Another green buzzword…sustainability.  Without getting into a details about LEED credits, recycling guilt and the ins-and-outs of cfl’s, how does the average joe get their green without hiring mega-professionals or giving up wordly possessions for life in a yurt?  Going green doesn’t have to cost money.  In fact, it can save you money instead — here are four things you can do to decrease your carbon footprint:

1. Let your lawn go or let it grow.

A former lawn explodes with new textures forcing a busy street into the background. Design by Page Huyette

The best way to use less water is to turn your thirsty front lawn into a garden or outdoor room.  Using ornamental grasses, bulbs and other water-savers such as Barberry, Lamb’s Ear and Lavender will provide year-round interest, textures, and a leaner, greener water bill.  Add a few outdoor LED light fixtures on a timer and you’ve got a low-maintenance showstopper that will have the neighbor’s tongues wagging.  If you can’t bear to let go of the green carpet, at least set your mower blade higher so you mow less often.  Or better yet, plant a no-mow fescue for that luscious meadow feel.  Get out that blanket for a nap in the grass!

2.  Ride your bike to work once a week.

Or take the bus.  Once a week is easy–you get to pick the day so it works with weather and your schedule.  Watch the world go by from a different perspective and I guarantee it will increase your appreciation for where you live.

3.  Vacation in your own state.

This summer pick a spot in your home state where you’ve never been.  Close your eyes and point your finger on a map.  Take the kids along if you have some and you’ll be teaching them about geography, the natural landscape, microclimates and how to use all that airline ticket or gas money you’ve saved for something really worthwhile.

4.  Get some chickens. You knew this was coming.  How about a morning omelette from your backyard coop and garden?  Chickens taught my kids how to count, how to care and how to sustain ourselves.  One of the best family investments you can make.  Chickens are also very relaxing and forgiving, like a trusty dog that lays eggs.

I never meant for this to happen. When I met you, twenty-one years ago, I always knew you were the one. Full of hope, promise, sunshine…just the type that was ready for me. I grabbed you by the horns, lived your life full-on, trying everything, visiting every part of you. There are spaces where your beauty shines that many only hear of–Convict Lake, Bolinas, Sea Ranch, Stillwater Cove, Laurel Canyon. I have seen all parts of you, even visited your frayed edges on cold spring nights crossing the border to Mexico to pick up dailies from a film shoot, seeing you from the other side.   If this day ever were to come, I meant for our parting to be glorious, vibrant, with lots of nice clothing, you know…Hollywood style.

What will this new life bring, when everything I dreamed of has already been delivered by you? I know there is always more. I am reaching, thinking of this as I move to the next stage of our lives.

This was a post I wrote on another blog about leaving California, land of plenty and moving to Montana, land of big skies and personal freedoms about two years ago.   This was a blog I used as an online journal, written to keep me honest, to help me see the journey I was about to embark on in the form of the written word.  It’s written under a pseudonym, because I wanted it to be uncensored and open.  But since I’ve moved here and started writing again both for work and pleasure after a lapse of at least ten years, I realize I have nothing to hide.  I live this way in my personal life, sharing openly with people close (and not so close) to me, so even though this blog focuses on design issues, materials and trends, it is also really about me and the way I view the world.  I want everyone to experience passion in their lives and their careers, and believe that it is always possible on some level, even when you consider yourself to be a non-creative luddite when it comes to writing or design.

For the first time in my adult life I was doing something I hadn’t completely signed on to emotionally.  A combination of a sagging economy, depressing job market for design and construction and the crumbling California school system prompted this change, along with a lot of doubt and apprehension.  Moving to Montana was not a dream I wanted to live at the time.  I’d like to share the entire blog with you, but first should really read it over to be sure it’s fine to share (I said it was uncensored, remember?).

Blue Bear at Convention Center

A recent visit to Denver, Colorado brought the unexpected surprise of true in-your-face Public Art around every corner.  I’m not talking about a sculpture tucked into a pocket park or single sculpture sitting forlornly in front of a public building.  I’m talking HUGE, mega-monster sized sculptures and art pieces everywhere you turn.

On street corners, inside and outside of buildings, gigantic five-story statements along the freeways for god’s sake.

Some may question the labeling of art for some of these works, but  isn’t that the point–putting it out there for everyone to pass judgement on, whether you are a business professional, student, wigger or tourist, it’s all right there for you–you can’t hide from it in Denver.

Spider at Denver Art Museum

Dancers at Performing Arts Center

Background

Irving Elementary School, located in Bozeman, Montana serves about 300 students from multiple countries and cultures.  Located two blocks from Montana State University, it sits on a tight urban lot bordered on four sides by busy arterial streets.  Collaborative efforts between the school and students from majors in Education, Architecture and Landscape Design are encouraged.  Open space on school grounds is limited but includes an apple orchard planted by students, Girl Scouts and community members on the north side of the school.  Recently a group of parents decided to take the “greening” of the school even further, claiming an unused south-facing side yard on a busy street corner next to the access road to the University.  Here they have begun the process of building a teaching garden to serve as the new face of this school while educating kids about their everyday food choices and relationship to the environment right outside their classroom doors.

Building the Vision

Figure 1: A garden begins to take root

A group of parents, teachers and community members led by Irving parent Heather Musselman began to plant the garden’s seeds during the summer of 2009 with six simple wooden raised beds.   Planting, weeding and watering was integrated into classroom activities to encourage environmental and nutritional awareness. Last fall, while teaching the Advanced Landscape Design course at MSU, I chose the the garden as a class project, tackling the master plan  with my senior design students.  Their resulting efforts include expanding the square footage of the developed areas from 280 square feet to over 4,039 square feet, addition of an outdoor classroom and performance  space using permeable paving, improved bike parking areas with additional racks and all-weather surfaces, composting bins for classroom and garden waste, a solar-heated greenhouse and ADA access to learning areas.  MSU’s Architecture Department then chose the garden’s greenhouse as a Community Development project last spring.

Figure 2: Fifth graders harvest garlic

Community Involvement

Local businesses such as the Community Co-op, Lowe’s and Owenhouse Ace Hardware along with the Gallatin Valley Gardening Club, Perpetual Green and Story Hill Farm have donated funds, materials and labor.  During the summer, Wednesday Garden Days extended an open invitation to students, parents and community members to work in the garden each week.

Strategies and Results

To showcase Irving School as a model for alternative transportation usage, the master plan includes  the addition of connector paths from public sidewalks and designated safe zones for children being dropped off and picked up, increased bike parking and paving improvements.  These additions will encourage internal circulation through the garden and outdoor classroom instead of streets and public areas as students travel to and from school while also providing visual cues for passing motorists during congested commuting hours.

Figure 3: The garden becomes a place to play

Removal of 1650 square feet of sod with plans to remove an additional 2,000 square feet has reduced water needs, pesticide use and maintenance for school grounds.  Raised beds are irrigated with a water-wise drip system on timers with the long-term goal of providing nutritious fresh food raised by the students to supplement Irving School’s salad bar, producing cost savings on food and transportation costs while encouraging students to eat locally grown, chemical-free foods beyond what the district has already introduced through their nutrition programs.  This, along with composting and recycling of lunch and classroom waste enhances understanding of the life cycle of foods and waste in the schools as well as the need for sustainable practices in everyday life.

Sustainability

The garden and outdoor classroom will increases the school’s footprint of high-use outdoor space while seeking to minimize district costs for maintenance and upgrades.  Through grants, fundraisers and volunteer labor, the garden aims to become self-sustaining within five years.  Upcoming plans include working with Montana Safe Routes to Schools Coordinator and Irving parent Taylor Lonsdale to develop strategies for funding of infrastructure and educational materials that would benefit the garden, related curriculum and traffic safety.  Students, parents, commuters and neighbors have been able to watch the evolution of an unused grass patch change into a thriving, living educational outdoor space that maximizes site usage while allowing for flexibility as district goals and student body needs evolve.

Figure 4: Classes use the garden for soil & science testing

To learn more about the Irving School Garden visit their website at:  irvingschoolgarden.vidaflora.net

About the Author: Page Huyette is a Landscape Designer, teacher, writer and more importantly an Irving parent that lives and works in Bozeman, Montana. She can be reached at Page@vidaflora.net

Download a pdf  of this article here

My pretty book of ideas

Creative-types are familiar with blocks to motivation, writer’s block and other impediments that slow down the work train.  Everyone–students, professionals, stay-at-home moms experience difficulty in getting the job done at some point.   Jenny Blake recently wrote about the different times and places these dips occur and discusses how to get through them, recognizing these blocks can throw you off big time if you don’t have the ability to see them coming.  It’s not a matter of if, but when they will happen.

Some of my habits to overcoming dips and blocks:

Set up the next steps that need to be accomplished, then walk away with a specific time written down that you will return.  The work will be open to the drawing/page/screen you need to attack, so you can get right to work.
Pin up a clothesline, complete with wooden clothespins, that dangles ideas and inspirations right in front of your nose.  When you find yourself going to Facebook, YouTube or another time-sucker, instead glance up at the images that motivate you. Eric Baker recently wrote about his healthy habit of finding random images on the web each morning and sending them to some friends as a way to get the juices flowing in the am.
Make a list. Yawn..this tip has been around forever, but the key to making it constructive is developing a list system that works with the way you think. I have a beautiful leather notebook embossed with gingko leaves given to me by a dear friend where I jot down random and important lists and items.  Everytime I pick it up I feel good, and it makes me want to go back to it.

Remember…if you are caught feeling like you are in a dip or lull or block, remind yourself that its part of the process and you are actually still working.  Instead of giving up, develop your own set of skills for getting through it.

vidaflora.net

We last posted on kids playhouses a few years ago while doing research for something imaginitive, different from the dearth of molded plastic and play fort imposters that clog the market.  Many parents, schools and parks have become so afraid of litigation due to injuries from play equipment that a lot of fun has been taken out of this medium.

We are working with our local schools to come up with some low-cost, creative solutions that kids will actually USE.  This unique KidStructure was created by Randy Brown, as part of a temporary exhibit at the Luritzen Gardens in Omaha, NE.  for a temporary outdoor exhibit of interactive spaces for children of all ages fun scapes custom-designed by area architects and contractors.

We love the way this structure uses simple, easy-to-find materials that interact with natural light, provide movement and a changing experience for kids.  Let us know if you have other ideas we can implement in area school playgrounds to enrich children’s lives.

vidaflora.net

This is the second article in a monthly series of guest writers speaking about the personal tips and tricks that have helped them bring successful designs to the table during their careers.  These designers work in a variety of mediums:  architecture, landscape design, color consulting, merchandising, photography, interiors and other disciplines.

This month’s guest writer is Jennifer de Graaf, owner of de Graaf Design Associates, an award-winning Landscape Architecture firm in Alameda, California.  Jennifer’s firm specializes in custom planting design and site planning.   Her article discusses the landscape design process and how using editing techniques can produce a successful design.

Editing a Garden Design

by Jennifer de Graaf, RLA, LEEP AP

Designing a garden can sometimes be like dressing yourself. Designers appreciate the beauty and potential in many different garden styles and materials, but just as you might be fond of both your blue cashmere sweater and a certain bathing suit, a crucial component to successful designs is the ability to push yourself to finesse design ideas so that the project becomes a successful whole.  It could be entertaining to wear all of your favorite clothes all the time, but the most effective way to showcase a garment or accessory is to surround it with other items that support how wonderful it is, rather than compete with it.  The same theory applies to garden and landscape design.

The design process begins with a site, a client, and a whole lot of ideas and expectations from everyone involved.  I start the process by gathering images and lists of things that could work for the client and the site, leaving very little out at this stage.  I generate long lists of plants, hardscape materials, and a variety of other design ideas.  I consider the clients’ preferences, and think carefully about how the site will be used.

As the design progresses and the client and I continue to discuss options, those lists get shorter and shorter until eliminating something would take away from the overall design.  I may work through more than one idea at a time, grouping images together and exploring a few contrasting concepts before refining the final design and editing it down to the most concise expression possible.  When I feel that everything included in the final design serves a unique purpose, and I still like looking at it, I know I’ve done my job.

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

—Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Here are some rules of thumb to use as a guideline when you are in the editing phase of your design:

• “Less is more.” A good rule, but sometimes rules are meant to be broken, so use your own judgment as to how far you should take this one.
• The choice of hardscape materials should reflect the way that they are being used.  For example, raised decks are usually made with wood and paving areas on grade are often a heavier material like brick, stone, or gravel.  A raised gravel deck would feel awkward to most people and would distract from the rest of the design.  Your choices should physically make sense, unless they play a unique role in the design. (see Fig. 3)
• Paths should not duplicate each other’s route; each separate path should be necessary for circulation or eliminated, combined, re-designed.
• Hardscape materials should be limited to as few different materials as possible should be employed.   For example, mixing brick and stone in the same patio should be done only because of an intentional design decision, not simply mixing materials for the heck of it.
• Plants that blend color-wise should be contrasting in texture or used far apart enough to be visually distinct. (Fig. 1)
• Plants that contrast in color should never be used 50/50.  Interestingly, it is often the one used less that becomes the focus, not the one used more.  Decide what you, the designer, are trying to achieve before becoming smitten with a plant combination.  Consider an intense field of blooming lavender with a few yellow flowers poking through here and there VS. a cottage garden that is a variety of mostly blue and purple flowers with a few strategically placed matching yellow flowering shrubs.  In the first scenario, the lavender probably remains the focus, where in the second the yellow shrubs may be what you notice more.  In both scenarios, there is less yellow, but the focus still changes depending on the design and proportions.

Sometimes the design of a project reveals itself relatively easily and needs little refinement, but for those projects that need more coaxing, I use a variety of techniques to help me work through the design process.  Here are three:

1.  Print out a couple of copies of small photos (thumbnails) of all of the plant materials (or design ideas) and lay out a blank copy of the current site plan.    Cut each of the thumbnails into individual pictures and arrange (and re-arrange) them over the site plan as I like.  This method works for me regardless of the design phase.  If the design is still in the conceptual phase, I look through the images and doodle ideas on the plan.  If the layout is done and I am working on a planting plan, I usually pull out the colored pencils to shade in areas of plant groupings.  I always keep prints of any building elevations handy nearby as a reference.

2.  For planting plans, create a list of each plant and that plant’s attributes throughout the year.  For example, a rose bush will have bare branches in winter, new leaves in spring, flowers in summer, and will lose its leaves sometime in the fall.  I review the whole plant list for each season to see if there are any holes.

3.  Label plant image files with as much information as possible.  Develop a short-hand code for file naming.  For example, a bearded iris image might be named “Iris ‘Baltic Star’ 34 M sch.jpg” indicating the cultivar (Baltic Star), blooming height (34”), that it is a mid-season bloomer (M), and available from Schreiner’s Iris (sch).  I include as much information as I reasonably can, and keep a working list of the codes I use.  When I print out plant images for the planting design process, I have both my knowledge of the plants and the information printed with the thumbnail to refer to.  Additional information for a plant image may be whether it is fragrant, has fall color, or needs certain growing conditions (sun, shade, etc).  Your codes will be customized to reflect whatever attributes you use to layout successful planting designs.  The same system can be used for hardscape materials, accessories, and other design elements.

Visit Jennifer de Graaf’s website and design blog to learn more about her designs.

vidaflora.net

This is where the trouble started.

Please note:  This post is duplicated at blog.vidaflora.net

I need to write my blog post, but the only thing I can think about is the bunny, and if its warm enough, if I rubbed its belly enough so it will pee and not bloat, if the formula I just ordered from Illinois will make it here before its eyes open.  I am still feeling badly for putting it out in a box during a storm after the cat brought it to me, thinking the mom bunny would sniff it out and take it back to her nest.  I was up all night listening to the howling wind, forcing myself to stay in bed and not check on the bunny.  After all, I was letting nature take care of things.

This is how rescuing a wild bunny will make you a better designer:

When you are taking care of something young and fragile, you must adhere to a schedule.  If you do not, the wee thing may suffer from a variety of maladies due to your negligence.

This also happens when you neglect your designs, due to procrastination or going off on design tangents that have no right chewing up the design time for this project.  A consistent schedule, with time built in for spontaneity, as recommended by Dave Stewart’s Ideas Factory business model for his company results in meeting deadlines and a tight, well-executed design that meets the project needs.

When taking care of something young and fragile, you must have compassion and an ability to put yourself and your needs aside.

When working on a new design for someone other than yourself, it is imperative to compartmentalize your ego and also use your listening skills to really, really hear with the client and site needs.  This is especially important in the early stages, just as it would be in a bunny’s first days.

When taking care of something young and fragile, you must have the flexibility to change as the situation evolves.

With all good design projects, possessing the ability to chuck something that you have fallen in love with when you realize its just not working is a a  necessary skill.  Not allowing yourself to fall in love with a particular brick pattern, color palette or plant grouping to the point that it clouds your ability to see the big picture will open you up to new possibilities and provide the right solution to your design.

With the bunny, I thought I’d take care of it just as I would a baby chick:  heat source, straw, some water and food, occasionally  holdings—that’s it, easy.  No, a wild bunny needs much more than this, so very much more.  Some design projects also need much more time and thought than you originally budgeted, or a different approach entirely.   But you must move forward, as you are committed to its success, and you will do whatever it takes to get through.

And here’s another picture of the bunny, because bunnies are so damn cute.

Many of us live in tiny houses with tiny yards, or sometimes big houses with tiny yards.  Maybe your front entry needs some bling to jazz things up in an otherwise bland landscape.  For those of you who aren’t ready to tear up your front lawns or paint your house an outrageous color, another way to set you apart from the neighbors is to use interesting materials for fence panels or privacy fencing, such as those offered by 3Form. We spoke about this product awhile ago in a post on modern chicken coops, and also explored using Blik Decals on fence panels for a custom, modern look.

Let your imagination run wild!

www.vidaflora.net

Beach Party Set

In a previous post about Doing What You Love, I spoke about opening yourself up to new possibilities, and about how many people tell me they think I have their dream job.  I usually answer back that even with the best jobs, there are good and bad aspects.  I have been lucky enough to have several jobs that people would envy; we’ll get to this later. One of the aspects of this job that I love is the research part.  By research I don’t just mean concrete finishes, design layouts and plants.  I also research the economy, color trends, demographics and other business blogs that, on the surface, don’t seem to be directly connected with my profession.  The reason?  Developing the skill of weeding through vast amounts of  information to find exactly what you need and using that information to solve a problem is a priceless skill.  This skill will set you apart from other designers, make you a more efficient employee, even a better student.  But most of all, it keeps your work interesting and unique.

How did I learn this skill?  I learned it while working as a Set Decorator on commercials, films and videos back in the late 80′s and 90′s in Hollywood.  This job requires thinking on your feet and fast problem-solving skills.  There is no time for uncertainty.  Picture yourself standing in the middle of a vast studio warehouse full of props from many different periods:  victorian, mid-century modern, pioneer cabin-style, whatever.  We are talking everything from couches to carpeting, curtains, doilies and glassware, even the picture of Uncle Brutus to hang above the mantle….everything.  You have three hours to choose every last piece for your set and shoot the commercial tomorrow.  The director has handed you a one-page storyboard, which has quick sketches of each shot–not much to go on.  What do you do?

Prof. Cruikshank's office (played by Arte Johnson, Munchie 1992)

What I would do is imagine the finished set, make a few quick sketches and sometimes grab a few color swatches as a guide,  just as I do with landscape or interior projects, and I would start tagging items to be loaded onto the trucks like a madwoman.  I would just go–not stopping but always looking for new ideas as I keep moving forward through the warehouse.  Almost like a speed reading course for interior decorating.  This “big picture” approach would carry me through the hallways stacked high to the ceiling and keep me focused.  I would add a lamp here, take away a sofa there, and I would alway keep going.

Part of the secret to fast-paced mental editing is trusting yourself, having the confidence to believe in your ideas.  But more importantly, allowing yourself to make some mistakes here and there, not getting bogged down in being afraid of failure.  Travel down that hallway and look around…you never know what you might find.  But, always remember the big picture.  This will get you to the finish line.

blog.vidaflora.net