Landscaping Blog
What's hot in landscaping : Kenya - The Standard
by David Llanes | Apr 20, 2017 | Blog - Landscaping
As with all art, landscaping has evolved over the decades to reflect changing cultures, technology and lifestyles. These changes happen more rapidly at a global scale faster than ever before. Here are some of what is trending in the world of landscaping: Outdoor living The garden has been transformed from a simple patch of lawn with selected trees and flowers into a place for outdoor living and entertainment. There is also a clear shift in design thinking. The modern landscape and building designers are finding creative ways to blur the boundary between the indoor and the outdoor. While the traditional garden space was clearly distinct from the interiors, the modern garden is part of it, with a seamless link between indoor and outdoor activities. The outdoor living area has become more sophisticated and comfortable, much like the indoors. ALSO READ: Off-plan buying in eye of storm How elaborate it is, is only limited by the size of your compound and your budget. At the high end, this means outdoor kitchens and entertaining areas complete with elaborate pools all furnished with designer, all-weather furniture and fittings. Screens and shade systems With the craze of elaborate outdoor living has come the need to provide some kind of screens and shade in the garden within limited space. This has resulted in the emergence of numerous new “outdoor interior” materials and technologies. The traditional pergola, for instance, has changed from the traditional timber structure into a more sophisticated affair, with some boasting of ceilings and styling you could find in an interior room. Moreover, homes are being designed with outdoor living spaces as...
Where the Learning Things Are - The Coast News Group
by David Llanes | Jan 19, 2017 | Landscape, Landscape Architecture, Landscaping
Palomar College’s trees, plants and other flora have brought the campus into the green thumb spotlight. SAN MARCOS — The transformation of Palomar College over the decades has not just been reserved to brick-and-mortar construction. Over the years, the campus has become home to one of the most unique collections of trees, plants and other flora — a fact that often goes unnoticed by students and faculty alike as they hustle to and from the newly fabricated buildings. Recently, however, the campus’ greenery Recently, however, the campus’ greenery received a prestigious certification, as Palomar College was recently certified as a Level II Arboretum by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program. Palomar College is the only community college to achieve the recognition, and one of only two college campuses statewide to achieve the designation, with UC Davis being the other. What makes the designation significant is that while the college does have an arboretum — the Edwin and Francis Hunter Arboretum flanks the campus’ northeast side — this designation encompasses the 200-acre San Marcos campus in its entirety. “The fact that the entire campus is recognized as an arboretum… is very exciting,” said Joi Lin Blake, Palomar College superintendent/president. “This is a notable distinction that places Palomar as a leader in the county.” Below the freshly minted two-story and three-story buildings that have dotted the campus as part of the decade long building campaign, grounds services crews have created a lush landscape of plants from all across the world. A recently completed Polynesian garden Teaching and Learning Center contains exotic palms, screw pines, sweet potatoes, and banana trees set against the...
Landscape Designer Adds Healing Gardens to Her Services
by David Llanes | Jan 18, 2017 | Landscape, Landscape Design, Landscaping
Gardens have been used as a mental and physical respite since the 5th century, and in recent years have been utilized as a form of therapy for patients. Amber Freda, owner of Amber Freda Home & Garden Design in New York, is helping to define the concept of healing gardens and is now offering them as a service.This dreary space was transformed into the above photo of the healing garden. “I wanted to create gardens that are more than just beautiful but that also represent a deeper connection to the earth,” she said. “With so many of our people living in cities nowadays, there’s often a bit of disconnect between us and the natural world. Our brains evolved over millions of years surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of nature, and there’s a lot of science out now that is showing that all of these are essential to our mood and sense of well-being.” Freda is well-known for her work with high-end urban garden designs and has transformed many spaces into beautiful rooftop gardens. With her healing gardens, she plans to take things even further. “A healing garden brings us back to our most fundamental and necessary connection with nature by engaging the sense on multiple levels,” she said. “We still consider aesthetics because, of course, beautiful gardens are also a source of deep comfort, but we might also consider things like the way things smell or sound, such as through the use of a water feature or even grasses that rustle in the wind.” The service will be offered to both residential and commercial clients and Freda...
Seven Beginner Landscape Design Tips
by David Llanes | Dec 24, 2016 | Blog - Landscape
If you’ve never tackled a landscape design before, you might be overwhelmed by all the choices you can make. But the same principles that guide your room setup inside should guide your designs outside, too. Here are seven ideas for landscape design for beginners. Idea 1 Make a list of needs and wants. Do your kids need a play space? Do you want to grow vegetables? Would your family gather on a patio? Do some very rough sketches of the yard with thoughts of where you want to place things; it’s a great organizing principle for landscape design for beginners. “These aren’t master plans, just ideas,” says Marianne Lipanovich, author of the Big Book of Garden Designs (Oxmoor House, 2008). “The one I did for our front-yard overhaul was literally a few lines and a couple of circles, but my husband understood the plan, and we went ahead with formal planning out on the site. You can easily play around with ideas without a lot of time and commitment.” Idea 2 Study the sun and wind patterns. You might want to place a patio on the west side of the house, but it will get lots of afternoon sun, which means dinnertime in August won’t be relaxing — just hot. And wind whistling around a corner will quickly extinguish a fire pit. Those are common mistakes in landscape design for beginners. Your design should take into account what the sun and wind do at different times of the day and year. “You’ll need solutions to temper the problem,” Lipanovich says. Idea 3 Live with it for a while. Coming...
Drops of Heaven in a Garden- The New Indian Express
by David Llanes | Dec 14, 2016 | Blog - Landscape
HYDERABAD: It was the last thing to expect amidst a plethora of skyscrapers and clatter in the midst of Hong Kong. My visit to Nan Lian Garden came as a saviour when I almost gave up on an overdose of the vibrancy of the world city. I have had my fill of the celeabrated skyline, fashion streets, multinational brands, shopping and the glitz. That is when my guide Fred Chang suggested that I see the other side of Hong Kong, a lovely Chinese garden, to experience its picturesque and poetic ambience soaked in elegance and serenity. Situated at Diamond Hill, Kowloon, Nan Lian Garden is adjacent to the peaceful monastic complex of Chi Lin Nunnery. Built in the Tang Dynasty style (618 AD to 907 AD), its design is based on nature but goes beyond it, integrating the feel of poetry and painting into the garden. The ancient landscape garden is adorned with springs, hillocks, trees, flowers, plants, pavilions, winding paths and bridges. Following the traditional landscape gardening techniques, employing the art of borrowing, concealing, penetrating, blocking, an extension of views, creating in a limited space, natural, beautiful scenes in miniature. The garden is a manifestation of the classical style, elegant, vigorous and spectacular, displaying a strong sense of vitality and ever changing beauty. “Man in harmony with nature is an important philosophical concept in our ancient Chinese thought” started Fred. All these ideas have deeply influenced the concepts of traditional Chinese landscape gardening. Painters and artists immersed themselves in nature and tried to recreate in their paintings the joy and wonder they experienced therein. Landscape gardeners, too, tried...