selection
Just one question is covered in "Ask the Pond Digger" this time, in response to a gentleman who asked me to compare reinforced polyethylene (RPE) and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) liners for use in ponds. I get this one all the time, from do-it-yourselfers looking to save some money - and from professionals who
'In looking back over several recent projects,' observed Stephanie Rose at the start of her Natural Companions column in September 2006, 'I noticed that I've been using one particular genus of plants more frequently than just about any other.' 'Its name probably evokes thoughts of petri dishes and bacterial colonies for most of us, but this plant
It doesn't happen every time, but once in a while I'll speak with a prospective client who's done some homework and has reached a conclusion about which manufacturer's equipment should be used on his or her watershaping project.It's nice that he or she is engaged in the process to that fine a level, but as I mention in the video linked below, it really isn't an issue with which a homeowner needs to get involved because
Horticopia (Harwood, MD) has introduced the Professional Education Edition of its software resource. With data,…
Horticopia (Harwood, MD) has introduced the Professional Education Edition of its software resource. With data,…
The approach I took to this five-part series of articles on dry-stacked stone walls was a bit out of order – and I did it that way for a reason. If you’ll recall, in the last article I set aside any discussion of the drainage issues involved in stacking these walls. I did so both because it
The availability of new and different materials has been a driving force behind the design revolution that has defined the watershaping industry for the past ten years. One key to that development, observes Kirk Butler of Cactus Stone & Tile, has been the willingness of suppliers to step into more progressive roles as purveyors of unique products that have blown the creative process wide open for watershape designers and builders – and their clients. In our business as a stone and tile supplier, we’ve often heard in the past 35 years that designers and contractors get tired of repetition: They come to us, they say, hoping to find things that inspire them to create projects that are new, unique and exciting. Frankly, we on the supply side are subject to the same sentiment: While we may be intimately familiar with materials our designers and builders have used over and over again and have no objection to working with the tried and true, we’re restless, too, and are always trying to find something new to bring to the table. Whether we’re working with a pool designer, a landscape architect, an interior designer, a home builder or even a homeowner, we believe everyone benefits from access to a wide array of quality products and materials. In our case at Cactus Stone & Tile (Phoenix, Ariz.), this means we literally travel the world to find and procure the widest possible range of hard-surface products, be it stone or tile. We beat the bushes across Europe and Asia and visit the far reaches of South America, dropping in on trade shows and fairs, introducing ourselves at quarries and processing facilities and doing whatever it takes to
At a meeting in Phoenix in August 2008, Kirk Butler of Cactus Stone & Tile described watershape designers and builders as practitioners of "the science of selection" when it comes to deciding which products and materials to use in their projects. His observation immediately rang bells for me: At that point late in the summer, we
