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WHAT A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT BRINGS TO YOUR PROJECT
When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time exploring some undeveloped lots adjacent to our house. We were relatively early to the neighborhood and there was a buffer between our house and the next closest house. My brother and I, along with a neighbor kid spent hours and days cutting trails through the woods.
Our goal was to create bike paths for our bmx bikes. After several run ins with snakes and briars cutting and through the privet we made a pretty nice trail. Eventually that lot was sold and our trail was gone, but my brother and I still explored the area around our house.
Hope you are having a great time with family during this holiday season. Telling stories and enjoying the time you might have off. There is one story that we always tell when my family gets together.
You always hear the advice of don’t play with matches right. Well my brother and I did one time. My brother is a couple of years older than me and we spent a lot of time together building forts and just generally hanging out. One day not sure if it was a weekend or week day during the summer but we were off school. My brother had gotten a box of matches some how and we were going into the woods to build a small fire. You see where this is going?
Like any boy scout would do, we cleared a small area of leaves out of the way and piled up a couple of twigs and dried leaves. We were just about 20 yards from the house but surrounded by privet and a lot of natural growth. As our little fire started to get going the wind began to pickup. There was no wind before we lit our fire.
Ashes from the leaves started to rise with the wind. The leaves began to rustle and next thing you know we have other areas of the woods that were once peaceful and calm starting to catch a blaze. I panicked. I was maybe 6 or 7. Not sure exactly of the year this happened, but my first instinct and at the direction given by my older brother I was to “ go get water “.
I did just that. I raced off to the house to get the only water I knew would be there. This was before the days of bottled water so in the refrigerator waiting for me each day after playing hard was my aunt jemima syrup bottle. It had been converted to my homemade water bottle. I quickly grabbed my water bottle and ran back to the woods. Only stopping briefly to tell our nanny that the woods were on fire.
Luckily she followed my foot. By the time I made it to the side of the house the fire was at least 20’ tall and growing rapidly. My water bottle was useless. Willie, our nanny, grabs the hose and starts to spray the area as best she could but it would only reach so far. Quickly she ran in side and called the fire department.
At this point my brother is no where to be found. Fire trucks start to arrive. They cover the area with water and rather quickly put out the raging fire. Still clinging to my water bottle I remember looking up to the fireman. He looked 10 feet tall. I received a quick lesson on playing with matches.
The once dense woods now had a clearing in the middle. A chard clearing cut down by the blazing fire. It was a scary experience, but ended up with everyone being ok. Not sure what the fireman said to my brother once they found him.
Weeks later we continued to play in the woods but skipped the matches. The clearing stayed for several years after that and never really grew back to what it used to be.
Then one weekend my parents went on a vacation. The left us home with the nanny. My brother and I decided to cut some trails and create something out of the side yard. We started creating a path that took us around the side further away from the house back to a garden area. Then back to the clearing by brother created a year or two earlier. At the furthest point on the trail we started to dig. We dug what we thought was a rather large hole. We lined the hole with trash bags and filled it with water. This was our new koi pond.
Duct taping trash bags only gets you so far. It leaked like crazy but you get the idea. We build a small bridge over the leaking water hole and that was the design. The side yard was now a beautifully landscaped masterpiece. Well not really, but it did soon become that.
My parents arrived back and of course we took them on a tour of the yard. They were impressed with the design and actually decided to take it to the next level. They hired a talented designer named Kevin Penn. He really brought the project to life. Slowly it started to transform, and I do mean slowly. (he did all the work and design himself) The leaking pond grew into two ponds connected by a stream and waterfall. The path was laid with stone and a bridge was built over the upper pond that took you to a our previously planned formal garden and arbor. Today the landscape has matured and the garden is bursting with vibrancy and energy.
Every time I visit I like to stroll through the path we cut as children and gaze into the koi pond while watching the large fish glide slowly through the water. With the story of our side yard, I started to think about the impact your landscape can have on your experiences. Are you connected to your landscape? Does it bring enjoyment and life to your home? or is it just grass waiting to be cut and more of a chore than a blessing?
There are many things that a landscape architect can bring to your project, but one of the most important is to balance the built environment with the natural environment.
Its much more than just garden design.
The first thing a landscape architect can bring to your project is the understanding of water management. Ensuring that your site is able to manage water correctly and not creating areas where you could potentially have issues. If water is mismanaged it can quickly create a lot of damage, so you want to ensure that you have a good plan in place. Managing the water along with certain plantings can actually clean the surface water through a process called bioremediation.
That leads me to my second item they bring to your project which is the big idea. The concept and the system to develop and grow that concept. In my example earlier the concept originated with my brother and me, but Kevin and my parents took it to the next level.
The big picture allows you to really dive into the design. With landscape since plants change and grow over time, your landscape architect will be designing with a timeline in mind. What will it be in 5 or 10 or 20 years. How will the space evolve over time. What will be a constant and what will be annuals. How will the increasing size of some trees and plants effect others.
Where are the microclimates being created. In my case we had several microclimates. We had the open clearing area which became an open stone patio that overlooked the koi pond. Then we have the upper pond that is in shade and has a rather cool feeling. Then the trail through the woods that leads to the formal garden area which again is in full sun, but dryer.
Designing and planting appropriate landscaping in all these various areas takes planning and skill. Your landscape architect will be able to bring these areas to life, creating a balance of landscape and hardscape (such as patios and walkways)
They will develop a plan and schedule of materials that can be given to the installers. With a plan and actual detailed design you will be able to bid the landscape to multiple contractors for installation. Your landscape architect will continue to stay on the job and inspect the project during site visits. They will ensure that healthy plants are being installed.
It is so easy to have poorly shaped plants make it’s way into the construction. Your designer will sometimes hand select plantings. In the case of my parents house there is one plant that stands out to me above all the others. This is at the upper pond just before crossing the wooden bridge. There is a bonsai tree that Kevin had been nurturing for many years. It was groomed and trimmed to create this very elegant tree. It catches my eye each time and makes me happy.
It makes me happy because I look back to those days when Kevin and I would be out in the yard working. I would watch him as he did his magic piecing each stone together one by one until it was just right.
Your designer can continue to come back and monitor and consult with you as your design matures. Every 3-5 years you can re-evaluate and adjust.
If you are searching for a landscape architect one of the first places to look after asking friends and family is to the ASLA. That is the American Society of Landscape Architects. Its the AIA for Landscape. They have a lot of resources for you to find and interview designers. I would plan to budget between 5-15% of the total landscape budget to the design and construction administration.
There are a lot of companies out there that are installers that claim to offer design services. These companies are great for certain jobs where you need to quickly put in a design for a spec house or something, but they will never give you the attention, detail, and cohesive design that a Landscape Architect can bring to your project.
I wanted to end this episode with a quote from Thomas Moore:
“The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don’t want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don’t have a soul.”
I hope that you and your family are having a great holiday.
