local sourcing
‘It seems that everyone’s talking about “sustainability” these days, with the usual thought being that, as exterior designers, good environmental stewardship must be one of our main missions.’ That’s the way Bruce Zaretsky opened his On the Level column five years ago before asking a string of key questions: ‘But what is sustainability? What do watershapers need to do to encompass this philosophy? As important, what does it mean to our clients, and where are
Every year, it seems, there's a new trend we have to deal with as designers. Once it was beach entries, another time it was container gardens. For a while, it was all about outdoor kitchens; fire features enjoyed their time in the sun as well. To be sure, each of those once-trendy pursuits has had staying power, and I still hear from clients about
It comes up almost every time: Our clients tell us they want to increase the energy efficiency and overall environmental friendliness of almost everything they plan to do with their homes, landscapes and watershapes. It truly is a “green revolution,” and, as is true of most clients, they’re looking to us for guidance in what can be accomplished. From out perspective at Rosebrook Pools in Libertyville Ill., this trend kicked into high gear about three years ago – not surprising at a point when gas and other fuel prices started to soar. We’re proud of the fact that we saw this coming and had, for about five years already, been considering and implementing eco-considerate features into our watershaping and landscape work. In doing so, we took many of our cues from the
