Activity

Mulch in general is okay for the soil. In my area we tend to have really alkaline soil so acidity is a bonus, though you would be surprised how little evergreen litter actually acidifies the soil. In general lime is the alkaline agent and organic matter of all kinds is slightly acidic so no matter what you add you are adding to the acidity of th…[Read more]

Real pine/spruce/hemlock BARK mulch is not bad at all and looks fine as it breaks down. The problem is that it can no longer be found because it is always mixed with recycled wood. It used to be the norm, but this is one of the negative sides of the “green revolution” – recycled crap is added to everything to make more money and hide behind the…[Read more]

In my contracts I refer to a layout plan as a “Schematic Landscape Plan” and describe what that is in the contract. I simply title the same plan as “Landscape Plan” in the title block.
 
Good point about being detailed for subs!

I’m with Jason and Brett–use the most commonly known terms.   I use “site”, and “concept” because most laypeople don’t know the meaning of “master” and “schematic”.

Still, you need to get a complete understanding of the hydrology, of just how sandy the soil, how much salt spray, etc. to start considering plant choices. Start there and the plant list will suggest itself. And succeed.

ida provides some good general information. I am currently working at a large Chinese architectural firm in Beijing and make 12,000RMB/month. This is a good salary for a Westerner and allows me to live comfortably. Asking for $42,000 sounds way too high.
 
Some things to consider: Rent is reasonably inexpensive compared to other large…[Read more]

yeah, yeah, yeah… and wood mulch needs to be reapplied every year, encourages fungus/mold/insects, has a tendency to float away when it rains, looks like 1980 and the good stuff is not so good for the environment… It’s an imperfect world…

Cedar – not good trees to cut down… especially for the sole purpose of shredding and spreading…
Pine is ugly and breaks down quickly… acidic?
The mixed stuff from municipalities isn’t worth mentioning…
The dyed stuff is best reserved for miniature golf courses…
Cocoa shells are cool (sustainable) but tend to float away…
The best stuff…[Read more]

Foreigners make about double what the Chinese make in the same firm and the same position in China.
 For Chinese working in Beijing, entry-levels make +5,000 rmb, junior-levels +10,000 rmb, and senior levels make +20,000 rmb per month. So you can expect 20,000 rmb per month for a junior level position.
 It also depends what office you work for. I…[Read more]

I just got an e-mail with something similar in the same city as Nick mentioned. Be careful as there have been scams with promises to work in China or the middle east, they ask for your personal info to “process” your application, or ask for money upfront. Thay also may be recruiters looking to make a buck, and they charge you a small fortune for…[Read more]

I agree.

Many (well most I deal with) commercial developers will not allow any type of gravel or rock mulch be used in the landscaping for a number of reasons. One, if it is too fine and escapes the bed/curb, it can become a liability from being a tripping hazard. Two, it can be a real pain to keep neat and to weed. Third, if it is large, it can be used…[Read more]

Remember the end user…you have to dumb it down for the clientele. Master plan would be fine for the overall drawing of the property, with detail plans to follow. Even overall site plan would be appropriate. It is more appropriate the end user understand the plan set and what it is showing than to use professional naming conventions.
HGTV strikes again?

Thanks for the input guys.  First, let me clarify that we are a landscape contractor company and do grading, drainage, irrigation, and landscape installations.  We sub out masonry, wood, pools, etc.  So our need for thorough construction documents is hugely important here. 
I like what Brett said last.  The preliminary plan is really a ‘sch…[Read more]

There seems to be different terminology between design build and public bid projects.  Very interesting.
This is from the California Department of General Services and what I typically follow for my private and public projects:
What are preliminary plans? Preliminary plans are the initial design phase in preparing the construction bidding do…[Read more]

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is also very good in a near dune situation up here as well. Probably the best bet for a tree in this type of environment in my area.

The beauty of design/build is that you are not producing bid sets, but rather a sales contract and layout plan for your crews to construct. The liability is not the same as a straight design plan. It is understood (legally) that you design for the best interest of the company that you represent rather than as a client advocate (they used to do a…[Read more]

In my little world, Master Plan indicates a larger project with multiple disciplines, and possibly phases that may be constructed at different times and possibly with different funding. The master plan then ties together several separate parts from multiplel design disciplines. It does seem a bit much to use the term Master Plan in residential d…[Read more]

I was offered a job in China last year for about what you mentioned as previous salary. I declined the offer. From what I gathered, much of China (the offer I had was from Shenzhen) is pretty inexpensive, but I’ve also heard that the typical work day is around 9am to 10pm and there isn’t a lot of readily accessible outdoor recreation of you’re into that.

huh buddy, its been awhile, i can’t say what exactly will work up there, but i can tell you what i have had success with down here.
 
hackberry, sweetgum, black cherry, black cypress, live oak, persimmon, box elder,
 
eastern red cedat, sweetbay magnolia, loblolly pine, american holly,. wax myrlte.
 
all of these are natives and pretty much wi…[Read more]