The Latest

Holding Down the Fort: How to Prepare for a Hurricane in Your Commercial Landscape

September 26th, 2023

Once again, we find ourselves in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane season. Thankfully, while the number of named storms has been higher than average this year, most of the storms have remained over the ocean without causing excessive damage. The trend should not lull us into a sense of complacency, however. Hurricanes carry the highest costs of any weather-related disaster in terms of monetary damage as well as loss of human life, and there will always be another one. So, what can you do? Well, landscaping for hurricane season is one way to prepare. When designing for hurricane resistance, a lot of attention is paid to buildings, such as the wind and impact resistance of windows and roofing materials. Landscaping gets less attention, but should be part of the design and maintenance strategy both to mitigate risk to structures and to improve the hurricane survivability of the landscape. Let’s…

The Ins and Outs of Grass Lawn Aeration for Your Green Space

August 15th, 2023

If you’ve done any research into lawn care, lawn aeration is a term that has certainly come up. When soil becomes compacted over time, this approach can help to provide the best conditions for optimum turf health and beauty. Let’s take a look into why lawn aeration is impactful, as well as when and how to aerate. Why Is Aeration Necessary? The need for lawn aeration arises from soil compaction. Along with organic matter, minerals, and living organisms, pore space is one of the most important factors for soil health. Pore space refers to the openings between soil particles. These openings facilitate the movement of water, oxygen, and nutrients through the soil. Adequate pore space is essential for a thriving ecosystem that provides the right conditions for healthy root growth. Compacted soil lacks pore space and therefore inhibits optimal root growth. Outward signs of soil compaction include: Slow growth of…

4 Ways to Avoid Heat Dangers in Your Landscape Architecture

July 18th, 2023

The warmth of the sun can be a source of great enjoyment, and it plays a critical role in the beautiful ecosystems of our planet. But too much heat can certainly be a bad thing—for people and plants alike. As landscape architects, we have the unique ability to help people avoid excessive heat while still enjoying nature. Designing with heat management in mind can also lower the energy consumption of a building and improve conditions for certain plants and wildlife. It pays to consider heat dangers! So, keep reading to explore our top tips for reducing heat in your landscape architecture. Consider Adding Water Features Last month, we discussed the benefits to incorporating a water feature into your commercial landscape architecture. Now, let’s focus on the ways it could help you reduce heat dangers. Water has a high specific heat capacity, which means that it will absorb a lot of…

Should You Incorporate Water Features Into Your Commercial Landscape?

June 19th, 2023

When thinking about the landscaping for your commercial property, water features will likely come to mind. Whether a Zen-like trickling waterfall, a Koi pond, or a fountain, water features can certainly add an enjoyable ambience to your environment. But is the inclusion of a water feature right for your project? Today, we’re going to talk all the pros and cons to help you decide! Create an Ambience With Water Features Arguably the most compelling reason to invest in this element of a commercial landscape is the impact it can have for your visitors. Water features appeal to various senses, with their visual beauty and delicate sound. They can also thoughtfully contribute to an aesthetic. Take one of our current projects as an example: For the revitalization of a historic courtyard, our clients want to create a New Orleans sort of feel. We’ve recently finished the planning phase, and one of…

8 Tips for Weed Management in Your Commercial Landscape (#2 Is Hugely Effective)

May 17th, 2023

One of the unfortunate challenges that will always be a part of landscape architecture is maintenance. How lovely would it be if we could just set it and forget it, right? But nature will have its way … if you don’t put effort into managing your commercial landscape, you’ll find yourself saddled with an unruly, expensive-to-fix, unattractive—even dangerous—environment. How do you avoid that? Well, hiring an attentive maintenance team is the best solution. Still, it always pays to have some knowledge surrounding your landscape’s maintenance needs. So today, we’re talking about the number-one way to keep your landscape architecture thriving: effective weed management. Here are our top tips! #1 Consider Where Weed Management Comes In The very first thing to do is to think about your landscape’s architecture. Do you have large expanses of grass or many smaller planting beds? Or, as with many designs, a little bit of both?…

Holding Down the Fort: How to Prepare for a Hurricane in Your Commercial Landscape

The Ins and Outs of Grass Lawn Aeration for Your Green Space

4 Ways to Avoid Heat Dangers in Your Landscape Architecture

Should You Incorporate Water Features Into Your Commercial Landscape?

8 Tips for Weed Management in Your Commercial Landscape (#2 Is Hugely Effective)

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