John Black

Fantastic suggestions, all! Clearly I won’t be able to see everything, but you’re giving me a great start. If anything else comes to mind please keep adding to the list…

Having actually been on several episodes of “Landscape Smart” and won my “Landscapers’ Challenge,” I have to chime in here. HGTV exists to sell ads, not to show good work. “Landscape Smart” aims at the DIY audience, who want free advice and cheap fixes; “Landscapers’ Challenge” hooks us on the drama of competition, but it’s hardly a celebration of…[Read more]

To the first question: Depends on what kind of a practice you want to have. You need experience in whatever you intend to do — not only types of projects but also business development, personnel management, etc. — or sufficiently connected to others who have that experience.

To the second: There’s a lot more to running a design firm, even a one…[Read more]

Claudia, you sound passionate enough to make just about anything happen, and I doubt I could dash cold water on your zeal even if I wanted to. BUT (sorry, you felt it coming), having founded a nonprofit once upon a time, I feel you may be underestimating both the process and the power of such an agency. You said:

>>Non-profit organizations are…[Read more]

Obviously each site’s soil is unique, and even “native” soil is rarely native unless you’ve got a preserved site. I almost always recommend a complete analysis of soil structure, biology and fertility from a lab which can recommend amendments based on the desired vegetation (including amendments to avoid, e.g. zinc in acidic soil). But there’s…[Read more]

Kevin, I also use VectorWorks in my studio; it’s the right balance of price and functionality for the residential work I do. Their plant database and tools are the biggest liability, not impossible but not as graceful as the rest of the program. ACAD is undeniably more powerful, but for my purposes it’s just plain overkill. Although VW does 3D,…[Read more]