[JA Castillo, PLA, ASLA]

One of the local review agencies in my area does not allow “grow bags” unless it is the only option available. Their issue is the human factor (not refilling the bags; not resetting them; etc) and fire ants (which in turn affect the humans!).  Generally, I think they are functional, but I do not have a fondness for them.

[JA Castillo, PLA, ASLA]

It has been some time since I took the Florida Section, but it was passable upon the first try.  If you have ample study material that is current, I would study that.  That said, studying up on the Florida Statutes that govern the work of Landscape Architects in Florida is critical.  It also helped to be familiar with the plant material of the state (primarily S. Florida) and irrigation design.  There are a couple of links I have come across when helping younger practitioners here in Florida get prepared. I hope they can be of help to you…

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/lare-exam (Google Group for LARE Exam)

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/lare-exam/5hftV8kOS4c (study material specifically for Section F).

Best of luck!

[JA Castillo, PLA, ASLA]

I think Chris Whitted has done a great job providing some tips as well as asking some great questions. Addressing some of his questions may allow us to offer better insight.

As to the use of raster images in CAD, we only use two graphic formats, PCX and JPG.

– For reference / trace purposes, we scan items as a B&W PCX file. It is jaggy like a BMP tends to be, but the benefit is that you can drop the white space from the image in CAD and just see the linework. PCX also allows for your layer color / associated pen widths to affect the image when printed. This has proven handy when using scanned images for graphic elevations. Items to the rear are put on a layer that prints grayscale, while other foreground images are put on a layer that prints black

– JPG is used for all other graphic purpose solely for file size management.

– We hardly scan as B&W due to the jaggy nature of the image, unless it is in PCX (see above). All other scans are grayscale (for file size management) or color; depending on need.

– Scan resolution never tops 250 dpi; above that is pretty much overkill.

Hope some of this is of use to you. Good luck.

Thank you.

[JA Castillo, PLA, ASLA]

Glad to have helped.

InDesign is a great program and it’s quite robust. Have used it for portfolio pieces & design guidelines @ my office as well as newsletters and flyers for my State Chapter ASLA.

Good luck!

[JA Castillo, PLA, ASLA]

A PDF should work fine. Does the “choppy” / “poor quality” refer to what you see on screen or what is printed? If it is how it looks on-screen, you can improve its “quality” by changing the “Display Performance”…

View > Display Performance > High Quality Display (Alt + Ctrl + H)

If the final print is not that good, it may be the quality of the PDF that is dragging things down.

[JA Castillo, PLA, ASLA]

I always sign “RLA, ASLA” to denote first and foremost, that I am licensed and secondly, that I am a member of ASLA. Prior to being licensed, I used “ASLA” after my name to promote the profession.

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