Activity

As the election heads into its final stretch, some poignant comments from Frank Bruni, courtesy of the NYT for the complete ignorance or  greater appreciation of all of us at Land8Lounge ……
Bruni had an op-ed sitdown with Marco Rubio, the Hispanic hopeful version of Paul Ryan …..his commentary I found to be a very fair indictment of both pa…[Read more]

I would advise to use something fork-stemmed, but no a maple. Have something deep or heart shaped rooting. Go and see the nurseries for a tree being a reject for it’s standard. Have the 2 or 3 stemms cleared to a hight of 2m. Choice of tree is difficult to say from here. One thing is right, you need the space from the edge of your walway to allow…[Read more]

There is more to consider than the size of the space and ultimate site of the plant.

Life span of this garden is one of them. It is not uncommon for some people to re-landscape or alter a landscape in a short number of years. Others may do little or nothing for many years.
 
Maintenance is the next big issue. Not only whether there will be a…[Read more]

All of those plant selections will grow too large for the space.  They will grow into the walk and impede movement.  As you have it drawn, the trunk is only a foot away from the walk.  That’s not even enough room for the root ball nor an adequate tree pit with amended soil. The maple needs water and shade which might not be available.  The Red…[Read more]

I think the trees listed on the plan would not raise concern in terms of sidewalk heaving or foundation problems. Shade trees that become much larger at maturity would be of concern for the sidewalk and possibly the foundation. The concern I would have would be which plant isn’t going to become mis-shaped or pruned into some unnatural form as it…[Read more]

Interesting.  I just passed CA and found it to be confusing — at least in terms of what the focus was .  I’d say close to 25% of it was on water conservation through current irrigation regulations, where as I would have thought it would be geared more towards health, safety and welfare of the public — you know, landscape architect stuff. 
I wo…[Read more]

Understand LA Graphics Standards front to back, but concentrate on sections that have been covered in the past (retaining walls, foundations, post foundations, decks, fences, fastening of bench to wall, etc) – in google groups there have been fastener handouts that folks have been passing around that is helpful. 

My recent exam had a lot of native plants and plant groupings. Oaks, slopes, fire, erosion, etc….
Know your irrigation — MAWA, ETWU,(MWELO)/ AB1881, CIMIS; backflow preventers, reclaimed/recycled water in irrigation.
Know your Cal Green. Know your CEQA too and about EIRs and NDs.
Know your ADA information — clearances, slopes, cross slopes,…[Read more]

Thanks. I have so much material but am frustrated by how much of it is out of date. CLARB should have a book for each section – like architecture – and we should be able to take these any time that works for us (now that it’s computer-based) and more than twice a year – like architecture. 

Yes I have. I took a UCLA course and plan to retake this w/o another prep course. Thanks though. 

The inorganic mulch has greater porosity so it allows for more weed growth unless it is very deep. As well, the inorganic mulch would tend sink into the muddy soil underneath when it rains without the layer of weed block or geotextile to keep it separate from the soil. You can place weedblock under organic mulch. Its done here all the time.

Thanks. I know – it’s going to be interesting, to say the least. They really need to post soon – especially since they gave us so little time to pass in the old format before changing it. You’re a lot better off since you past D. Do you have any advice on how to master the materials/methods of construction? That was the one section of the test…[Read more]

This is as argued a philosophy as how much of the wire basket to remove when planting trees. I feel with organic mulch that you are essentially making new soil as the mulch piles up on the planting bed. While inorganic mulches are not top dressed as liberally and do not break down. On an organic mulch bed you are essentially left with soil on top…[Read more]

Their website is very awkward.  It makes them appear all residential, but they have a division which produces and engineers what you are looking for:  urban scale components and systems  (pumps, led rings, dmx control systems, music sinc etc.).  
They have a truly revolutionary 24 volt on-demand pump, which replaces the huge horse…[Read more]

Thank you Mark! Although it’s more residential oriented. I’m looking for waterjets for urban scale projects…

For those of us preparing for the California Supplemental Exam (CSE) for landscape architects, there is not a lot of study material available. Here is some information that I’ve culled from this discussion thread and other places on the web:
The LATC produced a candidate guide that you can download…[Read more]

If you are not good at technology, spend $600-$800 and buy a pc laptop….Make life easy on yourself.
 

I agree with Ernst – Laburnum x species. The smoothness of the bark and irregularities of the branch form is certainly a feature of Laburnum. 

Find your passion and pursue it with passion.  Susan Hatchell, ASLA
In this “New Normal” we need to all be seeking how we can make a living in ways that feed our interest so we can endure the down times.  While working the auto parts store may be needed to pay the rent, keep an eye on the goal.  I was fortunate during another recession in the 80’…[Read more]

I used to run Windows Vista on an iMac in a partition (for AutoCAD), and I tried Fusion and it worked for me for a while, but not crisply which is important when you are on a deadline and need to just work hard.  When I needed to up-grade my iMac, I bought another iMac and just put the two side-by-side.  I use the old iMac solely as a PC now (…[Read more]