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May 31, 2006
Sealing Arizona Flagstone
We received this question from a reader concerning sealers and Arizona Flagstone:
Q: Please advise us as to sealing Rosa Az. Flagstone from the Tucson area. We live in Sacramento, CA. We are installing a small patio of this material on 2" of crushed rock, then 2" of sand. We are putting polymeric sand in the joints. 2 people have advised us that it is not necessary to seal the flagstone. They advised that, because the flagstone is so porous, it would use too much sealer. Also, they said that leaving it in it's porous state would help keep it more breathable for less algae growth. We are a little worried that, without a sealer, it will stain too much, as it is so porous.
Thank you so much for your help!!! My husband is a Tucson native, and we are really excited about this flagstone.
Pat Witzens
A: Pat,
We typically don't seal Arizona flagstone, as far as the amount of sealer necessary, I wouldn't doubt the advise you have received. As far as algae comment, we don't have any experience with sealed vs. unsealed- algae is typical in Arizona because of its porosity, and is best removed with a pressure washer and/or push broom with diluted acid wash (Muriatic pool acid), although in some rare cases this can cause efflorescence in the stone. We have not been impressed with the weathering of some of the stone sealers out there. If you are looking for particular brands, Aldon is one we have used in the past, or you can visit your local stone/masonry supply yard or tile dealer. There are some high end (expensive) sealers out there for stones tiles like travertine, that seem to be better. Remember with any sealer or stain used outdoors, it is exposed to lots of moisture, heat, and sunlight, especially in the hot valley summers, so expect results accordingly.
Good luck with the new stone.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 05:19 PM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2006
Glass Mulch in the Landscape
Glass mulch has gained popularity as a unique alternative to traditional bark or gravel mulches. The material, often recycled tumbled glass shards, gives a wider variety of colors and textures than traditional mulches. One supplier, American Specialty Glass, offers a wide array of glass mulches that can be used in the landscape. The drawback to using glass- the cost. From the supplier mentioned above, a 50lb sack of glass ranges from $1.00-2.00 per pound. Obviously this is going to be cheaper in bulk. But consider that gravel mulch that probably has a similar density, I would guess weights out at one half to one ton per cubic yard.
The best example locally of glass mulch used in a landscape is the Cost Plus Plaza in Larkspur designed by Topher Delaney.
For More:
SF Chronicle Article on Cost Plus Plaza
Glass Rocks
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 09:43 AM | Comments (2)
May 25, 2006
New Client Section Coming Soon
We are working on development of a password protected client section to our website that will provide greater information and resources for our current and former customers. More to come in the weeks ahead!
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2006
Garden Events for Summer
Summer is fast approaching, and with it an interesting palette of garden events. As usual Pacific Horticulture Magazine has a great list of what is happening in Northern California.
Garden Design Online has a great listing of events for the East coast.
A few interesting items from the list in the next couple months are:
May 20: Training & Taming Your Espalier, workshop with Alex Fernandez, 9:30 to 11:30 am, Filoli. Fee $35; pre-registration required.
May 21: Gardening Successfully with Oak Woodland and Chaparral Plants, a class with Maggie Cutler and Glenn Keator, 10 am to 4 pm, Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden at the Cutler Ranch in Livermore. Fee $50; pre-registration required at 510/531-8122, www.nativeplants.org.
May 28: Myco-Dynamic Gardening, an intermediate workshop with Mia Rose and Patrick Garretson, Solar Living Institute. Fee $120; pre-registration required.
June 3: Sick Plant Clinic, with Robert Raabe, 9 am to noon, UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley.
June 4: Outside the Bungalow: America's Arts & Crafts Garden, class with Paul Duchscherer,2 to 4 pm, Gamble Garden Center. Fee $25; pre-registration required.
June 10: Saturday Plant Sale, featuring perennials, 10 am to 1 pm at the nursery, San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.
June 10: A Sense of Place: Homes & Gardens in Historic Inverness, a tour of eight private homes and gardens, 10 am to 4 pm, sponsored by the Inverness Garden Club, www.invernessgardens.org. Tickets $40; pre-registration suggested.
June 15: The Cornerstone Garden Lecture Series, a garden design talk followed by a reception in the Gardens, 3 to 7 pm, sponsored by the Garden Conservancy at Cornerstone Festival of Gardens, 23570 Highway 121, outside the town of Sonoma. Call 415/561-7895 for information and registration; pre-registration recommended.
June 19: Luscious Stonework for Gardens, lecture with Jeffrey Bales, 7:15 pm, California Horticultural Society.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)
May 23, 2006
Striking Images from Germany's Duisberg Nord
Duisburg Nord is one of Germany's groundbreaking parks that took an old steel production district and transformed it into a park. The juxtaposition of old hulking rusted equipment and new park features make for an unique experience.
An overview from their website:
If you are looking for recreation, an exciting experience, education or fun, the Duisburg-Nord Country Park is all you need. At a site where the blast furnace heat was almost unbearable you can now cool down and relax. Young trees and old furnaces overlook a park for everybody and everything - and even more, as you can simply climb to the roof of the Ruhr and enjoy the view, experience top events live in a factory building or track regional history in a world of steel. Welcome to Park Land without frontiers.
This park has served as an interesting model for other post-industrial cities looking to redevelop their old manufacturing areas.
For More Images:
Visit our Great Garden and Parks Portfolio
Details from Gardenvisit
Land + Living Article
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 09:28 AM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2006
A Calender Correction
It looks like there was a misprint of the first edition calenders that we sent out at the beginning of the year to clients and friends. If you were one of those who are confusedly seeing January in July, you can print and paste a corrected version (download .pdf). Our apologies for the misprint and confusion.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 07:34 PM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2006
Electric Mowers instead of Gas
There are three types of mowers typically used by homeowners for residential lawn care: Gas powered mowers, electric mowers and manual push mowers (reel mowers).
Gas mowers are used commercially, but can be a headache for homeowners with smaller lawns. Electric mowers offer ease of use and operation and don't have inefficient polluting engines, but sometimes cut quality is not as high as with gas mowers. Reel mowers offer great cut quality, but don't bag grass and take sweat effort on the part of the operator (they are great for small lawns).
Some options for electric mowers on the market are:
Black & Decker and Yard Machines.
Hybrid electric reel mowers are also available.
An interesting idea for people who want an electric mower that will mow the lawn for them is this Robotic mower. How this works is a mystery to me, but if it works for vacuums, maybe it can work for lawn care.
For More:
Good listing of Electric Mowers from various manufacturers
A good overview of mowers at About.com
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2006
More Examples of our Blog
We seem to be finding our way into several postings on Business Blog anaylsis, such as Mike Sansome's, Converstations- Changing how business talk to their customers.
In the case of the post he is referring to, the blog is a great tool for posting serial information like construction progress photos.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 07:32 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2006
Green Driveways?
GardenDesignOnline had an interesting post on Green driveways with a link to an article from the New York Times. The featured architects, Greenmeadow Architects, in the story are right in our neck of the woods.
As for our take on Green Driveways, they are, of course, more maintenance intensive. The technique they show in the article is better than using the traditional turf paver blocks, where the grass tends to die out over time. Newer styles of turf paving block claim to have helped reduce this problem. There are links in the NYT article to manufacturers. Alternatives include permeable pavements such as Polypavement, Decomposed Granite with natural resin binding agents.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 06:13 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2006
Beautiful White Viburnum in Bloom
I was fooled last week by a deciduous Viburnum that has leaves and foliage similar to a Dogwood. These Viburnum make a nice accent. Other beautiful Viburnum this time of year is Snowball, with their large clusters of flowers
White Viburnum plicatum from a project installed in Larkspur after a couple years of growth
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 08:54 PM | Comments (1)
May 09, 2006
Tiburon Project- Box Trees
Here is an image of two 48" box Mayten trees (that can be seen making it off the truck in this post). These trees have a great weeping habit, similar to a Willow, but with less mess and smaller scale suited for residential applications. These large box trees make a great signature statement at the front of the residence.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
May 04, 2006
Rhododendrons from the Mendocino Botanical Gardens
Here are photographs of beautiful spring rhodys from a recent trip to the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. The cool coast air and moist climate make for beautiful specimens. One other interesting specimen was a Coast Redwood at the gardens. Redwoods do not grow well when exposed to salt air, and as a result don't thrive on the coast.
A Coast Redwood with stunted growth as a result of salt exposure near the coast
The beautifully rugged Mendocino coast
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
May 02, 2006
Turn on the Sprinklers
With sunny skies returning to California, and temperatures in the 80's, it is time to turn the sprinklers on. Here are a few tips:
1- Check the settings on your controller- It have been a while since they were adjusted. Drip stations should generally have 20 minutes - 1 hour of scheduled watering time a week, divided in 2-4 weekly waterings. This of course depends on the location, solar exposure, plant types, and type of irrigation system that was installed. Once the thermostat starts to climb into the 90's, increase the frequency and reduce the duration of watering. Soft stemmed plants or plants in pots may even need two waterings to keep from wilting in high temperatures.
Lawns should receive 30 minutes to an hour per week, again depending on conditions and temperature. More frequent waterings 4-6 times per week are typically required in the warm season.
2- Check your sprinklers: Run through the stations of your controller to check for problems. For lawns, check head coverage and distribution. Heads may have rotated out of alignment, or nozzles may have become clogged. For drip systems, turn on the station and listen for leaks, look for wet spots, or squirting water from drip lines. Where plants have grown over the lines listening may be the best way to find leaks. After the air has escaped the lines, listen for the sounds of escaping water. Check the emitters of plants that look dry.
3- Not sure how much to water? Probe the soil- The soil should be moist but not wet. Brush back mulch around emitters to see the amount of water plants are getting from drip systems. If you want a better way to check moisture content, purchase a soil probe from your local garden center.
Check the posting "Scheduling your Controller in Warm Weather" for more watering tips.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)
May 01, 2006
A Review of Our Blog
Our blog was recently reviewed by Brian Brown's Pajama Market, a blog dedicated to reviews of Small Business blogs.
The review is an interesting critique. For the most part it is favorable of the type of material we post here. With regards to subject matter, he has his critiques, such as my series on biking commuters.
Part of the intriguing nature of landscape architecture as a whole is that it covers a diverse range of topics. From a residential landscape construction perspective, Brian is right, biking to work is not pertinent. From a landscape architecture perspective, urban planning issues and alternative transportation are very relevant.
Our blog is meant to focus on subjects relating to our industry, but there is only some much fodder here for a regular running commentary. We also try to post information that is related in art & design, and items that are of interest to our community. In addition, as Brian notes, the blog is meant to be a more personal and varied look at the goings-on of our company, rather than a formalized newsletter approach. As far as his critique, my only critical reaction is that he could have looked at more of our past postings over the last 10 months, instead of justthe last few weeks. There are some very good posts that have both content and scholarship, rather than just pure content aggregation and links.
Posted by Michael O'Connell at 11:57 AM | Comments (2)