Blog entries

The Permaculture Series: Part 2

The Team — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:40:40 +0100

Problems are just opportunities waiting to be discovered

Permaculture is not about problems. Permaculture is about joy and abundance. Instead of focusing on what one needs to remove in order to feel “green”, one looks at what one can do to mRead More...

City of Austin Summer Watering Schedule in Effect

The Team — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:09:45 +0100

Don't forget to follow the watering schedule mandated by the City of Austin. No watering between 10am and 7pm for irrigation systems or sprinklers but hand watering is allowed anytime.

City of Austin Summer Watering Schedule

It's Time to Trim your Oaks to Avoid Oak Wilt

The Team — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:34:34 +0100

Now is the time to prune your oak trees in order to avoid oak wilt.

Oak wilt is a fungal infection affecting oak trees. All species of oak are susceptible with red oaks being particularly vulnerable. There is currently no known cure and tRead More...

Symbolism in the Garden: The Meaning of Flowers

The Team — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:22:59 +0100

A single red rose universally signals love. Other than that most of us do not understand the lost art of floral symbolism. According to the website VictorianBazaar.com the language of flowers is called "floriography”, which saw it’s heyRead More...

Permaculture, Art, Music, and Fashion?

The Team — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:21:04 +0100

Event Review: Worldwide Maniac Foundation Launch 6-19-10
by: Kate Higdon

Art. Fashion. Music….and permaculture? This sounded like an event custom tailored to my interests! Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the launch party for a new foundation that promotes “conscious capitalism” and “a pay it forward mindset” in fashion, entertainment, humanitarian efforts, and environmentalism. Michael Torres hosted the event to launch his new eco-conscious Worldwide Maniac FoundatRead More...

Sunburned Plants?

The Team — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:14:37 +0100

If you are like the majority of Central Texans, you spent some part of the last weekend in the sun, probably near water. As some of us fail to reapply sunscreen properly and pay the price, it begs the question: Why don’t plants sunburn? They are living. They are in the sun quite a bit. They don’t Read More...

Go Local: The Advantages of Native Grasses

The Team — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:39:39 +0100

Mount Vernon was the first home in North America to incorporate landscape into it's original design plan (according to The Lady Bird Wildflower Center). Since then, we have taken great time and energy to produce a landscape we are proud of. In Read More...

The Elements of Permaculture Series

The Team — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:18:44 +0100

As part of an ongoing series, I will post quick summaries about the elements of Permaculture. For an introduction to it's theory and practice, please visit my previous post "What is Permaculture?".

PermacuRead More...

What is Permaculture?

The Team — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:14:37 +0100

I have always been playing in the dirt--as a little girl days were spent experimenting with growing random plants, scurrying around the woods behind my childhood home, replanting as I saw fit. Little did I know that I was skirting the principles of permaculture.

Landscape Design: Curb Appeal

The Team — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:10:22 +0100

What does your front yard say about you?

As a designer I hear the words "Curb Appeal" at almost every initial consultation meeting I attend. We all know that having a beautiful front yard can be very imporRead More...

Horticulture Therapy

The Team — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:12:35 +0100

We live in a world that is hectic, stressful, fast past and many feel the negative effects of our current high speed culture. It seems that each day new information comes out about health issues created by a mix of poor food choices, high stress, and lack of exercise. These daily choices not only affect our bodily health but also our mental health leaving us exhausted and possibly bringing on sickness. Many professors and health care practicioners are rediscovering the joy of the horticultureRead More...

Fashion Design, even in your backyard

The Team — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:54:12 +0100

No matter how hard I try to avoid it, I am always drawn to fashion. Having grown up in retail with a family full of fashion minded people, I cannot let it go. I find myself carefully choosing my clothing even when I am headed out into the garden! You would think this wasn’t important, it’s just my fenced in back yard, but one day I learned the hard way that sometimes you have unexpected visitors. A male friend of my roommates walked right through our back gate and Read More...

Residential Landscape Planning: Cedar Elms

The Team — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:40:51 +0100

One of the best ways to beat the Austin heat is stay under cover. Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia) is one of the finest trees for use in the residential landscape in the Central Texas /Austin area for that reason.

It is a tallish growing naRead More...

Landscape Maintenance: Mulching

The Team — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:22:40 +0100

Applying mulch in your garden has many advantages. It can provide an aesthetically pleasing ground cover, retain moisture, control weeds, as well as maintain soil temperature. In Central Texas, where it seems drought is inevitable, soil protection and water conservation are top of mind for Read More...

Lawn Maintenance and Sustainability: Rainwater Harvesting

The Team — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 02:40:40 +0100

The onset of another Austin summer guarantees two things: extreme heat and water conservation efforts. After all the hard work you have put into your lawn, there is no way you are going to let it shrivel up and die, right? One option that can keep your lawn alive and follow the mandated watering schedules has been around for centuries: rainwater harvesting.

Rainwater harvesting began as a necessity for household and agricultural use before centRead More...

Landscape Design: Using Fabrics

The Team — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:58:47 +0100

We all are familiar with plant material, timber lattice screens, free-standing masonry walls and fences to define and separate spaces in the residential garden. An item that has been underutilized for this purpose is fabric.

The last 25 years has seen some major strides in the quality and durability of outdoor material (fabric). The landscape magazines are a great source for the new generation of outdoor fabrics used for exterior furniture, cuRead More...

Sustainability: Herbs in the Landscape

The Team — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:41:10 +0100

Herbs add texture, fragrance, and hue to the home landscape environment. They also look good as stand-alone elements in ceramic pots. Read More...

Landscape Design: Understanding the Process

The Team — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:29:34 +0100

Design. What in the world is it? What does design involve? More often than not our clients are completely unsure about what it is we are doing for them back at the office. In order to create a cohesive landscape that you are going to love, the designer, homeowner, and installation crew need to all be on the same page. Having good, solid design helps everyone understand what the final outcome should look like.

So for all you non-designers, please give a warm Read More...

Help Your Landscape Designer Help You

The Team — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:40:11 +0100

Frequently, when the landscape designer shows up for an appointment, the client is not really sure what he/she wants or even what he/she needs to tell their landscape designer. The homeowner knows that they have seen beautiful gardens and they know they want one, but the process it takes to get there is absolutely foreign!

The homeowner’s lack of design experience is exactly why they call us, but there are a few thingRead More...

Great Landscape Design Books: Going Deeper Into Design, Austin, Texas

Randy — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:58:32 +0100

Great Design Books: Going Deeper in Design

The design process is very fascinating. Many of you may have read my previous blogs on design preparedness and process and you have decided to learn more. Well here is my Read More...