Friday, June 25, 2010
The Singing Trees
Fun Facts for the Fourth
We all know our founding fathers for their contributions to gaining American independence. But, did you know that many of them took interest in landscapes and horticulture?
- Thomas Jefferson was an accomplished Architect and Horticulturist. He is responsible for the campus design of the University of Virginia and his estate, Monticello, is recognized as an American Landscape Masterpiece.
- As a youngster, George Washington became familiar with his native Colony of Virginia while working as a land surveyor.
- It hasn’t been proven that George Washington chopped down his father’s cherry tree. Even if he did, we’re sure he had nothing against the tree…
- Colorado was the 38th state admitted to the union in August of 1876.
- State flower: Rocky Mountain Columbine
- State tree: Blue Spruce
- State bird: Lark Bunting
- While enjoying your cookout this year, remember that Denver lays claim to the invention of the cheeseburger. The trademark was awarded in 1935 to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-in in Denver.
- The United States federal government owns more than 1/3 of the land in Colorado. This keeps our mountains accessible to adventurers from around the world.
- Katherine Lee Bates wrote “America the Beautiful” after being inspired by the view from Pikes Peak.
- The United States Air Force Academy is located in Colorado Springs.
Active Spaces for Active People
Since when did television become an acceptable method of exercise for our children? Is playing a video game really like going outside and playing? Really?? I think not. And no parent can rely on the public school system to help keep children fit and active…what, with only one-day of physical education per week!! Don’t forget recess time has also been cut back too. And don’t get me started on the dissolution of nearly all public school music programs…but let’s stay on topic.
There is a solution. Call your Landscape Architect to help develop your own backyard play area(s).Think about it; a Landscape Architect can help design active – and fun no less – outdoor spaces to play, right on your own property. Or if you’re a Do-It-Yourselfer, the internet can help you as well. Let me start by saying, this recommendation is not meant to take away from our beautifully designed and built neighborhood parks, only to compliment them. Backyard Play has developed into more than just converting your existing lawn area into a makeshift Croquet court. Let me explain.
Backyard Play is quickly becoming a requirement of successful outdoor gatherings. With some design intuition on hand, an active space(s) can be achieved to meet any budget, within virtually any size yard. So OK, the makeshift Croquet court is a practical way to begin using outdoor space, and it’s one of the least expensive ways to get outside and play. If you have a lawn, all you need is a kit from your local sporting good store. But you didn’t think this article was to tell you where to buy a croquet kit, right?
While some homeowners are taking it upon themselves to build play areas, a thoughtful design can go a long way. Did you know the majority of games have rules and regulations for the court configurations? For example, a badminton court is 44 feet long and 22 feet wide (17 feet wide for singles play) http://usabadminton.org/. The stakes in a horseshoe pit are 40 feet apart, 36 inches long, and exposed 14 inches above the ground, leaning backward at a 12 degree angle. Foul lines are spaced 27 feet and 37 feet from each stake…the 27 foot foul line is for children, women and elderly men and the 37 foot foul line is for men http://www.horseshoepitching.com/. Other notable sizes: a volleyball court is 60 feet long and 40 feet wide; a bocce ball court is 60 feet long and 10 feet wide; corn hole boards (bag-in-the-hole) are spaced 27 feet apart, front to front.
To maintain a somewhat resonably priced backyard play area, the following games are great options, with kits readily available: Croquet, Badminton, Horseshoes, Corn Hole, Bocce Ball, a Trampoline…to name a few. Consider adding a basketball hoop to the home, or a freestanding backboard. A simple net can allow a person to hit golf balls and baseballs into it. Accoutrements such as backstops, tables & caddies, netting, benches, etc., all add to the grander scheme for a wonderfully active outdoor space. Get the most out of whatever dollars you want to invest.
Time to Shine
It is a good idea to start by deciding when you want your garden to be at its best. If you are only in town for the holiday, then you want to consider only plants that bloom early to mid summer. For the folks that are here full time, or visit several times over the course of the summer, a mixture of early, mid and fall blooming plants, will give you constant color as the season progresses. You should space out your plants based on their bloom times throughout the garden, so your whole garden is always blooming, even though all the plants are not.
In the Rocky Mountains it is not uncommon to experience snow and below freezing temperatures into June, and starting again in September. Because our season can be so short, we recommend giving the plants some help by fertilizing. At local garden centers, there are several options to boost plant growth and promote blooming. This is especially helpful if you are hoping to see significant color and growth by the 4th of July holiday. Before planting the correct plants, fertilizing, and deadheading, the most important thing you can do to ensure a colorful garden whenever you see it, is proper water amounts. Every time you are in your garden, we recommend checking to make sure your soil is not too wet, or too dry. If these steps are taken, the results will give your garden vibrant color any time during the season.
July Means Dry
Colorado high-country summers are split up into two distinct periods—dry and drier. The majority of our moisture comes in the fall, winter and spring in the form of snow. We do get a weather pattern, usually in July, called monsoonal moisture or monsoon seasons, but it is unreliable and rarely amounts to much. So, we depend heavily on our sprinkler systems to keep our lawn and gardens thriving.
During these hot dry months, when we could go weeks without rainfall, our irrigation gets overworked and under-maintained. As a result our lawns get brown spots and flowers wilt.
During this season sprinkler systems are run more often, and thus have a higher risk for breaks. A little TLC and preventive maintenance can go a long way.
Three sure signs that you could use the help of our irrigation professionals are:
1. When you walk around your lawn and hear a crunch, crunch under your feet
2. When the dandelion becomes your most prevalent flower
3. When your water bill is out of control and you still have the above mentioned problems
While some problems may occur due to bad luck, many can be addressed and prevented with routine maintenance or simple upgrades. Our favorite upgrade is to install a smart irrigation controller.
Typical controllers need to be monitored and adjusted for weather events. This works best with a proactive approach but instead usually happens in a reactive manner. For example, when it rains you may turn off your irrigation, or if it’s hot and dry you turn up the run time on the areas that have noticeable dry spots. But, the water has already been wasted and the plant material is stressed. The solution is to make a simple upgrade to a smart controller. A smart irrigation controller installed by Land Designs by Ellison, uses sensors to read the weather in real time. If the sun shines for an extended amount of time, it automatically increases the watering times to the areas that need it most. When it rains, the controller instantly shuts down the irrigation zones you have programmed, and the same goes with freezing temperatures. The available customization in these controllers make it a must have if you have water features and annual pots that have different water needs that lawn or perennials. This simple upgrade will make your sprinkler system more efficient wasting less water, time, and money.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Landscape Architect v Landscape Designer
I’m often asked about difference between Landscape Architecture and landscape design.
Regardless of their professional arena, Landscape Architects use their artistic talents and technical training to plan and design built environments. They formulate graphic and written criteria through drawings, construction documents, and specifications to control the means of arranging and building land forms in conjunction with the manipulation of water resources. Currently, 49 states require a form of licensure for Landscape Architects. Of those, 45 states require a license to practice the art and science of Landscape Architecture. The remaining four states, with title acts, allow the practice of Landscape Architecture regardless of qualifications but require licensure to use the title of ‘Landscape Architect’.
Landscape Designers also create drawings and many times have the in-house capabilities and resources to construct what they’ve drawn, specified and manipulated. The disparity between Landscape Architecture and Landscape Design may be the result of a higher level of education, license and liability insurance. According to Columbia University’s program in Landscape Design, the primary difference between Landscape Design and Landscape Architecture is the required level of education and licensing.
To confuse matters further, the level of education varies quite dramatically from curriculum offered at one college, to the next. Landscape Design programs vary significantly. Some schools offer certificates of varying lengths, while others offer full 2-year to 4-year degrees. Many times the graduate of a Landscape Design program will pursue an undergraduate degree in horticulture or agriculture. The standard Landscape Architecture programs consist of a minimum 4-year undergraduate degree; (BLA) Bachelors of Landscape Architecture or (BSLA) Bachelors of Science in Landscape Architecture. Upon completion of an undergraduate 4-year Bachelors degree in the Landscape Design or Landscape Architecture program, a student can enter into a Masters of Landscape Architecture (MLA) program. Students with an undergraduate degree in Landscape Architecture typically earn their MLA in two years while the undergraduate from an ‘accredited’ school who earned their 4-year BS in Landscape Design, my take three years to earn the status of MLA.
There are many acclaimed and successful licensed Landscape Architects who got their roots from an education that is a derivative of the Landscape Design programs, coupled with good old hands-on experience. The father of Landscape Architecture and designer of New York’s Central Park, Frederic Law Olmsted, was a farmer without any relevant educational background. Yet Olmsted’s research and brilliance transformed the profession of Landscape Architecture across the world. It would be interesting to know if the value which Mr. Olmsted brought to this industry would hold its same level today, or would he be scrutinized since he only had the rudimentary training comparable to that of Landscape Architects?
Regardless of the written formality to differentiate those who provide Landscape Architectural services from those who provide Landscape Design services, the diversity in both fields greatly overlap as opposed to showing exclusivity. So what does that mean to the consumer?
Prior work experience, referrals and references along with an understanding of your needs should be the basis for choosing a Landscape Architect or Landscape Designer. Many highly professional firms offer both disciplines. When making your selection, make sure that the firms that respond to your inquiry for proposal have construction oversight capabilities, understand and enforce local regulations and can provide site engineering relative to building techniques. Above all, make absolutely sure that they have the professional liability insurance to properly cover their services and assurances.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Social Media... Not Just for Kids
You might have noticed the links to Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, YouTube & Linkedin at the bottom of the last two newsletters. Maybe you even clicked on them… If not, we encourage you to do so. These Social Media sites are the best way to keep your finger on the pulse of our companies, tap into expert advice and they provide us with a way to keep all our clients, friends and followers up to date.
What’s in it for you?
- Special offers will be offered to our followers or fans through social media sites.
- A big part of our goal with Social Media is education. Subscribing to our blog puts timely and useful information at your fingertips.
- It’s fun! You get to see photos of our projects, hear about awards we’ve won and keep tabs on how our employees do their part to help the community.
While many of these sites have the reputation of being geared towards kids, the truth is, many businesses, and even more adults have found a use for these sites. In fact, more than 40% of Facebook’s users are over 35 years old. Despite what your kids might think, it’s not just another way to spy on them. Whether it’s getting in touch with old friends on Facebook, following a favorite celebrity on Twitter, getting expert advice from a blog, watching videos from across the street or around the world on YouTube or learning about the professional face of the company from Linkedin, these sites are a great way to communicate with and keep in touch with people everywhere.