10 Reasons You NEED to Hire a Landscape Designer

1.      Planning is the most important part of any project. 

a.      A good landscape design will bring beauty and style to any home.  It also can raise your property value 10%-15%.  A plan also directs the project, without it a project can quickly become out of hand or go over budget.

2.      Our designer knows what you are thinking even if you don’t.

a.      Matt, our Designer can take what your needs and wants are and reconcile them with the realities of the site. 

3.      Saves you money in the end.

a.      We can work within budgets, plants, and materials to realize your vision.

b.   We guarantee and stand by our work.

4.      Our Designer works closely with the Installation Crew.

a.      This ensures the vision on the paper is realized.

b.   We dimension every plan using Auto Cad to ensure the greatest amount of accuracy.

5.      Materials and Plants Selection

a.      Selections of materials can be very challenging.  We can filter through colors, styles, and specific applications to get the best results and a cohesive design.

6.      A Landscaping project can be overwhelming.

a.      We can ground your project and fix your problem with a designed solution that is beautiful as well as practical.

7.      Improves the final product.

a.      Landscape designers are masters of the design process.  They close the gap between what the client wants and reality by reconciling existing conditions, views, and elements, with a great design.

8.      Professionally Drawn and Scaled Plan.

a.      We will produce a scaled plan using a AutoCad.

b.      Because not everyone can 'see' a landscape when it is presented in 2D LawnScapes also offers 3D Fly throughs of the proposed landscape, to help with visualization. 

9.      Designing and installing a landscape plan takes a lot longer than you think.

a.      You don’t have time to purchase plants, materials, and install a plan.  The average landscape plan takes about a 40 hour week to install.  Why spend your precious weekends doing in your free time what we can do while you are at work?

10.   A Landscape Designer provides clear direction.

a.      By choosing plants that survive in your location and the best material for the application our Landscape Designer will guide through the confusing process. 

Capability Brown and The Picturesque

            While England has had a rich tradition of landscape design, their style really started to separate itself in the 18^th century.   Before the 1700s the English tended to copy the more formal gardens of the Italian and French.  The 18^th century brought increased wealth to England through both foreign and domestic trade.  This wealth allowed the noble and upper middle class of England to transform the countryside.  The person that carried out this picturesque transformation was Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-1783).  The nickname ‘Capability’ came from his assurance that his client’s property had the “capability” to become beautiful.  His designs were influenced by the paintings of the picturesque movement.  Between 1751-1783 he designed more than 200 landscapes.  He once turned down a commission in Ireland because he, “Hadn’t finished England yet.”  Capability viewed his work as correcting nature, bringing it to a new, more perfect level.  Brown developed the quintessential English landscape, creating topography that is never flat nor sloping in one direction but expressing a series of concave and convex curves.  He never planted trees in a straight line but in clumps, belts, and screens to direct attention to distant views.  He incorporated the element of surprise in the garden by not using straight lines, drawing your eyes, though your body does not travel the same path.  The placement of the house was very important in his landscape designs.  Capability allowed no ornamental planting to mediate between the home and the surrounding landscape causing the house to stick out in the landscape.  He designed the landscape to control views from the house by using trees and landscape elements. 

Gertrude Jekyll and the Cottage Garden

            “I hold the best purpose of a garden is to give delight and to give refreshment of mind, to soothe, to refine, and to lift up the heart in a spirit of praise and thankfulness.”

                                    -Gertrude Jekyll, Color schemes for the Flower Garden, 1908

            Gertrude Jekyll was the first woman to act as a professional landscape designer.  Jekyll started as an art student and learned to paint in the expressionist style.  This later influenced her landscape and planting design.  Her near sightedness assisted her in conceiving garden schemes less in terms of individual plants than as shapes, textures, and broad masses of color.  One of her most important contributions was designing gardens as a series of seasonal scenes, appearing like different exhibitions planned throughout the year.  Her designs featured broad arching plant forms, most often hanging over stone walls.  The cottage garden developed parallel to the Arts and Crafts movement in architecture and Jekyll was influenced by this.  A Jekyll garden was very detailed and focused on craftsmanship.    

All About Blueberries

         

Blueberries are native to many parts of the United States and are very hardy and easily grown.  Six blueberry bushes can provide a family of four with all the blueberries they can eat.  When freezing your excess crop spread the blueberries out flat on a baking tray and freeze.  All blueberries need cross pollination; planting several varieties will ensure that you have a plentiful crop.  When choosing the varieties to grow, check with your local agricultural experiment station for recommended varieties.  Planting several varieties of blueberries can ensure a long crop because blooming and fruiting happens at different times of the growing season.  Varieties to investigate for our area are:

‘Weymouth’ –Bloom and fruit mid to late summer

‘Bluecrop’- Bloom and fruit lat summer

‘Jersey’- Bloom and fruit late summer into fall

            Blueberries require soil that has good moisture retention but are also well drained.  It is pointless to try and grow the bushes in alkaline (basic) soil; they require a pH range of five to six.  Choose a location that gets full sun but most blueberry bushes will tolerate some shade.  It is a good idea to choose an area protected from cold winds in Pennsylvania.  You can plant blueberry bushes in fall or the spring, just be sure to space the bushes three to four feet apart.  Planting several different varieties will ensure that you have an abundant crop of the blue berry.  The berries are generally ripe for picking in the middle of summer, though some varieties produce well into the fall in warmer regions.  When digging the hole for your blueberry bushes insure that the hole allows for the plant to be about one inch deeper than it was in the nursery pot.  Spring time is the best time to mulch your bushes and mulch them once again in the late fall.  One or two months before growth starts in the spring apply three to four ounces of 10-10-10 fertilizer.  Apply the fertilizer in a twelve inch radius at the base of each plant.  Be sure to water thoroughly during any dry spell in the summer.  Do not prune for the first three years after planting a new shrub.  Prune during the winter months but not too severely because fruit is borne on previous year’s wood.    

Designing with Children in Mind

When commissioning a landscape design, it is very important to consider how children view and interact with the world around them.  Children tend to view the landscape through a microscope, tending to focus on details rather than the big picture.  A child’s garden should appeal to all five of their senses (Moore, 1997).  It is important to instill in children a love of nature that will grow into stewardship and environmental sensitivity.  It is important to remember that children are individuals that can add a lot of insight into the design process. 

            A child needs are best met through nine basic elements provided in a design: discovery, water, loose elements, plant life, wildlife, heights, enclosure, movement, and make believe (Dannenmaier, 1998).  Discovery is very important to a child’s development.  Creative, constructive activity occurs through a child’s opportunity to define the parameters of their play.  One of the most desirable elements in any garden but is one of the least provided because of cost and liability issues.  A child’s need for loose elements can be provided by a sand box, or even natural elements such as dirt, twigs, and pine cones.  Playing with loose elements help children develop skills in construction and creation.  Heights provide a sense of escape to children by providing an exciting perspective.  If your site has great differences in elevation you can provide this very easily though if it doesn’t height can be provided by a well designed tree house.  Movement is the most important element to provide for kids.  Movement is satisfied through physical activity.  Provide children with a play-scape, a lawn area, but most of all make it this area very safe.  Allowing children room to be creative within the landscape is very important.  Providing a space for make-believe is very easy.  This space should have elements that children can adapt to their play.  Kids like to play in enclosed spaces.  Growing up we all had that special place in the woods where we built a “fort” or “cottage (girls).”  These special spaces made us feel safe, and allowed us to play privately.  Providing parents with a good sightline to these spaces is an important consideration when designing these spaces.  When choosing plants for use around children they should not have thorns, or be poisonous.  Common plants to avoid are anemone, caladium, foxglove, hydrangeas, lantanas, mistletoe, and philodendron.  The next question to ask is “should we educate our children about the dangers or eliminate these plants totally?”  Choose plants that have bright colors, unusual features, and interesting flowers.  Consider growing vegetables, and involving children in your gardening activities.  Use plants to attract wildlife into your garden or use a bird feeder.  Providing children with the opportunity to observe animals helps to develop a sense of wonder for natural processes.  

            Providing these nine elements within a well designed landscape is a difficult process.  Juxtaposing children’s areas against more landscape elements requires careful design consideration.  Keeping retaining walls shorter, designing stairs with a shorter rise and longer treads, and thinking about safer paving materials.  When designing for children it is important to stay away from abrasive paving materials such as, tumble bricks.  Use smoother materials such as range pattern flagstone.  Provide boundaries for children by using hedges or privacy fencing.  Providing ample area to circulate around pools, grills, and ensuring that a patio is well lit at night are important considerations.  Avoiding pressure treated lumber and wood chips in your landscape.  Using natural materials around your children is the best policy.  When placing sandboxes, playscapes, or tree houses consider sight lines from your house.  Most children are injured when they are out of sight.  Under playground equipment use certified playground mulch, poured rubber, or rubber mulch.  Install this material at least six inches thick to protect the kids from a hard fall.  Poured rubber is installed six inches thick on a concrete pad and come in a multitude of colors.  When doing the original design considering the children will outgrow any play ground equipment is very important.  Designing play spaces with a future use in mind.  An area that once held a sandbox or swing set can be re-adapted to a planting be, or a private, secret garden with a bench and fountain.  If you would like a pond, think about installing a grid a couple of inches under the surface of the water to prevent a child from drowning. 

            If you have children or are thinking about having a child please consider this in your design.  A child’s input is also an invaluable resource for a designer, so consider involving them in the design process.  With a little careful consideration and good design a landscape can be beautiful and safe as well.      

-Matt Bradley, Designer, BLA

The Kitchen Garden

            A kitchen garden is an amazing way to supplement your trips to the supermarket by supplying fresh, local produce.  The local and organic food movement is becoming more and more visible; what is more local than your backyard!  Families with children will create an amazing learning opportunity by teaching (and showing) their children where food comes from, and the amazing process of life.  A garden of about 300 square feet can keep a family of four in fresh vegetables and fruit for an entire summer though, I would recommend going smaller for your first season.  If planned correctly the spare fruits and vegetables can be canned or frozen for the winter months.  If you do not have space for a garden of that size, then Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Swiss Chard, and Carrots can be grown in pots.  My wife and I grew an amazing variety of produce on our back deck during college. 

            It is very important to plan your garden for maximum yield by choosing what you want to grow and what your family eats a lot of.  My grandparents had a garden every year for as long as they were able.  They avoided the initial plowing by hiring a local man with a tractor and plow to work their soil for a very reasonable rate.  Once this was done, they could pick out rocks and sow seed.  Your garden plot should be placed in an area that gets good sun throughout the day.  Avoid areas with large trees because of roots.  Sketching out your garden is a good idea.  An easy scale to work with is 1”=1’ (you can use a regular ruler if you do not possess a scale).  It is important to think about plant space requirements and to make sure you leave space between rows to walk.  Make sure during your planning that taller plants, such as corn, do not shade out other crops that require more sun. 

Research the plants that you are growing to learn about crop yields, space requirements, and whether they can frozen or need to be eaten right away.  I would also recommend researching disease resistant varieties and which crops do well with little work in your area.  The perfect garden soil is loamy and rich.  The key to soil improvement is working organic material into your soil.  A soil test (available from your local County Extension Office) is highly recommended.  A soil test costs anywhere from nine dollars to 30 dollars and will tell you what your soil’s pH, composition, and make up is.  Knowing your region’s frost dates because this helps determining the grow season’s length.  Southeastern Pennsylvania’s is about 200-300 days. 

Taking care of your garden is very important for crop growth and quality.  Take a walk through your garden every day with an eye for diseases, wilting, weeds, and to pick your crops.  Water whenever the soil becomes powdery and dry.  Make sure you water deep and thoroughly.  I also recommend mulching your garden.  Mulch insulates plant’s roots and replaces organic material to the soil.  Leaves, hay, grass clippings, saw dust, or wood chips are all suitable materials to use as mulch in the garden.  For disease problems I recommend purchasing a vegetable disease guide.  It is important to decide whether you want to try to deal with disease problems organically or with a chemical.  There are many organic products available to deal with pests and diseases.    

Hints and Tips for a Quality Garden:

1.     Choose disease resistant plant varieties

2.     Inspect seedling for diseases before you purchase.

3.     Pull and dispose of diseased plants. DO NOT compost.

4.     Rotate crops every year to prevent soil depletion and soil born diseases.

5.     Weed often.

6.     Do not work in your garden after a rainstorm.  Plants can be more fragile, the soil will be soft and muddy, and the roots can be trampled.

7.     Compost healthy plants at the end of their life.

            Crops to Consider:

·       Crops for Early Spring Planting:

o   Broccoli, Cabbage, Lettuce, Onion, and Radish

·       Crops for Mid- Spring Planting:

o   Cauliflower, Beets, Carrots, Swiss Chard, Beans, Corn, and Early Potatoes

·       Crops for Early Summer:

o   Eggplant, Peppers, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Lima Beans, Melons, Okra (bread and lightly fry in oil, to enjoy a true Southern Delicacy), Pumpkins, Squash, and Winter Potatoes

·       Crops for Summer into Fall:

o   Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Lettuce, and Radish

o   Plant in early August: Cabbage, Cauliflower

o   Lettuce, Spinach, Turnip

Container Gardening

Don’t have much space to garden but love growing plants?  Well don’t fret you can always grow flowers, vegetables, and flowering shrubs in pots and containers! Not all shrubs respond well to being planted in pots and containers.  In general you want to avoid ones that have large, fleshy roots.  Almost anything that will hold dirt can be used as a planting container but, be sure to drill a drain hole in the bottom.  Some ideas for containers are wine or whiskey barrels, and metal pails.  Of course, you can purchase all manner of clay, glazed clay, and Styrofoam pots from you local garden center.  When choosing a container for your shrub, consider the mature size of the shrub.  A plant that grows 4’-5’ Tall and 3’-4’ Wide will require a pot at least 2.5’ Wide and 1.5’ Deep.

            In preparation for planting a shrub in a container, make sure that there is a drain hole in the bottom (some pots do not come with them).  If it does not be sure to purchase the correct bit for the material and drill one.  The next thing to do is pour an inch to inch and a half of drainage material into the bottom of the pot.  Drainage material can range from crushed aluminum cans (my Grandma swore by these!), broken clay pots, or course gravel.  This layer give the water an out at the bottom of the pot so the roots do not sit in water for an extended period of time.

            Use a good, name brand potting soil such as Fafard or Miracle Grow.  I personally like to use soil with no added fertilizer or “water retainers”.  This is because I like to add my own; typically, I really like Osmocote’s Time Released Pellets.  The soils with “water retainers” can keep the roots of the plant too wet and cause root rot.  Place enough soil in the bottom of the pot so the base of the plant’s stem is level with the top of the container.  Place the plant in the pot and fill and tamp the soil around the root ball. 

            Water thoroughly anytime the soil dries out.  Check this by sticking your finger into the soil.  If it is dry water the soil in the pot thoroughly and deeply.  You want water to drip out the drain hole in the bottom of the pot.  Watering like this pulls fresh air into the porous spaces in the soil.  A little know fact is that a plant’s roots need oxygen to function correctly.

            It is a good idea to pull the shrub out of the pot once a year to replace the soil, trim the roots (in order to prevent the plant from becoming root bound), and clean the pot.  This will help keep soil born diseases from killing the plant.  This is also a good time to determine if the shrub should be moved into a larger container.  Thanks for reading!!!

-Matt