by Matt Corrion
I took this photo at a small botanical garden in Prague. It isn’t so much a stream crossing, but rather a wet bog area. What I like about this is that it causes you to pause… and ask, what am I about to step on? are they floating? The designer might consider putting small details around this area, since the visitor will be forced to slow down to watch their step.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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by Matt Corrion
Ornamental grasses are more popular than ever, and for good reason. They can add texture to the landscape, and they are tough plants that are easy to grow in a variety of conditions. 
Ornamental grasses can also add beauty to the winter landscape.
But should ornamental grasses be cut back to the ground in winter?
Most ornamental grasses develop tall seed heads late in the summer that naturally persist through the winter. When temperatures start to drop the plant will die back, leaving the dried foliage, stalks, and seed heads. The general rule that you should cut back the grasses before the next growing season, so that the new year’s growth will be more vigorous and healthy.
I have found a couple of exceptions to this here in the Denver area, particularly with Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella tenuissima), which did not regenerate as well or look as good the year after I cut it back. I have since started leaving it uncut, which results is the new growth coming up right through the beautiful finely textured golden old growth. But with most varieties, they should be cut back before new growth starts in the spring.
So the question, then, is whether you should cut them back in the fall, or wait until the spring. Many people enjoy the colors and movement that these elements provide in winter. Others prefer a more “neat” or formal look.
I thought it would be interesting to explore the advantages each approach:
Advantages of leaving the grasses for the winter and waiting until the spring to cut them back
- When shrubs lose their leaves, and perennials wither to the ground, grasses can provide form in the landscape
- Texture: Interesting textures can stand out, collecting frost or snow, and reflecting sunlight
- Movement: Winter winds and soft breezes can move and sway the stems and seed heads of ornamental grasses
- The grasses can add color to the drab winter landscape, including shades of reds, yellows, browns, and blues
- Upright grasses can be used to help screen views when deciduous plants have lost their leaves
- The grasses can provide habitat and shelter for birds and other small animals
Advantages of cutting back ornamental grasses right away in the fall or early winter
- This can be interesting and different look, I have seen some nice formal plantings that looked stunning with the grasses cut back
- Some grasses hold their form better than others, while some varieties may flop over under heavy snow
- Cutting them back may give the impression (rightly or wrongly) that a commercial landscape is being better maintained
- In some cases the grasses may block sight lines, such as to important signage in a shopping center
- In high foot traffic areas, it may be beneficial to cut back ornamental grasses to avoid them being trampled
So what do you think, is one method better than the other? My personal taste is to leave the grasses up all winter, but there are situations where you may want to cut them back. And you can always decide to cut them back later, if you feel the need to tidy them up.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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by Matt Corrion
It’s good for the environment.
It can save you money on water bills and maintenance.
There are many reasons for you to renovate your landscaping to save water. But why would a water provider or utility want you to use less of what they provide- water?
Since we work with customers to reduce their water-use, we hear this question quite often. It does seem counter intuitive: Why would someone who is in the business of selling water want you to use less of it- in many cases offering rebates and incentives to do so?
Can you imagine a Walmart employee standing outside of the store offering to give you $20 back, if you spent LESS money inside the store?
There are a few key reasons why water conservation is encouraged by water providers:
First, water demand will always continue to increase, regardless of how much our water use is reduced. Population growth and land development put a great deal of strain on our water supply and the water delivery system.
Because the demand will always be there, it is in the water provider’s best interest to slow the rate of growth as much as possible. There are large systems for treating, storing, and delivering water that need constant expansion and repair.
Secondly, water conservation is already built into the billing system. Most water suppliers now use a conservation-oriented “tiered” rate structure. These rate structures charge a base rate regardless of how much water is used, and separate rates for the levels of water that is actually consumed.
Finally, water utilities often consist of complex public/private partnerships, so there are environmental and public health considerations that are just as important as profit. Would we really want our water system to be based totally on how much revenue and profit could be generated?
When considering the public good in terms of water conservation, there are numerous considerations: Preparedness for droughts; the health of our rivers, lakes, and streams, and aquifers; impacts to other cities and states “downstream”; and even national security.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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by Matt Corrion
The other night I watched the classic holiday comedy, Christmas Vacation. Clark Griswold provides endless laughs in the course of his struggle with ladders and Christmas lights. Occasionally, the lights actually work and at one point Clark has the following exchange with “Aunt Bethany”:
Aunt Bethany: Is your house on fire, Clark?
Clark: No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.
While anyone can load their house up with a gazillion flashing holiday lights and plastic reindeer, there is a lot of planning and work that goes into decorating a home tastefully for the holidays.
Ideally, the entire curb appeal should work together to create a scene that enhances the building and looks like it belongs there. The shrubs, trees, and other landscaping (along with the structure) are important elements to the scene you are creating.
So, how can landscaping enhance the holiday decor? Here are 5 ways to plan your landscape to work well with holiday decorations.
1. Select plants that have good winter interest
Try to use a variety of plants that not only look good in the summer, but also have good winter interest. There are many trees and shrubs available that have interesting bark and stem color (think red twig dogwood).
Utilize ornamental grasses, shrubs, and perennials that will catch the snow on their stems and branches. On a cold day or night the snow will glisten in the sunlight or from the glow of holiday lights.
Also, use a mixture of evergreen and semi-evergreen shrubs. Semi-evergreen shrubs are those such as Fernbush and Broom that have green stems and whose leaves may persist into the winter.
(more…)
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by Matt Corrion
If you have visited our website anytime over the last year, you may have notice that the “portfolio” tab led to an innocuous page that didn’t have much to offer.
Well, after putting a great deal of time into formatting the images and debating the merits of several layout options, the Outdoor Design Group Portfolio has finally been revealed:
A screenshot from the new Outdoor Design Group online portfolio
As with each of our websites, this was designed in-house. We looked at several ways to display images before settling on a simple black background and clusters of images. The main goal was to have something that showed off our work, yet was simple to navigate and that loaded quickly without the use of a spacial image viewer or flash.
We approached this design challenge by using many of the same principles we use to approach landscape design:
- Eliminate clutter, keeping the design simple and elegant, less is more
- Make the design functional and practical first, then integrate form
- Imagine and anticipate how the user will interact with, experience, and move through the space
The main portfolio page shows an example of our diverse areas of design work. By clicking on “Residential”, “Land Development”, or “Site Renovations”, you are able to move into a separate portfolio section that displays each respective type of work.
I would love to hear what you think – Do you think this layout and navigation works well?
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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