Linkers, a moment please:

If you were kind enough to set up a link to this page from your Blog or page I would appreciate it if you would change that to my new Blog site over at Wordpress.

I appreciate the fact the you thought enough of what I am doing to link to my page and I hope that will continue over at my new site.

Again, thanks a lot in advance. I look forward to your readership, comments, and feedback.

Landscape Design, and Design is important to our lives, and good design makes our life more enjoyable, more pleasant, and more civilized. I will continue to write about what I see, hear, learn, and ponder about as I continue my life's work.

There will be a move to Wordpress

My friends . . . . have all chimed in, one way or another, and have decided they like the Wordpress look better. So I will respect their opinions and move.

The only real question left for me is do I stay at Wordpress.com or do I move entirely over to another type of site. As in a paying site. Where I can have the blog hosted, and at the same time move the WCI website to also. There are (for me) plus'es and minus'es to both sides of this equation.

All of this is going to have to wait until I get back from the Mgmt. Clinic in Louisville, KY. this coming week. I trip I am looking forward to-this is a very good conference, lots of high energy.

So for now dear readers keep catching me over at the other site where I am posting like mad, like mad I tell you . . . yes actually mad.

I wonder . . . how do you spell plus'es and minus'es?

Dear readers, I need your help!

I have moved my Blog to a Word Press site. To see, just how it would look in a different type of setting. To streamline, to pull back on sidebar stuff.

So I am looking for some feedback, via e-mail or comment. Which style of blog seems to fit what I am trying to do?

Merry xmas 3

Willie Nelson, on "produce"

" It’s a good thing I had a bag of marijuana. If I had a bag of spinach, I’d be dead by now." -Willie Nelson


The photo is by Mark Seliger photographs.

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A few interesting sites

A couple of sites worth a visit:

***A blog for a landscape company in Santa Cruz, Ca. One of the few blogs I've seen at a landscape website. They are using this blog to promo their work and it looks much better than the typical static landscape website. Kudos to Silver Tree Designs.

***In 2008 Quebec city will be celebrating their 400th anniversary. One of the big parts of the celebration will be the Ephemeral Gardens:

EPHEMERAL GARDENS AT THE HEART OF THE FESTIVITIES

The Ephemeral Gardens will be an artistic event where creators from different horizons are invited to bring an artistic viewpoint on the major themes of Québec City's 400th anniversary. This viewpoint will be expressed through creator gardens : outdoor creations using mediums that combine different elements, including plant materials.

If you think you got a great ephermal design in you, go here to look at their call for proposals.

***The website for the University of British Columbia (UBC) is a good one. It is definitely worth a look.

***Finally, a list. This is a list of things a freelance illustrator has learned over 17 years of working as a . . . freelancer. I find this appropriate because I am a frelancer/consultant/self-employed kind of guy. All 17 are good advice, or great common sense reminders, but I think this is my favorite:

1. Dealing With People's Questions.
   You will have interesting questions posed to you as a freelancer. Some
   people have ideas that all freelancers are of the of fuzzy slippers and
   jammy pant wearing, constant soap opera watching or constantly sleeping
   variety. There is really no solution to this line of questioning other
   than to answer their questions as honestly (not defensively) as
   possible. After awhile, they should see that you are a diligent worker
   who might have a slightly different schedule than most, but who still
   punches a "time-clock". Be patient, the comments will eventually stop.

Please take a look at the comments below the list, some are useful, funny, and or . . . well-comments. Starting with:

• #18 - Don't use orange font to display something meaningful

• Even though not a freelancer yet, or maybe I am a freelancer just haven't
  gotten any work yet! ha, still loved reading the list. They may be common sense but they can be easily overlooked and who doesn't need a refresher. Congrats on 17, and early congrats on the next 17! And the orange font does just fine, cause if you really want to read it, you will. ha ha

• Excellent guidelines. I have been a freelance illustrator since 1973, minus six years as an art director at an ad agency. I second everything you say, and if I might I would add a couple of other lessons I've learned:
  
• 1.) Always get a jump on a job. If you procrastinate because you have a generous deadline, you may end up having to turn down other work that comes in when you're up against it.
• 2.) Sensitize your antennae to what the art director says. It may be something like, "The sketch looks great. . . at first I was a little concerned about the guy's hairstyle, but then I thought, no, I'm just over-thinking, so don't worry about it, everything's fine." That means--change the hairstyle!
• 3.) Communicate early and often. If time permits, fax or email the art director rough sketches before going to tight sketches. This has saved me a lot of wasted effort.
• 4.) I would underline your point #4 about "attitude." The art director is generally under a great deal of stress. When you get last-minute or seemingly arbitrary changes, or stinging criticisms, accept them cheerfully. Never express the irritation you may feel. The extent to which you can do this will go a long way toward creating successful long-term relationships. Some art directors have poor people skills. If you're one of the illustrators they feel comfortable dealing with, you'll be amply rewarded.

The website is Beetlegrass and I want to say thanks for the list, keep going!

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Whats in a Word?

On 11/21/06 I posted a short blurb about books for the laymen in reference to a short list of books for (what I consider) folks who want to design/garden their property. So I was using laymen as a term for someone who is interested in horticulture/gardening but in no way, shape or form receives money for their interest.

On Nov. 27th over at a blog called A Lake County Point of View, the County Clerk was kind enough to refer to another post of mine 27 Books every Landscape Designer Should Read. In this post he also mentioned the 11/21 post; inside that post was a comment about my referring to laymen, and referencing the word layman was a little pretentious-on my part.

This starts a little back and forth, and a question from me about what term should I have used instead of laymen? So today the County clerk post a long discussion (quite interesting) starting with an apology to me-which I didn't think was necessary, but it is accepted.

Now the good stuff, this is a great post on the English language and the importance of words and how they are used, or should be used. It is a fantastic explanation of connotation vs. denotation with a little classical music thrown in.

My point in bringing all this to the forefront? What have I learned? Well one thing I have learned from this Blog was that I needed to craft my wording so that others would understand my way of speaking/talking/writing. I had previously been published over 35 times (mostly trade journals) but always had the other set of eyes look at my writing-the editor. I was lazy, editors made it too easy for me. It was, "just give me the how-to's of the installation, I'll clean it up for publication".

Well that's not the case here with this Blog . . it's me. What I write here is what makes it out to cyberspace and the public world. I gotta tell you, I like it. I like the challenge - a lot. So when I am called out on something, something like this (the use of word laymen), I really don't mind.

I have gotten lazy with some words, for me laymen/layman had become the great catch-all. Laymen was easy. So I ask you this . . . what is a better way to describe those that love to garden? those that like to be out in their private spaces, to dig in the dirt, to nurture those plants? With no thought of monetary reward. To separate Professional from the strict amateur.

By the way A Lake County Point of View is a terrific read all the time, so many interest, so much thought. Heck, just go back and read last weeks entries about Walnut, you'll understand. Great stuff.

*Small confession: my wife has been known to log on here and do a little editing, she is terrific at catching all the typo's and stuff that I am good at missing. Many thanks Mrs. A.

*The above picture was taken at 9,000 or 10,000 feet in the Wasatch Mountains, east of Salt Lake City, Utah. It's worth the visit.

A link kind of day

Some old Doodle:
A interesting article from Southern California about ripping out the yard and filling it full of plants.

Katie Campbell has written a book called Icons of Twentieth-Century Landscape Design, here's an excerpt:
In her book, Icons of Twentieth-Century Landscape Design, Campbell explores 29 sites, from Parc Guell, Gaudi's Art Nouveau extravaganza in Barcelona, to the stark landscape around the Jewish Museum in Berlin; and two Scottish gardens have made their mark on the international design scene.
This article goes into the thought process behind the book and what Ms. Campbell is hoping to accomplish, I look forward to reading this one.

Do you like maps? Do you know how to read a map? Some folks consider large landscape plan drawings-maps. Well I like maps and heck I can even read a complicated landscape plan. Here's a Blog that looks at the World of maps, strange maps to be exact.

Books for the Laymen

Several weeks ago I posted a list of 27 books I thought were good books for the Professional Landscape Designer. I see that Joel Lerner has written a suggested book list for the home gardener.

If Joel suggest this list I am sure it is a good one. I've known Joel since 1989 and have a lot of respect for Joel and his wife Sandy, they are really good people and fun to work with. Joel is also the consummate professional, and well thought of in our industry. Joel also has several books to his credit.

Beyond that he was one of the movers and shakers who had a lot to do with the formation of APLD. APLD is the only professional organization that speaks as the international voice of Professional Landscape Designers.

Having said all that I am sure it's a good list.

Ice-Cream Monster Toon Cafe

I am not sure how Alina came up with this name for her Blog, but hey it works for her which is all that matters.

Another great post of her fantastic ability to make a page come alive, she is so good with color. Plus this time she throws in a little philosophy. So I think I'll throw some in too.

"Farmer, pointing the way, with a radish" -Issa

Looking at the Urban Environment

A Blog that takes a unique look at the urban environment, the good and the bad, with the decay and the possibilities of all that entails.

The name: Walking Turcot Yards, it's worth a look.

Funny list at CNN.com

They have a list over there for the top 10 jobs to get you outdoors, and Landscape Architect is on the list. I find this rather amusing, actually very amusing.

The LA's I know are chained to their CAD programs on their computer, while at their desk. They also have Botanist on the list, which I also found somewhat amusing.

Check it out . . .

By the way I am a Landscape Designer, not a Landscape Architect in case you were wondering.

Garden Theivery

Okay, now I understand someone stealing an occasional lawn mower, or barbecue grill. I mean you can sell the mower and you got to eat. But stealing the furniture? Stealing the flagstone? Stealing the Koi? Then stealing the pond . . . . ?!??!?!? What the heck is going on.

It appears there is a major garden crime wave in Great Britain, and the thieves are busy, really busy.

I have not seen anything like this here, in terms of these types of numbers. If anyone has seen some numbers please pass along the link. I would appreciate it.

I do remember back in the mid-90's when I lived in South Carolina there was a brand new upscale neighborhood where there were several installs and that 1st night a gang of crooks would dig up all the newly planted plants, stripping the landscape bare. This went on for several months and no one was ever caught.

A Chinese Web-site

I recently came across this web-site in China with this one page in English. It talks about the state of Landscape Architecture in China. There is also a lot of discussion about all the growing pains the Chinese are going through.

I have been to China, would love to go back, and know that all these problems are real. The Chinese people are great, everyone I ran across was engaging, fun, interesting, and curious. What I came away with was that the Chinese people aren't much different from us, shocking, and just want to lead a decent life with family and friends, have a decent job, and be consumers-just like us!

Botanical Space Invaders

So how about Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and Hogweed fields, Hogweed fields ??? Yep, it appears to be one of many that got away.

How do I find this stuff anyway??? Don't ask . . . ..

Rock Piles in the Woods

Rock Piles, that's right, rock piles. This is a Blog about some guys who find strange rock piles in the New England area. Their goal is to promote the sites but at the same time keep them secret.

Give them a look they're worth it!

Feed the Birds Day

Dinner Time

Tomorrow is Feed the Birds Day, Saturday the 28th. Now I do not know who proclaimed this, or certified this, or what makes the 28th the day, but tomorrow is the day. Maybe it is tied into the day we turn our clocks back, which signifies that autumn is flying by and old-man Winter is near, boooo!!!.

I originally found out about this on the Treehugger site, and from there went to the RSPB site. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Where you will find just about everything you need to know about feeding birds, and I mean everything.

When looking at this; I am starting to wonder, is this a British Day, a International Day, or something we've hijacked for commercial purposes?.

Actually I am now really wondering because I don't know if the Brits practice Daylight Savings Time. Would this confuse the Queen? Hmmmm, it seems that this post is more about questions than answers.

At any rate, a Landscape Designer has a responsibility to create environments that our beneficial to our feathery friends. Personally, I like it when the client remarks about being a birder, and for me, landscaping to accommodate that hobby is important. Designing for birds leads to a emphasis on plants that allow for cover, food, water, shelter, and protection from predators.

As for the above photo . . . well predators gotta eat, and out here in the country they do a pretty good job of cleaning up road kill. It is part of the cycle of life.

So no matter who's day it is tomorrow here's to our little feathery friends, now go put the cat away . . . at least for tomorrow.

Creating a Forest Garden

My forest in the fall
The area you are looking at is the start of my forest garden, luckily for me I have this great canopy to work with. From there I had originally thought it was a matter of adding other vegetative layers to make this a successful garden space. How wrong I was about this. There are actually 5 distinct architectural features according to the folks at Edible Forest Gardens. From their site:

• Soil horizon structure, vegetation patterning, vegetation density, and community diversity are also critical. All five of these elements of community architecture influence yields, plant health, pest and disease dynamics, maintenance requirements, and overall community character.

The ecology of a forest is very complicated and for that reason there is very little recreating of actual forest in Landscape Design. What most of us seem to do is plant a few canopy trees (or borrow those existing on-site), add some shrubs that fit existing soil requirements, and then throw in a few perennial groupings.

I don't even think I have ever referred to my former work as a forest garden. Maybe a vignette of nature, a recreation of nature . . . but never a forest garden. The thought of calling spaces (forest gardens) where the idea would be to develop that ecology just never occurred to me. Add to that this isn't something that comes up everyday in residential Landscape Design.

I was originally peaked on this subject by a article in the Columbian, about the forest garden in the Northwest U.S. and that's lead me on to further exploration.

The 1st site to go is Edible Forest Gardens, this is more than a site hawking a book, there is a lot of good info here to go through. I found a couple of other pdf's worth downloading one is from Cornell, and the other is from The Ohio State University (Go Bucks!); here's the pdf, and here's the fact sheet. which include a plant list that has a lot of info on a wide variety of plants that work in creating a forest garden.

I believe this is an important discussion for us Landscape Designers as we are faced with the continuing struggle of designing on former farmland, field, or forest that has been pillaged to make way for a subdivision. To try and create a sense of space that is warm and inviting with some enclosure. What better way to do that, than with trees.

With trees comes the opportunity to add other varied material, to create diversity, color, opportunity, wildlife, and tranquility . . . the forest garden. The trees are the beginning of the forest garden, a reclamation of former forest, and a gift to future inhabitants.

ANLA, Management Clinic

Every year in Louisville, KY. the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) holds their yearly conference, they call it The Management Clinic. The dates for the 2007 Clinic-Jan. 31st through February 3rd.

It's very easy for me to describe the Clinic . . . it's a blast! an absolute blast!!! I belong (have belonged) to many organizations in the industry, and attend many conferences, events, seminars . . . the Management Clinic is the best. The ANLA staff is terrific; going way above and beyond the call; and the ANLA members who volunteer to make the Clinic work . . . work like dogs to make this the premiere National Event in the industry.

From the opening session straight through to the Muggets, the Clinic is one learning event, one moment changer, one networking opportunity after another, after another. The willingness of the attendees to share what they know, and the depth of the speakers knowledge is terrific. I can't wait for the time to get here, well I can but you know what I mean.

Need another reason to go . . . ta da! I'm part of the program. This will be my 3rd time as a speaker at the Mgmt. Clinic and I really look forward to participating. This is how the Mgmt. Clinic describes my program:

Changes In The Landscape World - A Provocateurs Perspective:

During the Clinic, speakers will wax philosophic about sustainability, social responsibility, design trends, technology and systems, and marketing strategies. Do you buy what the "experts" are saying? Why make big changes when things are going OK? Should you guide your clients' tastes, or just give 'em topiary if that's what they want?

I'm being asked to reinvent the panel discussion where a bunch of guys would talk about the new petunia, or the next hot spreadsheet. Well . . . to quote Emeril "Bam! let's kick it up a notch!".

I hope to jump start a more lively discussion and really bring the audience into the discussion, I want interaction! I will throw out some new trends I see on the landscape Design/Build side, ask for some input from the crowd, and we'll mix it up from there.

I plan on using this Blog, the Blogsphere, Web Forums, cyberspace, etc., to kick start the discussion and find as much info as I can ahead of time. I hope those of you that stop in and e-mail me about stuff will contribute to my findings. I also am looking for more feedback from those lurkers (I know who you are) around here-speak out! Let me know what you're thinking. Or send me to sites or info I need to see.

One other thing about the Mgmt. Clinic for 2007, Mike Lin is coming back and doing another of his (sure to be terrific) 2-day graphic workshops immediately preceding the festivities. Mike is the man when it comes to teaching graphics in the field of Landscape Design. I mean he is the man. If you want to pick up your game in rendering technique, coloring skills, or drawing speed these 2 days would be worth your time with philosopher Mike. (Do you think this plug will get me in the session???).

The 2007 ANLA Management Clinic, if you are in any part of this industry, this industry that makes the World a better place to live . . . Ask yourself this . . . how can I be anywhere that week, but in Louisville, KY? See ya' at Muggets . . .

The Demise of the Pink Flamingo ????

 Say it ain't so ??? Could it really be happening? Could it be the end of the Pink Flamingo? This great American Icons days look to be numbered. . . . . .  Not to be confused with this Pink Flamingo.

For a more complete history on this great piece of Americana, and something that should be part of every front yard landscape you need more information. I think this is some really great background on this perfect piece of yard art. But for others where else but Wikipedia; and it's take on the Pink Flamingo

I originally found out about this story in a blurb on boingboing, and I'm glad I did.  If you're interested in going to the site where the famous Pink Flamingo is sold, here you go.

I'm not sure what will happen . . . will someone step in? Or will the Pink Flamingo go by the wayside? Eagerly sought out at estate sales, yard sales, auctions, or mad bidding on E-bay. Or will this great American Icon go the way of other great American icons, and be made overseas in some small insignificant shop in an uknown, unpronouncable town in a small relatively unknown country.