The following video by Brad Lancaster illustrates how much water the landscape is capable of absorbing- Check it out! I first saw Brad do a presentation a couple of years ago in Denver, and he is a really funny and effective presenter with some great ideas.
How can this be applied to our own residential and commercial landscapes?
Brad advocates a change in the way rainwater and storm drainage is thought of. Often times buildings are designed to get water to drain off of the site as quickly as possible, and into an elaborate system of storm drains. This approach treats rainwater as a nuisance, where it is not being used on the site at all. With a landscape design and drainage design that captures and directs water so that it can be used for gardens, flowers, and trees, this water can be utilized on-site as a valuable resource.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
We are very excited to have moved into the Jehn Center in Olde Town Arvada. Our new address is 5690 Webster Street, Arvada, CO 80002. We have been in the new office location for about 3 weeks, and are loving the new surroundings. It took a lot of work to pack up everything and make the move, while in the midst of the middle of summer with dozens of projects in full swing!
Below are some example graphics we are doing for of one of the many exciting new projects we are working on, a resort near Cape Coral, Florida.
Needless to say, I have been slacking on making new blog posts lately. But please stay tuned as I have a ton of ideas for new articles full of great tips and ideas!
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
After several years of planning and public input, this week the United States Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis announced an agreement on a final plan to revitalize the National Mall. The final plan was developed after four years of input from the public, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and other stakeholders.
According to the article released by ASLA (ASLA Advocacy Network), “the plan seeks to accomplish a number of objectives, including improving resources, public access, visitor amenities and monument preservation.”
Here are more excerpts from the article:
Some of the high priority projects include: improving the design and redevelopment of Union Square in front of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial; replacing the Capitol Reflecting Pool with a smaller pool or fountain that could also be used as a gathering place to ease strain on the nearby trees and grass; rebuilding the Tidal Basin seawalls; creating a multi-purpose visitor center; and building more restrooms.
The plan also calls for improved sustainability through water conservation and tree restoration. In particular, the reflecting pools at the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol will get circulating water systems that will filter and recycle water. The gravel and aging walkways would be replaced with sustainable, low maintenance paving materials and the iconic Elm trees would be restored along with improved monitoring of all vegetation and soils.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
Thanks to Barbara Landrith at CLCA for sharing this great article (M2 Equitybites), excerpts from which follow:
Water and wastewater services provider California American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, stated on Thursday that the company and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District will be offering more rebates for installation of water-saving appliances and water-wise landscaping, commencing this month.
Residents can earn rebates for removing lawn and replacing it with low water use plants, permeable surfaces or synthetic turf. This programme now offers $1.25 per square foot of lawn removed and replaced with low water use plants or permeable surfaces up to 5,000 square feet (an increase from 2,000 square feet). Lawn replaced with synthetic turf qualifies for an additional rebate of $2.00 per square foot up to 2,000 square feet, bringing the maximum rebate amount to more than $10,000.
My Thoughts: Those are pretty substantial rebates. The amounts available are higher than I have seen in the past, and would be more than enough incentive for homeowners to consider renovating their landscaping to save water.
Unfortunately, the only landscape related rebates mentioned for commercial businesses are for graywater irrigation systems. While I applaud those efforts, a much greater opportunity for water savings for commercial properties is in offering substantial rebates to replace high water-use landscaping with more water-wise landscaping.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
More communities are realizing that Xeriscape (low water use landscaping) makes sense, and are actively promoting it.
photo of a converted xeriscape that was previously a lawn area
The City of Aurora, Colorado and Aurora Water have been pioneers in water conservation through supporting regionally appropriate landscape design. Outdoor Design Group has been actively involved with the program for the last couple of years. For 2010, the Xeriscape Rebate program has been allocated $250,000 dollars for rebates to convert high water use landscapes (sod, turf, or lawn) to Xeriscape.
