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.
This idea popped into my head one night at the end of a busy day. As I have written about in the past, one of our specialties at Outdoor Design Group is to work with large residential and commercial properties to renovate their landscaping to save water and maintenance. We call these our Site Renovation services. Often times the landscape is drastically changed, as we convert high water-use areas (usually irrigated lawns) into more sustainable Xeriscape style landscaping with trees, flowering shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses. I already knew what these changes looked like on the ground, but I wondered what they might look like from the sky…
I was recently discussing a project with a client and they were unaware that we had the capability to do photo simulations showing what a proposed project would look like. This can be a valuable tool for visualizing a design, as well as being useful to show planning commissions, city councils, and the public what the impact of a new project or site renovation will be.
Below are two examples of “quick and dirty” photo simulations that we recently completed on fast turnaround schedules. We also have the capability in our office to do larger and much more detailed and elaborate simulations, as well as 3D graphics through a talented outside consultant. If you are looking for an effective way to communicate your design concept this may be a great solution- just give us a call!
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.
The following slideshow includes images from our latest completed project- Phases 1 and 2 of a complete site renovation for the Villas at Aspen Ridge condominium complex in Aurora, Colorado:
This $400,000 project entailed correcting some serious drainage problems and replacing outdated high water-use landscaping with new low water-use landscaping as part of Aurora’s Xeriscape Rebate Program. Outdoor Design Group worked with the HOA to design the improvements, submit plans to the City for approval, and apply for the Xeriscape rebate. (more…)
