Roland Beinert

That post was an attempt at humor for April Fools day, Tosh. The idea was that Andrew should get excited about an MLA, because there were all these special offers he would not get with the other degree, like the chance to win a Prius. It seemed funny to me at the time, for some reason.
I’ve actually only had two interviews in the entire year since…[Read more]

The MLA Program at U of Idaho was great, Andrew. There’s a coupon on the U of I department of landscape architecture website that lets you get two degrees for the price of one. So I got both an MLA AND a degree in planning! Also, everyone who gets into the MLA program is entered into a drawing to win a Prius and other prizes! I didn’t win the…[Read more]

Two things occured to me when reading the article:
1). The house is what’s really historically important. The landscape has probably changed a bit with each new homeowner. It’s not as though lawn is a rare plant with historical significance.
2). In my opinion a landscape that uses natives or even just drought tolerant plants is celebraing the r…[Read more]

The ones who hired me were smaller firms that were looking to hire someone really fast. This was before the recession, though. I don’t think they even put up a job post. They just called me after seeing my resume. I have a feeling they were looking for specific things, and didn’t want to be swamped with applicants. Of course, this took a while. I…[Read more]

You get landscape architecture magazine every month and discounts on the annual conference. How long ago did you graduate? There’s discounts for students and recent grads. If you plan on having your resume up for several months (and since the profession is still recovering,you might), it would probably be cheaper to join. Four months of posting…[Read more]

Oh, I see, you’re not an ASLA member. Never mind.

$100? If they are charging that for posting resumes, this is the first I’ve heard. I’ve been posting mine for free for the past several months. I think I had to pay a bit before the recession, but it was only about $10. $100 would be a huge, sudden increase right when many are still struggling to find jobs. Check to make sure they are really…[Read more]

If possible, I go back over my notes from the client and analysis of the site. What always frustrated me was having a client say, “Meh, do whatever you want.” or not being able to visit the site. Remind yourself that not every project has to be something revolutionary. You can always recycle ideas or find something in your sketchbook that you drew…[Read more]

Right, Jordan, easy for you to say. Right now I have a job that has nothing to do with landscape architecture. The amount of work varies to the point where I make $700 one month and $500 the next. Theoretically, I could make more, but there’s never enough work for that. My bills are enough that I can’t manage to save anything from one month to the…[Read more]

I really agree with what Mike said about designers versus artists. One of my bosses would always visit clients and bring back sketches. They always seemed messy to me, and I had problems figuring out what things were when he asked me to redraft them. But they must have worked for the client. The important thing was that he was able to show his…[Read more]

I have a Brother printer that does 11×17, and it was in the $300 range (I got it way back when I had a good job). My only complaint is that it goes through ink too quickly. Just a few 11×17’s and it will need new cartridges. I’m not sure whether the newer models are better about this. Mine is a MFC-6490CW, and the equivalent newer models would b…[Read more]

Das ist nicht gut.

Right now I really need study material for section C and E. I have a study guide, flash cards and good books for the other sections. I could use some practice tests for all sections. I don’t have a lot of money, though, if you’d want that in exchange.

I think clients tend to be influenced by trends, even if the designer they hire is not, right?. What can you do then? Obviously, you can’t argue with them.

I am not sure there is any research that answers your specific question about how long it takes. The journal Urban Ecosystems is always a good source for information on this sort of thing. They did an entire issue on green roof ecology in 2008, although I cannot guarantee they addressed your question in that issue. I imagine they have also done a…[Read more]

The easiest and best way to get around this, in my opinion, is to scrap the rain barrel idea and design landscapes to harvest the water directly with infiltration areas. You might have to modify the soil a bit to do this, but you will get less precious precipitation evaporating than you would in a rain barrel, especially if you cover the soil with…[Read more]

If I had my own place, I’d probably want it to be like the first place I worked. My boss lived above the office on a large property next to the Truckee River. Most of the plants were edible. There were lots of interesting spaces and art work. I’d definitely want a cob oven to cook pizzas in. I miss lunch breaks in summer, when I could just go…[Read more]

I had a shirt from the University of Wisconsin that said, “No, I will not mow your lawn.” Then three years later, I was laid off from my landscape architecture job and ended up mowing lawns for a while.

Agreed. Thanks, Toby.

I applied to an assistant planner job in Del Mar, CA a while ago. That at least is truly entry level, and I wouldn’t necessarily need to be licensed.