Landscape, Plants, Hardscape & Decks
One of the lingering ironies of designing planted areas is that although plants are arguably the most impactful of all landscape elements, they are also often left as an afterthought. Mark David Levine, argues elevating softscape starts with understanding planting design style.
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The presence of water in the landscape can stir deep emotions, and sometimes even help soothe the pain of a lost loved one. That was case in the project described here, where a beautiful stream and waterfall installation serves as a centerpiece of a property that is devoted to love, remembrance and grieving.
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A mat of seaweed twice the size of the U.S. is headed toward Florida, raising the specter of dirty, stinky beaches and possible harm to coastal ecosystems. Record algal blooms are becoming more common as a result of climate change, while at the same time, farming seaweed might be a powerful weapon in the war against permanent environmental damage.
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Sand, water, sky and the occasional patch of mangroves conspire to create one of the most breathtaking and unusual places in the Southern Hemisphere, along Brazil’s Atlantic coast – a place where water is shaped by the forces of wind and the earth below.
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Appreciating water doesn’t always require sweeping ocean vistas or cascading streams, explains writer and naturalist, Jamie Nestor. As he points out in this personal essay, the beauty and fascination of aquatic environments sometimes exist in surprising places, but can be no less inspiring.
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Ensuring a stunning planting environment is all about the ground itself, says landscape designer, Mark David Levine. Beautiful greenery requires forethought and action in the form of soils testing and amendments for newly landscaped areas – a crucial practice he believes should be mandatory for all projects that include garden spaces of any size, style or location.
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The presence of trees in cities makes life better, a fact made provable by a wide set of both measurable and purely intuitive positive effects. From economic benefits to positive emotional and social impacts to the pleasure of birds and bees, urban trees are worth hugging.
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The tradition of Japanese Gardening has been inspiring designers for centuries. As Eric Herman points out, it’s equal parts philosophy and technique that is aimed at representing and celebrating nature – a set of ideas and disciplines that can deeply influence watershapers who take time to explore these spaces with an open mind and an open heart.
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Marilyn Monroe’s legacy has a new home in a plaza directly adjacent the recently dedicated Downtown Park in Palm Springs, Calif. It’s a beautiful park with an ingenious design that blends modernism of the fabled resort city, while harmonizing with the desert environment. It also features a truly beautiful and inventive watershape.
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Mulch vs. Cobblestone (The Groundcover Battle for Garden Supremacy)