Design by Nature (Hurricane Wilma)

The ramifications of the Fall hurricanes in Florida are revealing issues for the landscape industry. We are seeing increased wood prices through out the country as well as shortages in tropical plants. An article in the January 26 New York Times tells how landscape architects and garden design are affected as well. Mario Nievera, ASLA, lead a tour of his Palm Beach gardens at the Annual Meeting in October, just weeks before the the hurricanes wrapped up their work.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/26/garden/26mario.html

Thanks for the comments!

Several of our members have responded to information posted. If you are interested, just click on the 'comments' icon at the lower right corner of each posting areas. The number of comments are also there.
If you have an itch to comment - please do so. Just click on 'comments' on the lower right corner and follow the instructions. Your comment will be sent to your chair and then posted to the website.

Thanks.

Sweet Find at Mid-Am

I attended the 2006 Mid-Am Expo in Chicago last week. After walking endless miles with bags of catalogs, brochures, and freebies, I came upon a lovely display of blooming hydrangeas. This delightful treat (on a cold blustery day) also introduced me to the latest development in hydrangeas, the new Endless Summer 'Blushing Bride'. The Original Endless Summer® Hydrangea has been the hottest plant in the industry in many years. And now Bailey Nurseries are introducing the next Endless Summer® Hydrangea to be sold through Independent Garden centers only in spring & summer 2006. This plant has pure white blossoms that mature to a blush pink or blue depending on soil acidity and features glossy dark-green foliage. And like its parent the Original Endless Summer®, it has kept that wonderful reblooming ability. Bred by Dr. Michael Dirr at the University of Georgia in 2001, Dr. Dirr calls this Hydrangea macrophylla “my most significant introduction to date”. Tests across the country have shown Endless Summer® Blushing Bride to have the hardiness of the Original with an even faster rebloom! For the next two years we are going to rate the hardiness zone of this plant as 5 - test zone 4. Blushing Bride did survive the winter of 2004 in zone 4.
Midwest Nurseries are striving to increase it's tree stock and selection. Most tree sources are having plenty of trees at 3" caliper or less but still struggling to keep enough trees on hand to grow into bigger sizes.

Have you seen anything of interest in your tradeshows? Let me know and I will pass it on.

Direct from the fertile pages of "The Dirt"

The January/February issue of Garden Design arrived in our mailbox yesterday, and it
includes 20 gorgeous pages dedicated to the residential design winners of the 2005 ASLA Professional Awards. Garden Design partnered with ASLA last year on the residential awards, and the magazine’s editor-in-chief Bill Marken, who sat on the jury, writes about the experience in his letter to the editor. “It was a boom time for both quantity and quality in our awards program,” Marken writes. Unfortunately, you can’t get the issue or the articles online, but you can pick them up on your newsstand—and if you attended the ASLA Annual Meeting this year you should be getting your issue in the mail soon. And if you want your project to appear in Garden Design in the future, the best thing to do is enter your residential projects in the 2006 ASLA Annual Awards

Thanks to Dave Connell, The Dirt editor

Reflecting Hortica

Here is a blog that reminds us why we love plants. The blogger is the photographer and her pictures are amazing.



Check it out: http://www.theizelcottage.blogspot.com/

News from ASLA's "The Dirt"

Keeping ahead of the trends-here is an interesting thought on the future of the residential landscape . . .

From the January 6th posting on The Dirt:

Is the Boomer Gardening Bubble Going Bust?New York Times garden writer Anne Raver reports that the late 1980’s gardening boom is slowing as baby boomers feel their age. Edmund Hollander, ASLA, says, “If there’s any trend it’s toward simplicity. Instead of trees in flower from March through September, people want hydrangeas and buddleias.”

More media opportunities via ASLA

A freelancer writing for a gardening magazine devoted to gardens of all types - rose gardens, gardens that are private, garden walkways etc. - is looking for projects that fit the following descriptions.
If you're interested in submitting a garden project, please send to Ashley Owens at ASLA:
- the category that your project fits into
- a brief description of the project - include plants used and for which zones, the challenge for the design, and the favorite outcome of it
- project location
- two photos of your project, 300 dpi high resolution with one in a large 8" X 10" format that takes up an entire page and the second photo a smaller 5" X 7" or 4" X 6". (you must have these photos to be considered) If you have before shots, send those as well, but it's not required.
- a plan, if available DEADLINE: JANUARY 9, 2006 if possible.
*Note: residential gardens only

The specific gardens she is looking for include:
1. Front walk
2. Front area garden by windows and doors
3. Back yard gardens all over the U.S.
4. Driveway
5. Side yards (hiding the air conditioner and trash cans), multiple versions
6. Perennial garden
7. English country garden
8. Cutting garden
9. Annual garden
10. Wildflower garden
11. Woodland garden
12. Garden by outdoor kitchen
13. Garden for cooking-herbs and edible flowers
14. Secret garden with borders and beds
15. Multicolored garden
16. Color themed garden
17. All white garden
18. Rose garden
19. Fragrance garden
20. Garden with trees and bushes for privacy or year-round seasonal joy such as fruit trees and topiaries
21. Garden for a retaining wall including espaliered greenery
22. Deck or patio gardens, multiple versions
23. Porch garden
24. Fence garden with greenery and flowers
25. Container garden
26. Seaside yard garden
27. Garden for pergola, trellis or archway
28. Water gardens, above ground, pond, fountain, with maybe a sidebar on incorporating water with colored lights
29. Rock garden
30. Small garden
31. Zero garden or small gardens, multiple versions
32. Shade garden
33. Semi-indoor garden on a screened porch
34. Tropical garden
35. Regional gardens from different parts of the country
36. Before and after feature with specific problems and solutions, several examples
Please send all information to me by Monday, January 9, if possible.
as well, but it's not required.
- a plan, if available
*Note: residential gardens only

CONTACT:Ashley Owens
Manager, Public Relations
American Society of Landscape Architects
636 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-216-2371
Fax: 202-898-1187
aowens@asla.org
www.asla.org

While in France. . . . .

If you happen to be in France and have some free time . . . . check this out.

International Forum
“VIEWPOINTS AND PERSPECTIVES”
At the occasion of the International Forum
“VIEWPOINTS AND PERSPECTIVES”

JACQUES SIMON, one of the most talented landscape designer of the world,
will personally give workshop, sign and illustrate the book
“French Landscape Designers and their creations”
You can meet him in Paris, from february 26th until march 03rd, 2006

To know more about the forum, please contact us :

ART & NATURE INTERNATIONAL
Email : edcris@easyconnect.fr
http://www.aninter.com
135, avenue Jean Baptiste Clément
92100 Paris Boulogne, FRANCE.
Tel. 00 33 1 55 38 91 54 – Fax 00 33 1 55 38 02 11

National Exposure Opportunities

Here is an opportunity for national exposure.

2 HGTV Media Opportunities
HGTV in conjunction with KPI-TV (NY) and NBC (NY) are looking for landscape architects with projects for two shows: “Extreme Rooftops” and “Great Outdoor Rooms.”

Media Opportunity #1:
DETAILS: KPI-TV (NY) is working with HGTV on a special program called "Extreme Rooftops". They're in the process of shooting now and need some additional projects to feature. They're looking for rooftop projects that might be in bloom now, preferably open air (not greenhouse type roofs).

Any project submitted for consideration must be:
Residential (not a condo or apartment building – private homes only)
In bloom now
Available for taping this month
PROJECT SUBMISSIONS DUE BY JANUARY 9

Media Opportunity #2:
DETAILS: NBC (NY) is working with HGTV on a program entitled "Great Outdoor Rooms". They're looking for landscape architects that will be creating an outdoor room in the spring, or that will be finishing one up in the spring. Again, the focus is residential.

Any project submitted for consideration must be:
Residential (not a condo or apartment building – private homes only)
Scheduled for construction and completion this spring (January to April)
Available for taping between January and April
PROJECT SUBMISSIONS DUE BY JANUARY 17

If you’re interested in submitting a project for the HGTV producers, please send all information to Ashley Owens at http://us.f815.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=aowens@asla.org or contact her at 202-216-2371. Please include the media opportunity you are interested in and provide a brief project description (3-4 sentences or more); the beginning and completion dates of the project; the location; and, the landscape architect’s name.

We realize that these shows have many constraints and specific requirements, which is why we’re reaching out to all of our members. These are great opportunities that we should take advantage of. We hope someone has a project that fits the requirements – great exposure for you, your firm, and ASLA!

Ashley Owens
Manager, Public Relations
American Society of Landscape Architects

Events Featuring Landscape Architects/CEU's offered

Here are a few upcoming events that present topics of interest for residential design practitioners, offer CEU's, and feature landscape architects as experts.

PENNSYLVANIA: Upcoming Seminar for Landscape Professionals:"Native Landscape Design: Reality Versus Perception"
January 31 & February 1, 2006 at Villanova University, Villanova, PA Continuing Education Units for Landscape Architects will be offered

Each year this symposium features expert speakers who share innovative ideas and practices for designing naturalistic landscapes.
Topics for this year's symposium include how people perceive nature, human activity and whether it is compatible with a healthy forest ecosystem, landscape disturbance as a management tool and creative ways to reduce garden maintenance.
Featured speakers include David Foster, director of the 3000-acre Harvard Forest at Harvard University, Gerould Wilhelm, a renowned botanist and teacher of ecological restoration and stewardship from the Chicago area, and Carol Franklin, FASLA, principle with Andropogon Associates, a Philadelphia-based firm that offers landscape architecture services from an ecological perspective.
The conference is designed to bring together people from a variety of disciplines including landscape architecture and design, horticulture, ecology, and botany.
Click here for complete brochure with registration form. You can print the registration form and fax it to 215-247-7862. (pdf, requires Adobe Acrobat reader)
Sponsored by the Connecticut College Arboretum, the Morris Arboretum, New Directions in the American Landscape, and the PA/DE Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

INDIANA: P.L.A.N.T.S 2006 - Annual INLA Conference and Tradeshow
January 4-6, 2006 at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN

This event is just around the corner but it is interesting to note that two landscape architects are featured speakers at this event, Greg Pierceall and Sandra Y. Clinton, FASLA. Greg is presenting a pre-show seminar and Sandra is the featured speaker for the ASLA Luncheon.