Bozena Graic

Hey Chris,
We are in Phoenix, and we do mainly design and subcontract the work out on high end residential designs. I believe we are the main contractor, and the work is divided accordingly.

Chris,
I operated a design/build company for 25 years where most of the work we did in-house with some sub-contracting on the specialized features. I now work by myself designing and then managing the projects. I have a network of contractors that work on these projects. I have a design fee and then negotiate a management fee with the…[Read more]

Elif-

I have learned that high-level or not, clients don’t read a lot of text. They’re swayed by images, sketches, pretty colors, and your passion. If you say Mondrian, show them what/who that is so they don’t have to ask. Have images that clearly delineate the connection between a Mondrian piece and your design (for example). If you communicate…[Read more]

Chris-
My advice:
If you love design, find a couple of good contractors you can send work to on a regular basis. They will (or should) pay you a commission or referal fee for the work you refer to them. They will in turn send you work, some of which they will pay you for directly. Probably a little at first, then more as your relationship builds.…[Read more]

Hey Chris,
My principal here in AZ is a licensed contractor. It’s pretty involved here, but definitely opens up many opportunities…

The ASLA Student Awards were announced today, and this one looks germane to the topic of Therapeutic Landscapes:

Residential Design Category HONOR AWARD
The Productive Landscape: Urban Housing for Autistic Adults
John Gough, Student ASLA, and Adam C. Nordfors, Student ASLA
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Faculty adviser: Kim Steele

I…[Read more]

I like new name of the group. Word healing reminds me also of the
intrinsic values of nature, and therapeutic more of practice specific for humans. So it seems this name includes both, healing power of nature by itself and horticulture therapy gardens made by human hands. Bye

Check out Land8Lounge member Jason King’s review of Esther Sternberg’s new book, Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being. An excellent review of an excellent new book.

Hi Guys”
Greetings!!!!!
An innovative design in stone surfaces that offers a customizable line for interior and exterior wall claddings
Cheers / Bharat Mishra

And new InformeDesign article review on Children’s Use of Accessible Playgrounds.

Conference in Dubrovnik: Resocialization-benefits from nature, I put album of photos finally on my folio, so you can see them 🙂 . I find articles send by this group really interesting, bye. Marina

Does anybody know if there are any efforts being made to cover theraputic landscapes under health care insurance?

Here’s an article that some of you may find interesting, about what they are saying is the first “universally accessible” playground. I have a feeling it’s not the first, but it’s still perhaps a good example, anyway. Anyone down in FL want to visit and report back to us? http://tinyurl.com/mp4x6t.

New TLDBlog post! “Nature as Therapy for Hypertension and Other Stress-Related Disorders.”

Thanks Naomi! My passion lies in gardens for children, elderly, and those in need of healing. I would like to maintain and grow my knowledge base in these areas. Unfortunately in my current position, I have no outlet to express my ideas. I have designed children’s gardens, gardens for assisted living facilities, etc, but all on my own. Without g…[Read more]

See the latest comment on the TLDBlog “Garden fragrance as an emotional memory trigger” for some great information about this subject, from Wendy who wrote her thesis on the subject. You can also link to her thesis, which I’ll be posting soon on the Therapeutic Landscapes Database.

Hi Naomi,
I guess I can put some pictures of gardens shown on confference with short description of the places and work on my site. There were initiatives started as civil initiatives and community gardens for example in Sarajevo (BiH) and now they are planning certificate programme for this part of Europe, what would be great. I can send Daniel…[Read more]

Chris, just saw your response to Katrina – thanks for the info! I’m behind with adding data to the TLD, but this is great information.

Hi Katrina, the best way to find out about horticulture therapy certificate programs, in the Bay Area or anywhere, is to contact the American Horticultural Therapy Association (http://www.ahta.org/). I know that Marni Barnes teaches a class on therapeutic landscape design at the UC Berkeley Extension, and there may be others as well. But for hort.…[Read more]

Hello Katrina,
I believe that the SF Botanical Garden offers a Certificate Program. You can follow this link to get in contact with the program (http://caahta.org/education.htm). I’m not familiar with this particular course, but having spent some time with Teresia Hazen’s class at Legacy Health in Portland, HT is a rewarding and enriching…[Read more]