Gardening On A Vertical by Landscape Ideas

architecture Hallo Landscape Idea Lover, In sharing this time entitled architecture,I have provided the most complete information may also be what you're looking for, with the latest information and also something different,hopefully posting content that I can write you understand. Okay, this is it.

You're reading : Gardening On A Vertical by Landscape Ideas

architecture

Article architecture, Article Durban, Article green walls, Article indigenous, Article nature, Article Romead, Article small gardens,

Plants love a good challenge... I admire the way they seem to survive thrive in the most death defying situations. You find plants growing in such diverse conditions - from Polar Bear hangouts right through to Desert furnaces. I've seen plants surviving on nothing but air, just clinging to rock faces. In the plethora of conditions that our amazing planet seems to dish out, plants seem to love to rise to any challenge.

Terramesh Wall Halfway Up

Cities pose their fair share of challenges to plants. Green Walls and Vertical Gardens have become 'the new thing' as people try to invite nature back into our inhospitable cities. They are an elegant solution to the stark walls and inert atmosphere of the places that we humans seem to flock to.

Several years ago, I built a green wall on a south-east facing, windswept balcony. Its been interesting to watch the evolutionary growth of the green wall, and I've used it as a proving ground for different plants to see which of them were best suited to this type of environment.

Some plants - particularly ferns seem to reproduce to the point of trying to suffocate everything else. Others, like a small aloe, and several different types of orchids have grown quietly and unassumingly before bursting into surprising flower. You can watch a video of how I built it here.

Green Terramesh being installed

An ongoing project (Romead Business Park) that we have been working on for quite some time, has posed several challenging situations which I hope to elaborate on in the future. One of the challenges, was the lack of space at the main entrance to the Park. We had some large banks that were held in place by a beautifully designed concrete curved wall. But the wall could only be so big before it would start compromising the design of the main entrance.

The final solution was to use a product called Terramesh from Maccaferri. This is woven wire mesh which is back filled and compacted with soil. Plants are then planted into the face, which in time forms a dense groundcover, and should prevent any long term erosion.

Just after planting

We planted up the wall, using a succulent called Crassula multicava. Its a plant with a happy disposition - content to grow on a South facing wall (no sun), and it seeds itself quite readily, and will even survive dry periods and still look very good. It has a pretty pink flower all through the year.

Before

After

Plants love a good challenge... I admire the way they seem to survive thrive in the most death defying situations. You find plants growing in such diverse conditions - from Polar Bear hangouts right through to Desert furnaces. I've seen plants surviving on nothing but air, just clinging to rock faces. In the plethora of conditions that our amazing planet seems to dish out, plants seem to love to rise to any challenge.

Terramesh Wall Halfway Up

Cities pose their fair share of challenges to plants. Green Walls and Vertical Gardens have become 'the new thing' as people try to invite nature back into our inhospitable cities. They are an elegant solution to the stark walls and inert atmosphere of the places that we humans seem to flock to.

Several years ago, I built a green wall on a south-east facing, windswept balcony. Its been interesting to watch the evolutionary growth of the green wall, and I've used it as a proving ground for different plants to see which of them were best suited to this type of environment.

Some plants - particularly ferns seem to reproduce to the point of trying to suffocate everything else. Others, like a small aloe, and several different types of orchids have grown quietly and unassumingly before bursting into surprising flower. You can watch a video of how I built it here.

Green Terramesh being installed

An ongoing project (Romead Business Park) that we have been working on for quite some time, has posed several challenging situations which I hope to elaborate on in the future. One of the challenges, was the lack of space at the main entrance to the Park. We had some large banks that were held in place by a beautifully designed concrete curved wall. But the wall could only be so big before it would start compromising the design of the main entrance.

The final solution was to use a product called Terramesh from Maccaferri. This is woven wire mesh which is back filled and compacted with soil. Plants are then planted into the face, which in time forms a dense groundcover, and should prevent any long term erosion.

Just after planting

We planted up the wall, using a succulent called Crassula multicava. Its a plant with a happy disposition - content to grow on a South facing wall (no sun), and it seeds itself quite readily, and will even survive dry periods and still look very good. It has a pretty pink flower all through the year.

Before

After

Plants love a good challenge... I admire the way they seem to survive thrive in the most death defying situations. You find plants growing in such diverse conditions - from Polar Bear hangouts right through to Desert furnaces. I've seen plants surviving on nothing but air, just clinging to rock faces. In the plethora of conditions that our amazing planet seems to dish out, plants seem to love to rise to any challenge.

Terramesh Wall Halfway Up

Cities pose their fair share of challenges to plants. Green Walls and Vertical Gardens have become 'the new thing' as people try to invite nature back into our inhospitable cities. They are an elegant solution to the stark walls and inert atmosphere of the places that we humans seem to flock to.

Several years ago, I built a green wall on a south-east facing, windswept balcony. Its been interesting to watch the evolutionary growth of the green wall, and I've used it as a proving ground for different plants to see which of them were best suited to this type of environment.

Some plants - particularly ferns seem to reproduce to the point of trying to suffocate everything else. Others, like a small aloe, and several different types of orchids have grown quietly and unassumingly before bursting into surprising flower. You can watch a video of how I built it here.

Green Terramesh being installed

An ongoing project (Romead Business Park) that we have been working on for quite some time, has posed several challenging situations which I hope to elaborate on in the future. One of the challenges, was the lack of space at the main entrance to the Park. We had some large banks that were held in place by a beautifully designed concrete curved wall. But the wall could only be so big before it would start compromising the design of the main entrance.

The final solution was to use a product called Terramesh from Maccaferri. This is woven wire mesh which is back filled and compacted with soil. Plants are then planted into the face, which in time forms a dense groundcover, and should prevent any long term erosion.

Just after planting

We planted up the wall, using a succulent called Crassula multicava. Its a plant with a happy disposition - content to grow on a South facing wall (no sun), and it seeds itself quite readily, and will even survive dry periods and still look very good. It has a pretty pink flower all through the year.

Before

After

When Should I Hire a Landscaper? by Landscape Ideas

architecture Hallo Landscape Idea Lover, In sharing this time entitled architecture,I have provided the most complete information may also be what you're looking for, with the latest information and also something different,hopefully posting content that I can write you understand. Okay, this is it.

You're reading : When Should I Hire a Landscaper? by Landscape Ideas

architecture

Article architecture, Article design, Article environment, Article green roofs, Article green walls, Article rant, Article Romead,

I'm so glad you asked that question...actually, its really a rhetorical question, because its never too soon to involve a landscaper in a project. Of course, the reverse is also true - Its never too late to involve a landscaper, but the overall effect achieved, is diminished the later we're involved.

Having a landscaper involved from the inception can only yield beautiful results

The general mistake that is made by most people - home-owners and professionals in the associated industries included, is to bring a landscaper in as the project has really gained momentum.

But its at this point, that most of the key decisions have already been made. Money has been invested in a direction which usually means that this direction is now set in stone.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a big believer in collaboration. Architects and landscapers should be talking to each other from the start and all the way through a project.

The problem is that as long as we view the garden as an afterthought, this attitude will reflect in the final appearance of the garden. Rather than the garden being an integrated part of the whole home, it will look like something that has been tacked on.

I can't tell you how many times we could have saved our clients a huge amount of time and money. Here are some examples:

1. Like the project where we needed to hire a crane to move pots, rocks and palms in because a wall had been built already, which could have been moved by hand at the beginning of the project.
2. Or the time where a retaining wall had been built to hold a bank, where we could have planted Vetiver grass which would have held the bank better (and more attractively) than any concrete retaining wall.
3. There have been several instances in projects that I have been involved in too late where an environmental solution was available for a problem, which engineers and architects could only see an (expensive) engineering solution. You'd be amazed at how many problems rocks and plants can solve.
4. Areas of natural water seepage can be controlled more effectively with plants and appropriate landscaping.
5. Roof gardens and green walls can save thousands in insulation, airconditioning and heating costs.
6. A regular problem I run into, is where a retaining wall has been built but has been filled with sand and rubble instead of topsoil resulting in us having to replace the sand with topsoil by hand.
7. Topsoil can and should be stockpiled on site, rather than having to pay thousands to transport it in at the end of a project.
8. Retaining walls are an expensive option, natural stone found on site can be used to create dry stack walls instead (provided its done properly). There is nothing worse than a badly built dry stack wall...

There are thousands of ways that an experienced landscaper could not only save money, but help integrate the house to its surroundings in a far more meaningful way. But if we are only brought in at the end of a project, its too late.

In my next post I'll give an example of a relatively new environmental solution that is currently being solved through engineering only, and which is costing home-owners and the environment countless thousands.

I'm so glad you asked that question...actually, its really a rhetorical question, because its never too soon to involve a landscaper in a project. Of course, the reverse is also true - Its never too late to involve a landscaper, but the overall effect achieved, is diminished the later we're involved.

Having a landscaper involved from the inception can only yield beautiful results

The general mistake that is made by most people - home-owners and professionals in the associated industries included, is to bring a landscaper in as the project has really gained momentum.

But its at this point, that most of the key decisions have already been made. Money has been invested in a direction which usually means that this direction is now set in stone.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a big believer in collaboration. Architects and landscapers should be talking to each other from the start and all the way through a project.

The problem is that as long as we view the garden as an afterthought, this attitude will reflect in the final appearance of the garden. Rather than the garden being an integrated part of the whole home, it will look like something that has been tacked on.

I can't tell you how many times we could have saved our clients a huge amount of time and money. Here are some examples:

1. Like the project where we needed to hire a crane to move pots, rocks and palms in because a wall had been built already, which could have been moved by hand at the beginning of the project.
2. Or the time where a retaining wall had been built to hold a bank, where we could have planted Vetiver grass which would have held the bank better (and more attractively) than any concrete retaining wall.
3. There have been several instances in projects that I have been involved in too late where an environmental solution was available for a problem, which engineers and architects could only see an (expensive) engineering solution. You'd be amazed at how many problems rocks and plants can solve.
4. Areas of natural water seepage can be controlled more effectively with plants and appropriate landscaping.
5. Roof gardens and green walls can save thousands in insulation, airconditioning and heating costs.
6. A regular problem I run into, is where a retaining wall has been built but has been filled with sand and rubble instead of topsoil resulting in us having to replace the sand with topsoil by hand.
7. Topsoil can and should be stockpiled on site, rather than having to pay thousands to transport it in at the end of a project.
8. Retaining walls are an expensive option, natural stone found on site can be used to create dry stack walls instead (provided its done properly). There is nothing worse than a badly built dry stack wall...

There are thousands of ways that an experienced landscaper could not only save money, but help integrate the house to its surroundings in a far more meaningful way. But if we are only brought in at the end of a project, its too late.

In my next post I'll give an example of a relatively new environmental solution that is currently being solved through engineering only, and which is costing home-owners and the environment countless thousands.

I'm so glad you asked that question...actually, its really a rhetorical question, because its never too soon to involve a landscaper in a project. Of course, the reverse is also true - Its never too late to involve a landscaper, but the overall effect achieved, is diminished the later we're involved.

Having a landscaper involved from the inception can only yield beautiful results

The general mistake that is made by most people - home-owners and professionals in the associated industries included, is to bring a landscaper in as the project has really gained momentum.

But its at this point, that most of the key decisions have already been made. Money has been invested in a direction which usually means that this direction is now set in stone.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a big believer in collaboration. Architects and landscapers should be talking to each other from the start and all the way through a project.

The problem is that as long as we view the garden as an afterthought, this attitude will reflect in the final appearance of the garden. Rather than the garden being an integrated part of the whole home, it will look like something that has been tacked on.

I can't tell you how many times we could have saved our clients a huge amount of time and money. Here are some examples:

1. Like the project where we needed to hire a crane to move pots, rocks and palms in because a wall had been built already, which could have been moved by hand at the beginning of the project.
2. Or the time where a retaining wall had been built to hold a bank, where we could have planted Vetiver grass which would have held the bank better (and more attractively) than any concrete retaining wall.
3. There have been several instances in projects that I have been involved in too late where an environmental solution was available for a problem, which engineers and architects could only see an (expensive) engineering solution. You'd be amazed at how many problems rocks and plants can solve.
4. Areas of natural water seepage can be controlled more effectively with plants and appropriate landscaping.
5. Roof gardens and green walls can save thousands in insulation, airconditioning and heating costs.
6. A regular problem I run into, is where a retaining wall has been built but has been filled with sand and rubble instead of topsoil resulting in us having to replace the sand with topsoil by hand.
7. Topsoil can and should be stockpiled on site, rather than having to pay thousands to transport it in at the end of a project.
8. Retaining walls are an expensive option, natural stone found on site can be used to create dry stack walls instead (provided its done properly). There is nothing worse than a badly built dry stack wall...

There are thousands of ways that an experienced landscaper could not only save money, but help integrate the house to its surroundings in a far more meaningful way. But if we are only brought in at the end of a project, its too late.

In my next post I'll give an example of a relatively new environmental solution that is currently being solved through engineering only, and which is costing home-owners and the environment countless thousands.

Behind The Scenes - Minimalist, Stone Garden by Landscape Ideas

architecture Hallo Landscape Idea Lover, In sharing this time entitled architecture,I have provided the most complete information may also be what you're looking for, with the latest information and also something different,hopefully posting content that I can write you understand. Okay, this is it.

You're reading : Behind The Scenes - Minimalist, Stone Garden by Landscape Ideas

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Article architecture, Article coastal, Article design, Article Durban, Article grass, Article planning, Article stone, I've been planning a garden over the last couple of months that has made me quite excited. The house itself is quite contemporary, and in a great setting. Its flanked on one side by 2 magnificent, verdant green fig trees, and on the other side by amazing views over Beechwood Golf Course and out to sea. Its quite close to the existing house next door, which makes for an interesting challenge in trying to soften the views from both sides whilst not creating too much shade.

The owner and the architect had some great ideas, which gave quite strong direction as to what the garden should eventually look like. They wanted to create an almost minimalist, oriental feel with rock and grasses. After several concepts, we settled on a simple approach to the design, which would would require some very large rocks, which would in turn compliment the natural stone that has been used as a strong design element in the house.

Our first step was to remove the alien vegetation on site, which would also open up the views from the house. This would also create more space for the main rock garden area.

The almost blank canvas...

Using the initial concept sketches, I finalised the design, and worked out the position and rough size of the rocks that we would need for the space.

To get a better feel for the size of the rocks, I drew the site on Sketchup, and moved the rocks around to find the best position, shape and size. I wanted to also plan the position of the rocks around the possibility of adding some decking into the design at a later stage.

Sketchup drawing of the area showing the volume of the rocks

The drawings and sketches are more of a guideline to use when the choosing the rocks, because its quite easy to be overwhelmed by the size of the rocks when you're looking at them by themselves in a quarry.

Shorty stands in front of Rock No.9

The tendency is to choose smaller rocks when you're looking at the rocks by themselves. I went into the quarry armed with my sketches showing the shapes and measurements of the rocks that I wanted. I took photographs, and numbered each rock according to the position it was going to fill.

Even with all the preparation there are always a few slight hiccups. Unfortunately this job was no exception. The crane company I had hired to move the rocks got cold feet the day before the rocks were due to arrive. They were nervous because there was no way that we could know (and plan for) the weight of the rocks until they had been weighed on the weigh-bridge and were on their way to site. I had been given figures of anything from 1-7 tonnes per rock. Fortunately, after several anxious hours of phone calls, I managed to get a rigging company - Lovemore Brothers, to step in at the last minute (for a considerably higher fee), to handle the process of moving the rocks from the truck into position.

True to their word, the 55 tonne crane arrived at 7h30 the next morning. After several days of rain I knew that we had a window period of a few hours of good weather, so I began to grow quite anxious when I was told that the rocks were delayed by a broken down truck.

Eventually, at 14h30 the first load arrived, just as the clouds began to roll in. We worked quickly knowing that a storm was approaching, and that we had only a few more hours of light to get the remaining 16 tonnes of stone onto site. We finished the first load as the lightning began to strike around us. (An especially worrying thing when you have a 30-40m lightning-conductor sticking out above everything around it.) The very cold rain began soon after, which was just the precursor to the large hailstones that followed. It seemed like everything that could make our work harder, was going to happen. Fortunately, as is the norm with storms like that in Durban, it didn't last long.

3 long hours later, the second load arrived - just 25 minutes before the cut-off time that Devan (the very capable rigger in charge) had put in place.
With the light fading, and the dangerous prospect of positioning 3 tonne rocks in place in the dark, looming quickly, we tried to work fast. But before we knew it, the light was gone, and we were literally positioning rocks by lamplight.

That's the last rock being lit up with a light in the top left corner

 Next week, I'll do a follow up, showing the completed garden, with the rocks and plants all in place.

I've been planning a garden over the last couple of months that has made me quite excited. The house itself is quite contemporary, and in a great setting. Its flanked on one side by 2 magnificent, verdant green fig trees, and on the other side by amazing views over Beechwood Golf Course and out to sea. Its quite close to the existing house next door, which makes for an interesting challenge in trying to soften the views from both sides whilst not creating too much shade.

The owner and the architect had some great ideas, which gave quite strong direction as to what the garden should eventually look like. They wanted to create an almost minimalist, oriental feel with rock and grasses. After several concepts, we settled on a simple approach to the design, which would would require some very large rocks, which would in turn compliment the natural stone that has been used as a strong design element in the house.

Our first step was to remove the alien vegetation on site, which would also open up the views from the house. This would also create more space for the main rock garden area.

The almost blank canvas...

Using the initial concept sketches, I finalised the design, and worked out the position and rough size of the rocks that we would need for the space.

To get a better feel for the size of the rocks, I drew the site on Sketchup, and moved the rocks around to find the best position, shape and size. I wanted to also plan the position of the rocks around the possibility of adding some decking into the design at a later stage.

Sketchup drawing of the area showing the volume of the rocks

The drawings and sketches are more of a guideline to use when the choosing the rocks, because its quite easy to be overwhelmed by the size of the rocks when you're looking at them by themselves in a quarry.

Shorty stands in front of Rock No.9

The tendency is to choose smaller rocks when you're looking at the rocks by themselves. I went into the quarry armed with my sketches showing the shapes and measurements of the rocks that I wanted. I took photographs, and numbered each rock according to the position it was going to fill.

Even with all the preparation there are always a few slight hiccups. Unfortunately this job was no exception. The crane company I had hired to move the rocks got cold feet the day before the rocks were due to arrive. They were nervous because there was no way that we could know (and plan for) the weight of the rocks until they had been weighed on the weigh-bridge and were on their way to site. I had been given figures of anything from 1-7 tonnes per rock. Fortunately, after several anxious hours of phone calls, I managed to get a rigging company - Lovemore Brothers, to step in at the last minute (for a considerably higher fee), to handle the process of moving the rocks from the truck into position.

True to their word, the 55 tonne crane arrived at 7h30 the next morning. After several days of rain I knew that we had a window period of a few hours of good weather, so I began to grow quite anxious when I was told that the rocks were delayed by a broken down truck.

Eventually, at 14h30 the first load arrived, just as the clouds began to roll in. We worked quickly knowing that a storm was approaching, and that we had only a few more hours of light to get the remaining 16 tonnes of stone onto site. We finished the first load as the lightning began to strike around us. (An especially worrying thing when you have a 30-40m lightning-conductor sticking out above everything around it.) The very cold rain began soon after, which was just the precursor to the large hailstones that followed. It seemed like everything that could make our work harder, was going to happen. Fortunately, as is the norm with storms like that in Durban, it didn't last long.

3 long hours later, the second load arrived - just 25 minutes before the cut-off time that Devan (the very capable rigger in charge) had put in place.
With the light fading, and the dangerous prospect of positioning 3 tonne rocks in place in the dark, looming quickly, we tried to work fast. But before we knew it, the light was gone, and we were literally positioning rocks by lamplight.

That's the last rock being lit up with a light in the top left corner

 Next week, I'll do a follow up, showing the completed garden, with the rocks and plants all in place.

I've been planning a garden over the last couple of months that has made me quite excited. The house itself is quite contemporary, and in a great setting. Its flanked on one side by 2 magnificent, verdant green fig trees, and on the other side by amazing views over Beechwood Golf Course and out to sea. Its quite close to the existing house next door, which makes for an interesting challenge in trying to soften the views from both sides whilst not creating too much shade.

The owner and the architect had some great ideas, which gave quite strong direction as to what the garden should eventually look like. They wanted to create an almost minimalist, oriental feel with rock and grasses. After several concepts, we settled on a simple approach to the design, which would would require some very large rocks, which would in turn compliment the natural stone that has been used as a strong design element in the house.

Our first step was to remove the alien vegetation on site, which would also open up the views from the house. This would also create more space for the main rock garden area.

The almost blank canvas...

Using the initial concept sketches, I finalised the design, and worked out the position and rough size of the rocks that we would need for the space.

To get a better feel for the size of the rocks, I drew the site on Sketchup, and moved the rocks around to find the best position, shape and size. I wanted to also plan the position of the rocks around the possibility of adding some decking into the design at a later stage.

Sketchup drawing of the area showing the volume of the rocks

The drawings and sketches are more of a guideline to use when the choosing the rocks, because its quite easy to be overwhelmed by the size of the rocks when you're looking at them by themselves in a quarry.

Shorty stands in front of Rock No.9

The tendency is to choose smaller rocks when you're looking at the rocks by themselves. I went into the quarry armed with my sketches showing the shapes and measurements of the rocks that I wanted. I took photographs, and numbered each rock according to the position it was going to fill.

Even with all the preparation there are always a few slight hiccups. Unfortunately this job was no exception. The crane company I had hired to move the rocks got cold feet the day before the rocks were due to arrive. They were nervous because there was no way that we could know (and plan for) the weight of the rocks until they had been weighed on the weigh-bridge and were on their way to site. I had been given figures of anything from 1-7 tonnes per rock. Fortunately, after several anxious hours of phone calls, I managed to get a rigging company - Lovemore Brothers, to step in at the last minute (for a considerably higher fee), to handle the process of moving the rocks from the truck into position.

True to their word, the 55 tonne crane arrived at 7h30 the next morning. After several days of rain I knew that we had a window period of a few hours of good weather, so I began to grow quite anxious when I was told that the rocks were delayed by a broken down truck.

Eventually, at 14h30 the first load arrived, just as the clouds began to roll in. We worked quickly knowing that a storm was approaching, and that we had only a few more hours of light to get the remaining 16 tonnes of stone onto site. We finished the first load as the lightning began to strike around us. (An especially worrying thing when you have a 30-40m lightning-conductor sticking out above everything around it.) The very cold rain began soon after, which was just the precursor to the large hailstones that followed. It seemed like everything that could make our work harder, was going to happen. Fortunately, as is the norm with storms like that in Durban, it didn't last long.

3 long hours later, the second load arrived - just 25 minutes before the cut-off time that Devan (the very capable rigger in charge) had put in place.
With the light fading, and the dangerous prospect of positioning 3 tonne rocks in place in the dark, looming quickly, we tried to work fast. But before we knew it, the light was gone, and we were literally positioning rocks by lamplight.

That's the last rock being lit up with a light in the top left corner

 Next week, I'll do a follow up, showing the completed garden, with the rocks and plants all in place.