Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Waterfalls Without a Pond is a Safe Alternative

Pondless waterfalls are no different than a regular waterfall and pond except they do not have an exposed surface area of water that you would normally see. Instead, the water pools into a storage basin below ground where you cannot see it. The water still gets recirculated to the waterfall as a normal pond waterfall system. You can enjoy the sight and sound of running water without the maintenance of a pond.

The waterfall itself, with its cascading stream and gurgling sound of water over stones and gravel, is the most beautiful and favored part of any garden that features water as the focal point or theme. But some people are concerned about debris floating on the water surface or safety of exposed water. Others may have space limitations.

A pond and waterfall is a natural feature unlike a more formal manmade fountain. Both provide the sound of water, but a waterfall with the sound of water that mimics the real sound in nature, is favored for its realistic, nature-like appearance.

Benefits of Pondless Waterfalls

1) Safety

A pondless waterfall has nothing to fall into and therefore, even small children can be left without worry in a backyard with a pondless waterfall.

2) Cost

Cost can be a important consideration when thinking about the kind of waterfall you may want to have. In most cases, the cost of a pondless waterfall will be lower than a pond, due to there being less labor, less rock, and other materials. Pump size is smaller because of less water to pump, thereby allowing for better efficiency and operating costs.  Because you are not creating an aquatic ecosystem, you do not have to run the pump 24/7.

3) Space Saving Design

The small size of the pondless waterfall means you can create and enjoy a beautiful waterfall anywhere in your garden -- even in a courtyard !. As long as there is nearby water and electricity, you're good to go.

4) Maintenance

Taking care of your pondless waterfall is easier than a waterfall with a pond. Because you don't have a body of water to capture leaves and debris, the pump's filter will be clean less often. Because the underground reservoir is not exposed to the sun, it will not evaporate as much and reduce the amount of water needed to offset evaporative loss.

If this concept of having a waterfall but without the drawbacks of a pond appeal to you, give me a call and let's see where the perfect spot would be for a waterfall in your backyard.

John Stuart Leslie

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Design and Budget Must Be Realistic

Budget is certainly a major factor in the design process. It is simply an exercise in design if there is not enough money available or allocated to construct it and implement the original vision and intent of the design. 
 landscape planning is critical to your budget So if you are working with a designer, don't be put off if you feel they are overly concerned about knowing your "budget".  It makes the design process much easier and saves alot of "pie in the sky" scenarios that will never get built. 

If you are paying a landscape designer for their time and want to explore different scenarios, that's fine, but always have an idea of the cost to build each of the scenarios. Working with a designer who knows how much construction costs are is very important. 

An efficient way to design with cost in mind as you go along, is to hire a design-build contractor. One who has the capability of providing costs per their design. If you pay them separate for the design process, you can explore variations in the design that meet your budget or to find out how much things cost so you can adjust you budget.

Not knowing how much things cost stops many homeowners from establishing a budget. Often they go through the process of getting bids (with "free" designs) so that they can get a feel for how much of a range they are looking at with what they told the contractors to design for them. If the range is way over expectations, then you now have an idea of how much things cost. 

Another way to work with a budget is to phase the construction to give you time to fund the entire project or as funds become available. The downside to this method is not getting the benefit of those items you are going to install later. They may be important for you to have immediately, so then you must defer some other part of the project. 
landscape plans

A good designer who understands construction can put together a phasing plan based on cost, but also on what makes sense in terms of construction logistics. Some components jut have to go in the intial phase such as underground drainage, irrigation and sleeving.

Another factor is access. It doesn't make sense to defer items such as swimming pools, ponds or waterfeatures that require significant excavation and underground plumbing with equipment that will destoy half the yard just getting to the location.

The goal is to minimize the amount of disruption or having to re-do parts of the yard due to construction methods and access. One way of phasing is to install the underground piping such as waterlines, electrical, or gas lines and stub out the end for later connection. Trenching for underground lines is extremely disruptive and should always be done in the first phase. 

If you are to build your own landscape project or garden, do factor in the cost of all the materials and the amount of labor you will put in vs. hiring labor before you finalize your design. Knowing how much things cost will also allow you to possibly phase the installation if you intend to build the project exactly as designed but need to defer a portion of it until you have the money.

From a design stand point, the worst mistake to make is to spend all your "budget" on the pool and have very little left for the surrounding "softscape". If the pool contractor talks you into building the pool, the decking and the bbq but downplays the plantings and related components, the design will not be balanced. 

Work with a designer who looks at the entire yard thoroughly and doesn't defer decisions about what goes around the pool to another contractor or youself to figure out.

That is why it is best to work with a designer who understands all the components of the landcape and is not biased towards any one component such as the pool. A pool is often the major focal point of the yard, and deserves special attention, but don't have blinders on
when designing the rest of the landscape and know what the costs are for everything, not just the pool.


Recycling Old Jargon for a New Generation Going Green

Just like the New Age Movement, the terms permaculture and sustainability are not new concepts.

 “Permaculture is about sustainable human settlements. It is a philosophy and an approach to land use which weaves together microclimates, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water   management, and human needs into intricately connected, productive communities”  
- Bill Mollison
At the center of permaculture design and practice is a basic set of ‘core values’ or ethics which remain constant regardless of the application i.e. for a town, a forest or a backyard farm. These ethics are sometimes defined as follows:

·       Earthcare  – recognising that Earth is the source of all life (and is possibly itself a living entity — see Gaia theory), that Earth is our valuable home, and that we are a part of Earth, not apart from it. Agriculturalists traditionally exploit soil, plants and animals so intensely that serious internal (e.g. diseases, soil erosion, decrease of production through the years) as well as external problems (e.g. pollution from fertilizers, human diseases originating from farm factories) occur. Permaculturalists have introduced new ways of practicing agriculture, based on moderate yet problem-free rates of production. These ways are fundamental in restoring a mutually beneficial (and healthy) relationship between man and the environmental factors indispensable to his survival.  
·       Peoplecare  – supporting and helping each other to change to ways of living that do not harm ourselves or the planet, and to develop healthy societies.  
·       Fairshare  (or placing limits on consumption) - ensuring that Earth's limited resources are used in ways that are equitable and wise.  
The concept of permaculture was born out of the need to develop a whole new set of values that are contrary to large scale modern agriculture, especially monoculture where a single crop is the goal.

Today, we use the term 'sustainability' rather than permaculture because it encompasses more than a agricultural basis.  The other reason, perhaps more indicative, is that the term permaculture is actualy a trademarked name. It was intended as a vehicle to perpetuate the idealogy through the teaching of permaculture and to certify Permaculture Designers via a strict set of principles and lessons.

Although permaculture design principles are mainstream in the jargon used when discussing sustainability, their is a subculture of permaculture enthusiasts who endorse these principles not so much from a systems standpoint, but from a social and lifestyle perspective.

Hence the term, 'Permaculture Activist', or one who is politically involved in influencing society and local governments to endorse permacuture principles and values within a public policy platform.

Indeed these ideas are starting to take  hold within local governments that create new sustainability ordinances that cover water conservation principles, solar energy use, recycling and other lifestyle choices that can to a certain degree, be regulated.
Agriculturally, the concept of small-scale farmers markets and home gardens for food production is gaining popularity as people blend values of supporting local growers, buying organic and eating healthy with reducing carbon footprint creation found in most mainstream forms of food production and distribution.
John Stuart Leslie

Saturday, December 18, 2010

7 WAYS TO USE WATER WISELY OUTDOORS

Here are 7 tips to help inspire you to conserve water outdoors in your landscape.

1) Use Drip Irrigation - delivers water right to the soil surface and the root zone which is much more efficient than spray heads.

2) Add Soil Moisture Sensors - probing the soil with either a manual rain sensor or one connected to a controller will allow you to adjust your irrigation settings for each zone you are testing.

3) Rain Sensors - when used with a Smart Controller they can overide the default settings in order to save water based on rainfall or regional weather data.

4) Smart Controllers have a computer that you can program making a regular controller a "smart" controller, helping reduce water usage and efficiency in delivery so that you don't have to keep turning the controller on or off yourself.

5) High Efficiency Nozzles - spray heads can be efficient for shrubs and lawn areas by using low precipitation rate nozzles.Irrigation manufacturers are really up to speed with water conserving technology these days.

6) Permeable Pavers - Hard surfaces displace the area where rainwater could otherwise percolate into the soil. By using pavers that are made to capture water, you can either direct it back into the soil or into a RainXchange underground storage system where the water can then be pumped to use as you wish.

7) Capture and Collect Rainwater - use rain barrels or larger storage tanks so you can utilize the captured water during periods between rains. Raingardens and Bioswales use the natural runoff from a site to irrigate the plants.


John Stuart Leslie

Monday, December 13, 2010

Rainwater Harvesting - Is it Worth It?

The correct terminology is actually Rainwater Catchment Systems, i.e. rain barrels and storage tanks.

A new home without any landscape (a clean slate to work with) allows for all of the sustainably progressive principles to be implemented without the need to retrofit and is usually the more feasible option. The only limitations are the site characteristics and the budget of the homeowner depending on the level of systems designed into the landscape.

Anyone with a roof without rain gutters and downspouts will soon find out their problem areas and where the water tends to accumulate on the ground due to inadequate surface grading and drainage. That water may or may not fall in a desirable location. It may have to be drained away either on surface drainage or underground lines. In order to capture that rainfall for reuse, however, downspouts and gutters are a must.

Having no gutters or downspouts however allows the homeowner or landscape designer to design a rainwater catch system and integrate the location of the downspouts with the storage devices whether they are rain barrels or larger cisterns or storage tanks.

The irrigation system for the planting areas can be designed around the use of rainwater. If an automatic irrigation system is used, the pressure being delivered to the valves must be of sufficient pressure to allow the valves to function. Conversely, a low flow drip system set up based on gravity flow can work for certain areas of the yard where the elevation distances are adequate.

Most homeowners who start out rainwater harvesting using a barrel or several soon realize they are actually losing out on capturing a large amount of water. A typical 55 gallon barrel can fill up in only one hour with a 1/8” of rain on 1000 square feet of roof area.

A more aesthetically designed rainbarrel an be found
Not only does it fill up quickly thus losing out on the rest of the potential water, but you will soon use up the water in the barrel far in advance of the periods of no rain when having saved water for use during the dry periods is really the whole point in storing water. Water catchment systems should not be looked at so much as water harvesting systems, but as water catchment storage systems. It’s like when a squirrel saves nuts for the winter hibernation.

With a larger storage capacity a more sophisticated system is required, one with booster pumps that can be used to pump water for use in the automatic irrigation system as well as for hoses to wash cars, or other garden hose activity requiring a certain amount of pressure to function.

The low tech benefits of capturing rainwater include a passive gravity fed drip system for a specific garden area, containers or other plant irrigation needs that is downhill from the barrel. You can also tap the spigot and fill up a watering can and water houseplants with the rain water. But you must ask yourself, if I am using this water now, will I have any during the periods between rains?

This is the point where serious rainwater catchment systems replace the novel rain barrel. One quickly realizes that the point is to not just capture the water, but to store it for the dry periods between rain.

The question of feasibility is both a factor of your site suitability and economics. Here are some site suitability factors:

  • Adequate roof catchment (sufficient area and fitted with gutters and downspouts)
  • Suitability of area at base of downspouts to accommodate the plumbing necessary to channel the water into barrels or a storage device
  • Number of suitable downspouts relative to required storage desires.
  • Aesthetics of plumbing, tanks and trenching needs

The cost of implementing a system that is designed to pump water out to a garden, an accessory garden hose or other high pressure use can significantly add to the cost of an otherwise passive gravity flow system. Most serious rainwater storage systems pump the water to where it is designed to be used, otherwise, you must rely on gravity flow alone and the use must therefore be down hill from the output elevation of the storage tanks.

You may compare the cost of a rainwater catchment system vs. the cost savings of paying for the water and realize that water is so cheap that you will never break even. In this case, the economics is not important, rather, its the lifestyle and ecological stewardship values that drive your decisions.

The flip side of the cost savings is not letting all of that water go to waste, capturing it and using it wisely while at the same time, curtailing your need for municipal water supplies.
John Stuart Leslie

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Curb Appeal is Your Home's First Impression

Curb appeal has a dramatic impact on the way a home appears to everyone who sees it from the vantage point of the street. If you are selling your home, from a real estate valuation perspective, curb appeal must be geared towards the prospective buyers.

In a buyer's market, curb appeal is even more crucial since there are many other homes on the market competing for attention. It makes sense to invest in making certain improvements so these prospective buyers don't keep driving by when they pull up in front and are disappointed.

Just as the inside of the home is 'staged', the landscape can also be staged. The underlying premise is to not only appeal to buyer's emotions, but deal with practical aspects as well.

Here are some tips :

1) Remove overgrown vegetation that blocks a clear view of the home, the front door or otherwise takes away from an open, welcoming feel as seen from the street

2) Remove all the clutter by taking out shrubs and trees that do nothing to enhance the property

3) Clean up, prune trees and shrubs and remove any dead growth

4) Enhance the front door and/or path leading to the main entrance by adding color or walkways


5) Fix or repair any obvious flaws that take away from the appearance of being well maintained

6) If there is a lawn, make sure its as nice as you can get it by dealing with brown spots and fertilizing it to make it lush and green weeks before you put the home on the market

Once you get your prospective buyers out of the car and into the home, you don't want to disappoint them by neglecting the backyard. Be consistent with fixing problem areas, pruning overgrown shrubs and covering the ground with either gravel or new sod so it appears finished yet allows the buyers to visualize living there or perhaps customizing things to their liking.

Think of the outside landscape as just another space that needs to be 'staged'. Put all personal items such as kids toys, rusty bbqs and tools behind closed doors. Remove all yard art that the buyer may not find so amusing as you do.

Stand out on the curb and imagine you are looking at the home for the first time just as a prospective buyer would. This is the home's first impression. What do you feel? Would you enter the landscape into a "best on the block" contest? Does the landscape enhance the appearance of the home? Does the landscape have an overall 'neglected' feel to it as if the current owners didn't really value having nice landscaping?

Most all sellers who are in the position of dealing with their front landscape curb appeal invariably say they don't want to spend a lot of money. I deal with this all the time and the solution is not necessarily the cost, but the value of what is actually done to the property. Often, the simplest things can make a big difference.


Someone who sees the problem areas from a designer's perspective and who has knowledge of plant materials, curb appeal principles and real estate awareness is the key to providing the best solutions to making your home a property with great curb appeal.

Curb appeal is an emotional response that is difficult to measure. One thing is for sure though. Properties that we have created curb appeal or otherwise enhanced, have sold more quickly than others according to feedback I have received from the listing agents.

Nativescapes - The Ulimate Green Landscape

A type of landscape design that uses mostly native plants is often called 'Nativescaping'. It is actually a more descriptive name in lieu of Xeriscape, which to many people, means nothing.

What is a Native Plant? A native plant (also referred to as indigenous) is a plant that has evolved over many thousands of years in a particular bio-region. Throughout their evolution within a particular area, there have been challenges placed upon the survival of the plant, mainly influences of soil, hydrology, temperature extremes and degree of sunlight.  Native plants make up a part of their bio region in which they share the climatic factors with other plant species to form a plant community. A community of native plant species differentiate the habitats that animals and other creatures inhabit. 

What is a Non-Native Plant? Non-native plants (also called non-indigenous plants) are plants that have been brought into an area in which they did not evolve. Introduction of non-native plants into our landscape has been both accidental and intentional. For example, Purple loosestrife, was introduced from Europe 200 hundred years ago as a medicinal herb and ornamental plant. It quickly spread and can now be found in 42 states.

Just like an exotic animal being brought into a non-native habitat, a plant can become overly aggressive and out compete other native species because it often has no competition or predators to control it. Such plant species in our natural ecosystems can be a real problem. But in our own gardens and landscapes, we tend to have virtually all non-natives comprising our plant palettes. That's the fun of gardening - that you are not limited to native species.

However, because they are not native, such plants require much more intense care, water and energy. A green approach to landscape makes use of native because of the lower water requirements, energy expenditure and the like.

Here are some reasons why native plants can be a benefit:
 
  • Native plants do not need fertilizers.   
  • Native plants require fewer pesticides.   
  • Native plants require less water.   
  • Native plants help reduce air pollution.   
  • Native plants provide habitat and food for wildlife.   
  • Native plants respect the natural biodiversity or our lands.   
  • Native plants save money.  

So now, it should seem a no-brainer to have at least a part of your yard or garden full of native plants. The best way to have native plants is to not remove them in the first place! If possible, don't look at your native vegetation as an overgrowth of weeds and scrub. Natives can be pruned effectively to integrate with your introduced non-native species for a garden that is sensitive to the needs of people.