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Let Go of the Nonsense and Garden Smarter

April in the Garden - Practicing Patience

Loosen up and add Layers

So, you have a front yard that you think looks like hell right now.  It’s April, it’s muddy, and brown, and gross.  What do you do?  Get out the hedge shears, edger and the mulch fork, right?  Stop.  I’m here to tell you that the times they are a changin’.  The landscapes of the near future won’t include manicured lawns and prim hedges, and for good reason.  (Yep, you…

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Is your Yard a Victorian Dinosaur?

Is your Yard a Victorian Dinosaur?

So much of the American suburban garden aesthetic is a stubborn relic of British Imperialism of the 18th century and the resulting Victorian Era. (Check out Noel Kingsbury‘s book Garden Flora: The Natural and Cultural History of the Plants in Your Garden.)  These early gardeners were industrious, curious and well-meaning, but also privileged, clueless and terrible listeners.  The practice of…

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And Then There Were 3 - Embracing the Collaborative Design Office

And Then There Were 3 – Embracing the Collaborative Design Office

  Collaborative Design Studio

I was tired of working alone at home, being distracted by laundry and the million other odd tasks that creep into a typical workday, not having anybody to chat with other than my cat, and forgetting that closing a door at the end of a day is really healthy.  Last fall Tim and I agreed it was time to get serious about building a separate office building that would…

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Announcing our Monthly Open Houses for 2017

Announcing our Monthly Open Houses for 2017

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Adding Biophilic Interior Design to our Mix

Adding Biophilic Interior Design to our Mix

If our latest venture, Biophilic Interior Design, raises an eyebrow or two, I get it.  Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my marbles.  Even my mother-in-law has graciously asked for clarification more than once in the last month, “So, explain what this bio-thing is that you’re doing again?”  Here’s the scoop.

Anybody who knows me is aware that I never do anything half-way, (I don’t know how, which…

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Curbside Gardens in Hellstrips

Curbside Gardens in Hellstrips

Last season we designed and installed curbside gardens in downtown Burlington that would replace the lawn hell-strip that runs along King St. and is owned by the Hinds Lofts apartments.  The owners wanted a curbside planting along both the side of the building and the hell-strip that would allow stormwaterto infiltrate but also be resistant to salt and allow for daily dog use.  It had to remain…

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The Challenge of Adding Pollinator Hedgerows to Residential Landscapes

The Challenge of Adding Pollinator Hedgerows to Residential Landscapes

Border of Panicum ‘Shenandoah’ and Aster ‘Raydon’s Favorite’

I was recently asked by a writer “Do you feel that pollinator hedgerows are becoming more popular/acceptable in residential landscapes? How do you work with those who feel a hedgerow looks “messy”?

When it comes to residential landscapes I see my clients struggling with a desire to do good, and still maintain order in their private…

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Invasive Plants or Nature's Bandaid - an Evolving Perspective

Invasive Plants or Nature’s Bandaid – an Evolving Perspective

I recently ran across a comment on a blog post about invasive plants and found myself nodding in agreement, especially after attending Noel Kingsbury‘s talk on primary colonizers at Longwood Gardens, and working with Claudia West (co-author of the fabulous book Planting in a Post-Wild World with Thomas Rainer) and preparing a presentation about multi-layered landscape designs.

Centauria cyanus…

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Pollinator Plants for Northeast Gardens - A New Source

Pollinator Plants for Northeast Gardens – A New Source

Looking for Pollinator Plants for Northeast Gardens?  Let me introduce a new source called Northeast Pollinator Plants – http://www.northeastpollinator.com/.

One of 5 Collections available from NEPP

  A fellow Landscape Architect, farmer, and lecturer at UVM, Jane Sorensen, has launched an on-line store to promote pollinator plants in the northeast U.S., which has been frustratingly under-served…

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Pollinator Plants for Northeast Gardens - A New Source

Pollinator Plants for Northeast Gardens – A New Source

Looking for Pollinator Plants for Northeast Gardens?  Let me introduce a new source called Northeast Pollinator Plants – http://www.northeastpollinator.com/.

One of 5 Collections available from NEPP

  A fellow Landscape Architect, farmer, and lecturer at UVM, Jane Sorensen, has launched an on-line store to promote pollinator plants in the northeast U.S., which has been frustratingly under-served…

[lindenland]

Vegetable Seed Starting Calendar for Zone 4-5 VT

Vegetable Seed Starting Calendar for Zone 4-5 VT

Many people have asked for our vegetable seed starting calendar so here it is just in time to get the soil and flats dusted off.  If you’re looking to determine how much of each vegetable to grow (desired yield and row feet) please refer to our previous post Oh My is that 850 lbs of Veggies.  Also a very helpful production table can be seen here:

NCSU veggie production table

This is a simple…

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Landscape Design Process Gets Streamlined

Landscape Design Process Gets Streamlined

I admit it, I’m a workflow process junkie.  I’m tickled with anything that involves steps, schedules and flowcharts.  I’ve been continuously adapting our landscape design process for new clients over the years and finally technology is making it super easy.  We are using Typeformfor a new client questionnaire, then Calendy to schedule meetings, and Trello to handle our project management.  I feel…

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#landluv 4 - Asters for Pollinators

Wild native New England Asters in our hedgerow in Shelburne

  Asters in a Linden designed meadow bordered by Panicum

I always include some form of Aster in an herbaceous border for both late season color and as a source of nectar for pollinators when choices are limited.  Many clients feel that Asters look messy, wild, or too much like the flowers that bloom roadside here in Vermont in September…

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#landluv 3 - Tim's Stump Art

#landluv 3 – Tim’s Stump Art

Okay, so I’m not a fan of chainsaw art – in general if it’s something that’s associated with a Kardashian or Duck Dynasty I don’t want it in my backyard.  However, there’s something to be said for temporary land art, and if Tim decides to get creative with a chainsaw, who am I to say no?  And yes, I made him put on his safety gear after I snapped the photo.

Tim getting creative

Tim’s Stump…

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#landluv 2 – Birch Copses (not corpses) noun - "a thicket of small trees or bushes; a small wood". I include copses in entries, and as a transition between two spaces - I love the intimacy that they create, the simplicity of the architecture, the feeling of airiness.  

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#landluv 1 : Colorful Chairs #landluv 1: Colorful Chairs with a sense of humor One of our clients added a rainbow of Adirondack chairs to the Bluestone flagging firepit patio that we built for them, and not only do they add color, they bring a lightheartedness to the landscape.  Share if you #landluv it!

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#landluv 100 - Sharing our Love, One Photo at a Time

  Our meadow in September in Shelburne VT

Here’s our off-season beat the blues survival plan – we’re posting 100 photos, one every few days for the next 6 months, tagged #landluv, that represent things we love about Landscape, Agriculture and Natural Design.  Each photo could be a favorite plant or combination of plants, a particularly enticing space, a technique that saves time or benefits the…