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That is a great response, Nick.

That is not a new way of doing things, however. There are always new directions to steer toward. Development keeps changing as our values change and how we live changes. The things that we hate that developers do today were new and innovative ideas in the past in many cases. Once things are put into practice, the…[Read more]

Yes.

I design conventional subdivision master plans (just completing my first quarter section master plan), commercial site plans, eductional site design, parks, and signage.

I would consider all of that development driven.

In my limited experience as a designer I can honestly say that there seems to be no magic to conventional land…[Read more]

Yes, If you directly influence the design on the land then you are doing part of the design.

Thanks for the participation. I guess you and I are the only ones still working on land design. I’m not sure what everyone else is doing, but I really would like to know.

I think that insecurity is not something you suffer from, Gabimo. It is a disease that can get in the way of a lot of things. It tends to make us isolate ourselves instead of interact and join a bigger community where we can be multi-dimensional along with others. It makes us make decisions based on wishful thinking rather than practicality.

I consider myself both. Aside from the legal aspects, there is very little difference between LA’s as opposed to LD’s. It is mostly down to labeling derived from training. There is very little about LA that you cannot pick up from a book or two, so LA’s tend to be quite touchy about this, since we do not hold any specific knowledge that may give…[Read more]

I used to. Now I review and control development on land. I also design parks and park facilities on land. Does that cout?

Well I don’t think they should be exluded form residential design, but I wouldn’t hire one to do a wetlands mitigation plan and design. I also would not hire an RN to do my open heart surgery.

Boy I would disagree with this. They may have a strong knowledge of planting and micro drainage but not large scale at all. They have limited exposure to site grading and the other engineering elements that LA’s are exposed too and really I consider them a subset of LA practice.

Well that would be ideal of course, but we already know the needs of the park won’t be able to be met with a shuffleboard court. It was more an exercise in repurposing older park elements that went in to the site in the 1970’s and seeing if we can modernize them with little to no funding opportunity. We get a lot of requests for Eagle Scout…[Read more]

Why let the shuffleboard structure drive your design? Would it make more sense to go back to the basics and explore the needs of the park? Then do an analysis of the situation on the ground to see how this area, with or without the structure of the shuffleboard, lends itself to address any of those needs and if then if the structure is beneficial…[Read more]

I use AutoCad, Photoshop, and SketchUp. One of the thinks that I keep hearing is “office standard” I take pride in trying to make each project a little differnt and unique (avoiding standard). I think the client likes the fact that their project does not look like every other board up on our walls. Every rendering I do I try a new technique or…[Read more]

since you have such a smooth surface you probible don’t need the chalkboard paint but a dark color exterior grade paint would help set the area apart for the kids to know there boundries and make the art work show better.

It is a bit like discussing weeds. There are two basic uses of the word “weed” (three, if you throw Mr. Quackenbush into the mix). One is “inherent weed species” and the other is simply “a plant out of place”.

A plant that is functioning for aesthetic benefit. is by definition an ornamental plant (such as the poison ivey for fall color mentioned…[Read more]

It may just be a dialect thing. I have always used (and heard it used) to describe either small trees or grasses. I’ve never called a shrub, vine, annual, or perennial ‘ornamental’; rather I may use the word ‘accent’ or ‘specimen’ to describe something particularly distinctive/unique. The simple definition in my view would be a particular species…[Read more]

yes

What is it you’re trying to find out?

Here in the northeast US, Rhus radicans is a terrible pest causing many people painful dermatitis. But some gardeners in the UK have planted it as an ornamental vine (the fall color is spectacular).

Elaeagnus umbellata is a beautiful silvery shrub, once widely planted. It has been shown to be a voracious invasive. Now forbidden

So “ornamental”…[Read more]

IMHO (and I’m always right about this stuff ;), ornamentals are plants that have a specific aesthetic trait (ornament is strictly visual) that makes the plant stand out from its surroundings. It could be flowering, variegated leaves, mottled bark, some sort of “different” about it. Not usually typical for its type. And the plant is planted FOR…[Read more]