A sampling of botanicals and historical belief:

Foxglove: As a “cure” for scarlet fever, foxglove leaves were placed in children’s shoes. Picking foxglove was unlucky and the plant was absolutely forbidden inside the house as this gave witches/the devil access.

Sage: This gypsy ‘toothpaste’ in the 40s and 50s was chopped sage and salt in an equal parts mix, rubbed on the teeth with Irish linen.

Boxwood: Unlucky to bring it indoors, it was said that if you ‘Bring box into the house, take a box out’ .

Daffodil: A funereal flower, Welsh families made a great effort to tidy family graves and dress them with daffodils.

Oak: It was said that when the leaves on the white oak were the size of a mouse’s ear you should plant your corn.  A tree of stability, constancy and royal honor. Google “Merlin’s tree” to learn a fascinating story about an ancient oak in England.

Bayberry: Symbolizes illusions and appearances, it was believed to be useful for visions and divining.

Blackberry: This was considered by all to be the food of the faeries and it was extremely taboo to eat them within Celtic Britain.

Bluebell: These were enchanted plants and it was believed that their bells call the faeries to their midnight processions.

Elm: Is associated with shadows, darkness and depression and was used to mark off tainted areas of the countryside.

Lily: Symbolizes sorrow and is closely associated to death. It is used to symbolize danger, caution and deadly beauty.

Strawberry: Used for love spells, its symbolism is that of love, temptation, passion and rewarded effort.

Spruce: This tree represents growth, persistence, strength and endurance.

Hibiscus: Hibiscus symbolizes beauty and fertility, five-petal flowers speak of protection and its random growth that of chaos. It is used for spells involving randomness, glamour and repelling negativity.

Sources: plant-lore.com and uponreflection.co.uk

More here: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=plant+lore&btnG= 

As landscape designers search for deeper significance in this short-attention-span world, perhaps we can take a moment to stop this holiday season and look at the mark we are making. To be sure, we look to shape the earth and the spaces around us. We play at god in our little way, stab at a futile control of nature, in even the most native of our landscapes. But we do have a chance in our work to make more than gardens, to do something more meaningful than to simply place plant materials. We have an opportunity to inform more carefully those we come in contact with, impart deeper meaning into our projects and bring those that work with us closer to the earth and to our own past.

Feel the texture in a botanical name, learn the variegation of healing properties, study the past in a flower, find out more – and honor your plant material – by telling it’s story.

(Image: Study of Flowers by da Vinci 1452-1519)

 

Alan Burke, asla

Landscape architect
Classic Nursery & Landscape Company
Email: alan@classicnursery.com

 

December 20, 2011

Cool Clear Water

Frequently when I tell someone I am a landscape designer the response is how lucky I am to be working outside and presumably planting trees and flower beds.  The opportunity then arises for me to explain what my job as a landscape designer includes, which hopefully is not digging many holes.

We do spend a great deal of time outside.  I consider this a bonus to the job.  The time I am on site by myself becoming familiar with its characteristics while measuring and photographing is pleasurable.  My mind and body work together gathering information and formulating ideas.  Sometimes the weather adds to the pleasure and sometimes subtracts.  Discussing hardscape and plant placement with the contractor, making the incremental adjustments and walking through the landscape with the client define what I do when not in my office.

However, there is that other part.  The part where I am glued to my computer screen (previously my drawing table), photographs, and internet and published sources can last for hours and may go on for days depending on the size of the project.  In my four season climate winter shuts down the outdoor part.  There is still plenty to do:  projects to draw, research to complete, writing to start, taxes to work on.  I can feel my shoulders start to hunch.  I am continuing to feed my mind, but not my body.

These words lead me to why my post is two days late.  I was feeding my mind and body, but not with design principles and footwork.  I had the opportunity to take my horse to a dressage clinic at a local stable with Olympic hopeful Michael Barisone.  It is as though for two days I was in another rhelm.  The intensity I put my mind and body through takes all of my strength.  The result is physical and mental exhaustion and exhilaration.  Kind of like surviving a battle.  I know this may not sound like fun to you, but I hope all landscape designers will spend time on something else that exercises our brains and our bodies.

I have one more property to measure today before the ice and snow arrive tomorrow and winter the next day.

Vanessa Gardner Nagel, APLD, NCIDQ
Author of Understanding Garden Design
www.seasonsgardendesign.com

I live in Washington State, but I also work in Oregon because it is only 5 minutes from my house to the Columbia River, the border between the states. The difference between the two with regard to what I can draw for any given project is vast. Oregon has very restrictive laws that do not allow a landscape designer (only a landscape architect) to write specifications for a project. Thank goodness it isn’t an issue in Washington. I find this quite ridiculous as a former interior designer. Indeed, as an interior designer, I was expected to issue specifications AND details for the sake of project clarity. Any details I draw for an Oregon landscape project are restricted to ‘conceptual in nature’, meaning it is up to the contractor to interpret them. Fortunately, there are many good contractors who intelligently connect with the designer to gain a better understanding of the design intent. Unfortunately, there are the few contractors who don’t do that and disrespect the client’s design investment by reinterpreting the design, often with wretched results.

What I decided to do to assure that my clients have some basis of recourse if the installation quality is poor is to look for a set of standards that I could refer to that dictate a minimum level of quality. Contractors with bonds and licenses in each state typically belong to either the Oregon Landscape Contractors Association (OLCA) or the Washington Association of Landscape Professionals (WALP). To become certified these contractors are examined on the basis of PLANET, the Professional Landcare Network. PLANET creates standards and guidelines which are the basis for their examinations. Because they are an international group, it is very likely they are used in each state in the United States.

In my general notes, which are on the cover sheet of each set of working drawings that I issue, I now include a note that says that the contractor must meet all of the standard criteria dictated by PLANET for corresponding portions of the landscape installation on this project. I tell my clients to include the working drawings as part of the contract with their landscape contractor. This way, if the contractor does not meet their obligation to deliver at least the minimum standard of quality, my client has legal options. While this is usually not required of reputable contractors, it is helpful when the client hires a contractor you’ve never heard of or know nothing about. The bottom line is that your client gets the work they pay for (and no less) and that you get a project that accurately reflects the design that you and your client developed.

Photo depicts a contractor reading the working drawings to install a brick pattern for a labyrinth.