Landscape Architecture Writers

[Hosea Omole]

Am a Landscape Architect in Kenya. The profession is fairly new here hence most of us are still struggling to find our rightful place in the building team. It follows then that am not too busy in my practice.

 

That usually gives me time to write landscape design articles which are published in a local newspaper every week.  Lately however am having a serious burnout. Ideas for writing no longer flow as much as they used to. 

 

Are there any landscape architecture writers out there with whom we can exchange ideas and talk about our different experiences? 

 

[Rochelle Greayer]

hosea — I am a landscape/ garden writer too — I frequently run into the problem and find that the best way to break out of a rut to go do something completely different….or tag along with others when they do something completely different….it usually gets me re-inspired.

Rochelle

http://www.studiogblog.com

[Hosea Omole]

Thanks Rochelle,

Its good to know that am not the only one.

Let me try and figure out what “completely different thing ” I can do right now.

All the best.

Hoz

[Jon Quackenbush]

I’d be interested in some of your writings… what topics have you already covered?  Do they warrant any follow up or have you simply exhausted the issues and do not wish to be redundant?

Sometimes redundancy is required to hammer an issue home.

[Hosea Omole]

Hey Jon,

I’ve been writing every week for over 3 years on Home Landscape design, a little bit of urban design as well as green living mostly at the home level. You can check out a few of them here:http://www.standardmedia.co.ke (get to the page and search Hosea Omole).

 

Yes i feel like everything i write now, i have covered in the past. i really need fresh ideas or approaches.

 

You are a writer yourself?

Hoz

[Jon Quackenbush]

My writings happen only on trace paper, of no language other than scrambled and frenetic thought for whatever design problem I am currently tasked with.  After graduate school, I needed to stop writing about design and actually do it instead, and then perhaps after a couple of years return to writing.  I do tend to get on my soapbox from time to time, mainly after a couple of glasses of stout or wine. 

I do have a goal of putting together a best practices book/journal/guide for digital rendering (mainly plan graphics), but I don’t want to be too word heavy with it, instead I’d like to focus on layer management, process, and visual library building.  Keep it simple, focused and allow the user to stay productive while at the same time learning new techniques and styles.  I am not ready to start that, yet.

Have you attempted to compose any critiques of built design?

[Jason T. Radice]

It is not a bad idea with a weekly column to repeat yourself from time to time. You are kind of a calender to people. You can remind them when to perform certain tasks in their gardens when dealing with certain plants, remind them the proper time to prune, or plant, or cut down for regeneration. Then you can add a few little facts here and there. Its the old garden-columnists trick…every september here, you tell people now is the time to reseed your lawn.

[Jennifer de Graaf]

since you have been writing for three years, it might be time to take some of the older stuff and see if it needs updating and re-doing.  I usually think up new things to write about on garden tours and walks around the neighborhood, I write them down and keep a list of issues that delight / bother me.  There’s usually something in there I can use if I feel the need for a new topic.  I’ll also write about experiences with nurseries or contractors (leaving names out if it is negative).  For example, I recently had a great experience at a mail order nursery’s open house.  I hope this helps!

http://degraafassoc.wordpress.com/

 

p.s. if you haven’t read the Studio G blog, you MUST!  (listed under the first person who responded, Rochelle Greayer)

 

[Rob Halpern]

It appears that most of your articles state general principles and guidance.

You might look at some case studies, specific properties with problems, well known landscapes you might analyze, successful residential or commercial landscapes you could analyze.

[James H Wheeler]

Myself and some colleagues of mine write for a website here, http://www.landscapeinvocation.com/

Most of our inspiration comes from observations, visiting parks, reading other blogs, design news and contemporary designs.

[Hosea Omole]

Thanks Jason. i will keep that in mind during the times when am less inspired.

[Hosea Omole]

Thanks Jennifer. I also get lots of inspiration from my environment. Of course i’ve checked out studio g blog.

[Hosea Omole]

Thanks Rob. You are quite right that I mostly do general principles. But in a country where the profession is just starting up, I mostly see problems and opportunities rather than successes. If i do too much of that i may end up a very negative person. thanks again.

[Hosea Omole]

Thanks James. I have checked out the website. Nice stuff dude.

[Jon Quackenbush]

Such is the way.  I have the same perspective even here where the profession is more established.  There is always room for improvement, and recognizing this doesn’t make you negative, it makes you an inquisitive designer.

 

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