Outdoor Kitchen Part 2 |...
Outdoor kitchen and entertaining area design for an ...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Outdoor Kitchen Part 2 |
Outdoor Kitchen Part 2 |...
Outdoor kitchen and entertaining area design for an ...
Tropical Condo Front Yard |..
Tropical Condo Front Yard |...
Mediterranean condo front yard landscaping and plant...
Formal Garden Pond Idea
Formal Garden Pond Idea
Beautiful pond in a formal garden setting. Pond is c...
Oriental Courtyard Garden
Oriental Courtyard Garden
Oriental courtyard garden with planting bed in the c...
Corner Lot Landscape Design
Corner Lot Landscape Design...
Landscaping Design Ideas for a corner lot landscape....
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
FLORIDA FRIENDLY LANDSCAPING
ind Florida plants for your landscape and Florida garden. Learn about Florida-friendly plants, including Florida native plants, that require little irrigation or fertilizer, are low maintenance and attract wildlife.
Landscaping Plants Editor's Picks
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About Landscaping
Landscaping can include several elements in the outdoor garden areas to improve the look and appearance of your home. more »
Decorating With Landscaping Rocks
Using landscaping rocks can add style, depth of field and character to any yard or garden. Because they come in so many different shapes, sizes and colors, landscaping rocks can be utilized in a wide variety of ways---from stepping stones, borders and garden paths to walls, benches and fire pits---all of which add dimension and... more »
How to Clean Landscaping Rocks
Rocks are commonly used in landscaping for many reasons and effects. With so many shapes, colors and sizes rocks are oftentimes the perfect ornament to enhance the décor of a lawn. Rocks are often used to hide the mechanical workings of man-made ponds or to outline garden plots giving a distinct all natural separation to the... more »
Flower Landscaping Ideas
One way to instantly beautify the outside of your home is to plant flowers. Unfortunately, just planting flowers in the ground won't be very pleasing to the eye. Take your time to get some flower landscaping ideas. Write down a list of plants you would like to grow and draw out some designs for your yard. As you plan, consider the... more »
Do It Yourself: Landscaping Plants
One of the easiest ways to save money on your landscaping bill is to install your own plants. This also allows you to hand-pick every plant and make any necessary changes along the way. The hands-on approach is the best way to get in touch with your soil and your plants. more »
Landscaping Plants Quick Guides
Landscaping with Shrubbery
Shrubbery is a versatile part of your landscaping design. Large, manicured shrubs act as fences..
Monday, November 16, 2009
Home / News / Local News / San Marcos SAN MARCOS: City working on drought-tolerant landscape ordinance
Installing or replacing landscaping is about to get more complicated and potentially more expensive for some property owners in San Marcos.
The city is developing an ordinance that would require the landscaping around new homes, apartment complexes and other developments to be drought-tolerant ---- if a developer is installing the landscaping, if the landscape area covers at least 2,500 square feet and if the project needs city approval.
The proposal would also apply to new homes whose owners are putting in the landscaping, if the area is 5,000 square feet or larger.
Deputy City Manager Lydia Romero said last week that the city must adopt the proposed ordinance to meet the deadline for a 3-year-old state law requiring cities and counties throughout California to adopt stricter water efficiency standards by Jan. 1.
Romero said state officials did not decide what the new standards should be until September.
"That kind of sprang up at the last minute," Romero said. "So thank you, state Department of Water Resources, for that."
State leaders said the law is designed to ensure there's enough water for California's growing population in the face of ongoing drought conditions.
Romero said the landscape ordinance San Marcos is working on mirrors the state guidelines released in September.
The city's ordinance would require affected property owners to prepare extensive landscape documentation packets and submit them to the city.
Each package would have to include information about the project, a water efficient landscape worksheet, a soil management plan, a landscape design plan, an irrigation design plan, and a grading design plan.
A copy of the worksheet would also go to the water agency that serves the property.
Landscape areas covered by the ordinance also would have to be audited every two years to verify that they meet water-use reduction levels stated in the original design plan.
"It's going to give a lot of landscape architects business," Romero said.
Vallecitos Water District, Vista Irrigation District, Rincon del Diablo Water District, and Olivenhain Water District serve customers in San Marcos.
Vallecitos General Manager Bill Rucker said local officials anticipate that the proposed ordinance will cause major headaches for water and city officials and property owners.
"There are a variety of unknowns, I think, that we're all going to have to get to know as we march arm in arm into the future," he said. "But it's a huge change in what I call practicality."
However, developer Mike McDonald, who has built several construction projects in San Marcos, said he does not view the proposed ordinance as a big deal because newer construction projects typically already incorporate drought-tolerant plants and materials.
The city is developing an ordinance that would require the landscaping around new homes, apartment complexes and other developments to be drought-tolerant ---- if a developer is installing the landscaping, if the landscape area covers at least 2,500 square feet and if the project needs city approval.
The proposal would also apply to new homes whose owners are putting in the landscaping, if the area is 5,000 square feet or larger.
Deputy City Manager Lydia Romero said last week that the city must adopt the proposed ordinance to meet the deadline for a 3-year-old state law requiring cities and counties throughout California to adopt stricter water efficiency standards by Jan. 1.
Romero said state officials did not decide what the new standards should be until September.
"That kind of sprang up at the last minute," Romero said. "So thank you, state Department of Water Resources, for that."
State leaders said the law is designed to ensure there's enough water for California's growing population in the face of ongoing drought conditions.
Romero said the landscape ordinance San Marcos is working on mirrors the state guidelines released in September.
The city's ordinance would require affected property owners to prepare extensive landscape documentation packets and submit them to the city.
Each package would have to include information about the project, a water efficient landscape worksheet, a soil management plan, a landscape design plan, an irrigation design plan, and a grading design plan.
A copy of the worksheet would also go to the water agency that serves the property.
Landscape areas covered by the ordinance also would have to be audited every two years to verify that they meet water-use reduction levels stated in the original design plan.
"It's going to give a lot of landscape architects business," Romero said.
Vallecitos Water District, Vista Irrigation District, Rincon del Diablo Water District, and Olivenhain Water District serve customers in San Marcos.
Vallecitos General Manager Bill Rucker said local officials anticipate that the proposed ordinance will cause major headaches for water and city officials and property owners.
"There are a variety of unknowns, I think, that we're all going to have to get to know as we march arm in arm into the future," he said. "But it's a huge change in what I call practicality."
However, developer Mike McDonald, who has built several construction projects in San Marcos, said he does not view the proposed ordinance as a big deal because newer construction projects typically already incorporate drought-tolerant plants and materials.
Florida-friendly landscaping principles:
Right plant, right place
Have you ever bought a plant that looked great at the nursery or garden center, only to have it die once you planted it?
One way to avoid this heartbreaking scenario is by putting the right plant in the right place - matching the plant to the site conditions. This encompasses far more than simply putting sun worshiping plants in your yard's sunny spots. You also need to consider things like maintenance and water needs.
Water efficiently
Even though watering restrictions are commonplace throughout Florida, many homeowners still overwater. Overwatering does more than deplete the water supply; it also makes plants prone to pests and adds to storm water runoff, which pollutes our water systems. By choosing and operating a watering system correctly, you can reduce water bills, insect and disease problems, and maintenance requirements. Don't let the calendar tell you when to water - look to your plants for telltale signs of water needs.
Fertilize appropriately
At the most basic level, fertilizers feed plants, helping them to grow better. Did you know that you can choose fertilizers that can direct your plants' growth in specific ways? Different types of fertilizers encourage plants to develop:
More or larger blooms
Greener leaves
Faster growth
More fruit
Fertilizing can be done by applying composted organic material, packaged fertilizer or a specific mineral, such as iron.
Attract wildlife
A mulch layer around trees, shrubs, planted beds and covering bare ground provides many benefits. In areas that are difficult to mow, irrigate or otherwise maintain, use mulch to replace turf or groundcovers. Also consider placing mulch in shady areas where plants don't grow well.
Mulch
A mulch layer around trees, shrubs, planted beds and covering bare ground provides many benefits. In areas that are difficult to mow, irrigate or otherwise maintain, use mulch to replace turf or groundcovers. Also consider placing mulch in shady areas where plants don't grow well.
Recycle
Landscape maintenance activities - mowing, pruning, raking - generate yard waste that you can return to the soil, recycling valuable nutrients. It is easy to recycle yard waste.
Reduce runoff
Many of Florida's water resources are especially susceptible to pollution because of our unique geology and climate.
Floridians obtain most of their drinking water from ground water supplies. Dissolved pollutants reach ground water through a process called leaching. These impurities affect the quality of our drinking water. Heavy rainfall, typical during Florida's rainy season, is a major cause of leaching and stormwater runoff.
Surface waters in Florida such as lakes, streams, rivers and estuaries are very sensitive to even small amounts of pollution.
Protect waterfront
Waterfront property owners have firsthand knowledge of the special contribution lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and lagoons make to Florida's quality of life. Florida-Friendly Yards located on a waterfront must address certain challenges and responsibilities. As a next-door neighbor to these natural resource treasures, you must make it your mission to practice good environmental stewardship. To design and maintain a landscape that borders a waterfront of any sort requires a strong focus on the natural environment, as well as on environmental impact.
Have you ever bought a plant that looked great at the nursery or garden center, only to have it die once you planted it?
One way to avoid this heartbreaking scenario is by putting the right plant in the right place - matching the plant to the site conditions. This encompasses far more than simply putting sun worshiping plants in your yard's sunny spots. You also need to consider things like maintenance and water needs.
Water efficiently
Even though watering restrictions are commonplace throughout Florida, many homeowners still overwater. Overwatering does more than deplete the water supply; it also makes plants prone to pests and adds to storm water runoff, which pollutes our water systems. By choosing and operating a watering system correctly, you can reduce water bills, insect and disease problems, and maintenance requirements. Don't let the calendar tell you when to water - look to your plants for telltale signs of water needs.
Fertilize appropriately
At the most basic level, fertilizers feed plants, helping them to grow better. Did you know that you can choose fertilizers that can direct your plants' growth in specific ways? Different types of fertilizers encourage plants to develop:
More or larger blooms
Greener leaves
Faster growth
More fruit
Fertilizing can be done by applying composted organic material, packaged fertilizer or a specific mineral, such as iron.
Attract wildlife
A mulch layer around trees, shrubs, planted beds and covering bare ground provides many benefits. In areas that are difficult to mow, irrigate or otherwise maintain, use mulch to replace turf or groundcovers. Also consider placing mulch in shady areas where plants don't grow well.
Mulch
A mulch layer around trees, shrubs, planted beds and covering bare ground provides many benefits. In areas that are difficult to mow, irrigate or otherwise maintain, use mulch to replace turf or groundcovers. Also consider placing mulch in shady areas where plants don't grow well.
Recycle
Landscape maintenance activities - mowing, pruning, raking - generate yard waste that you can return to the soil, recycling valuable nutrients. It is easy to recycle yard waste.
Reduce runoff
Many of Florida's water resources are especially susceptible to pollution because of our unique geology and climate.
Floridians obtain most of their drinking water from ground water supplies. Dissolved pollutants reach ground water through a process called leaching. These impurities affect the quality of our drinking water. Heavy rainfall, typical during Florida's rainy season, is a major cause of leaching and stormwater runoff.
Surface waters in Florida such as lakes, streams, rivers and estuaries are very sensitive to even small amounts of pollution.
Protect waterfront
Waterfront property owners have firsthand knowledge of the special contribution lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and lagoons make to Florida's quality of life. Florida-Friendly Yards located on a waterfront must address certain challenges and responsibilities. As a next-door neighbor to these natural resource treasures, you must make it your mission to practice good environmental stewardship. To design and maintain a landscape that borders a waterfront of any sort requires a strong focus on the natural environment, as well as on environmental impact.
Native landscaping concept blooms in Whitehall
WHITEHALL — A native plant landscape project on a 4.5-acre field at Alcoa Howmet’s Plant 4 site in Whitehall certainly generated plenty of attention and, as it turns out, plenty of interest from area residents wanting to follow the lead.
Environmental advocates are hosting a workshop to help teach interested residents and business owners how to plant their own native landscapes. The public workshop, which is free, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the White Lake Community Library, 3900 White Lake Drive.
“We have had great interest from area residents and businesses that want their own native landscape,” said Jeff Auch, executive director of the Muskegon Conservation District, which is coordinating the Alcoa Howmet project. “Fall is a great time to begin planning for this. We’ll provide all of the information needed to create a beautiful, low-maintenance native landscape.”
Organizers said workshop participants will learn how to plant a native landscape and the basics of installing a rain garden. Information will be presented on site preparation, developing a design, choosing appropriate seeds and plants, and maintaining the new landscapes.
Howmet’s native landscape project, which started in 2008, essentially kicked off a larger, communitywide project called the White Lake Community Native Landscape Initiative. The community project was established to encourage the introduction of native landscapes in the area, including on residential, commercial and municipal properties.
Tanya Cabala, an environmental consultant and Whitehall city councilwoman, said the advantages of native landscapes are protection of the groundwater and saving money for property owners with less watering, no use of fertilizer and reduction in mowing. She pointed out that native landscapes also are beneficial to wildlife
Environmental advocates are hosting a workshop to help teach interested residents and business owners how to plant their own native landscapes. The public workshop, which is free, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the White Lake Community Library, 3900 White Lake Drive.
“We have had great interest from area residents and businesses that want their own native landscape,” said Jeff Auch, executive director of the Muskegon Conservation District, which is coordinating the Alcoa Howmet project. “Fall is a great time to begin planning for this. We’ll provide all of the information needed to create a beautiful, low-maintenance native landscape.”
Organizers said workshop participants will learn how to plant a native landscape and the basics of installing a rain garden. Information will be presented on site preparation, developing a design, choosing appropriate seeds and plants, and maintaining the new landscapes.
Howmet’s native landscape project, which started in 2008, essentially kicked off a larger, communitywide project called the White Lake Community Native Landscape Initiative. The community project was established to encourage the introduction of native landscapes in the area, including on residential, commercial and municipal properties.
Tanya Cabala, an environmental consultant and Whitehall city councilwoman, said the advantages of native landscapes are protection of the groundwater and saving money for property owners with less watering, no use of fertilizer and reduction in mowing. She pointed out that native landscapes also are beneficial to wildlife
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Landscape architect earns handsomely
The job of a landscape architect is huge and entails huge responsibilities. A person who is generally involved in the planning, design and sometimes oversight of an exterior landscape or space is called a landscape architect and his professional practice is known as landscape architecture. It is also true that owing to ignorance and as this is a relatively recent profession in terms of licensing, even landscape gardeners, landscape designers, architects, surveyors or engineers are also introduced as landscape architects. This is highly erroneous, if truth be told.
What’s more, landscape architecture was not usually recognized in developed nations as a distinct profession until the early twentieth century. However this is a different era and changes are taking place gradually. But in spite of the huge efforts of landscape architects, it is still not strange for a building architect to be commissioned to provide landscape architectural services.
There is another connotation. The term landscape architect has different meaning depending on location. There are, in point of fact, some US states that offer "practice acts" and some offer "title acts". Each refers to the limitations placed on persons who are and are not licensed.
How much does a landscape architect earn? The profession is having greater appreciation nowadays than ever before and there are lots of prospects as well. A landscape architect earns between $50000 and 70000 annually and this may rise in due course.
What’s more, landscape architecture was not usually recognized in developed nations as a distinct profession until the early twentieth century. However this is a different era and changes are taking place gradually. But in spite of the huge efforts of landscape architects, it is still not strange for a building architect to be commissioned to provide landscape architectural services.
There is another connotation. The term landscape architect has different meaning depending on location. There are, in point of fact, some US states that offer "practice acts" and some offer "title acts". Each refers to the limitations placed on persons who are and are not licensed.
How much does a landscape architect earn? The profession is having greater appreciation nowadays than ever before and there are lots of prospects as well. A landscape architect earns between $50000 and 70000 annually and this may rise in due course.
Mountaineers could change the postseason landscape tonight
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Forget math as you know it.
Zero is gigantic.
At this time of year in college football, there is no bigger number in the loss column.
Cincinnati, which hosts West Virginia in a Big East Conference game tonight at Nippert Stadium, is one of six teams in Division I-A that can still lay claim to that zero.
Along with Florida, Alabama, Texas, Texas Christian and Boise State, Cincinnati is among the last of the unbeatens.
As West Virginia (7-2, 5-0) heads into this contest against the fifth-ranked Bearcats, Mountaineers nose tackle Chris Neild put things into perspective:
"This is different, this game is definitely different ... when you are facing a team of this caliber and it is this late in the season and they haven't lost, it gives us more motivation to get the job done. There's no question more goes into it. You don't treat it just like another game, you just don't, man."
This is a Cincinnati team fighting not just to roll through the Big East unbeaten, but also attempting to maybe get a shot at a national championship date -- if the top of the polls plays out right for the Bearcats.
Neild knows his team is a nine-point underdog tonight. He understands the Bearcats have become the darlings of the conference under coach Brian Kelly and that many people are pulling for them to get through the regular season unbeaten and throw a wrench into the way the NCAA decides the national football champion.
West Virginia could end all that talk by winning tonight.
"If we can give them our best shot, I think we have a good chance," Neild said. "If we play hard, play tough and play physical, you know, if we do that for 60 minutes, I think we will have a real good chance of coming out on top."
A win that would serve as coach Bill Stewart's signature victory in the time since the interim tag was taken off his title after a Jan. 2, 2008, Fiesta Bowl win against Oklahoma.
Safety Robert Sands also understands what a victory would do tonight.
"They are pretty far up there as one of the best," Sands said of Cincinnati. "We're just going to have to go out and cover all of our assignments. A team like Cincinnati is already in their comfort zone, so they will be coming into the game on a high horse and we need to be able to knock them off."
Is there a secret to knocking off Cincinnati?
"I will say this," Stewart started, paused for a moment and then continued. "West Virginia has to play West Virginia football."
Zero is gigantic.
At this time of year in college football, there is no bigger number in the loss column.
Cincinnati, which hosts West Virginia in a Big East Conference game tonight at Nippert Stadium, is one of six teams in Division I-A that can still lay claim to that zero.
Along with Florida, Alabama, Texas, Texas Christian and Boise State, Cincinnati is among the last of the unbeatens.
As West Virginia (7-2, 5-0) heads into this contest against the fifth-ranked Bearcats, Mountaineers nose tackle Chris Neild put things into perspective:
"This is different, this game is definitely different ... when you are facing a team of this caliber and it is this late in the season and they haven't lost, it gives us more motivation to get the job done. There's no question more goes into it. You don't treat it just like another game, you just don't, man."
This is a Cincinnati team fighting not just to roll through the Big East unbeaten, but also attempting to maybe get a shot at a national championship date -- if the top of the polls plays out right for the Bearcats.
Neild knows his team is a nine-point underdog tonight. He understands the Bearcats have become the darlings of the conference under coach Brian Kelly and that many people are pulling for them to get through the regular season unbeaten and throw a wrench into the way the NCAA decides the national football champion.
West Virginia could end all that talk by winning tonight.
"If we can give them our best shot, I think we have a good chance," Neild said. "If we play hard, play tough and play physical, you know, if we do that for 60 minutes, I think we will have a real good chance of coming out on top."
A win that would serve as coach Bill Stewart's signature victory in the time since the interim tag was taken off his title after a Jan. 2, 2008, Fiesta Bowl win against Oklahoma.
Safety Robert Sands also understands what a victory would do tonight.
"They are pretty far up there as one of the best," Sands said of Cincinnati. "We're just going to have to go out and cover all of our assignments. A team like Cincinnati is already in their comfort zone, so they will be coming into the game on a high horse and we need to be able to knock them off."
Is there a secret to knocking off Cincinnati?
"I will say this," Stewart started, paused for a moment and then continued. "West Virginia has to play West Virginia football."
A Florida-friendly landscape is not a new concept
A Florida-friendly landscape is not a new concept, but it is new terminology included in Senate Bill 2080. In most cases, the term "Xeriscape" was stricken and replaced with "Florida-friendly landscaping." This is a move in the right direction since "Xeriscape," indicates an arid climate and Florida is considered semi-tropical to tropical.
There are some changes that apply to Homeowner Associations (HOAs). A major item included in SB2080 is, as of July 1, "HOAs may not prohibit a property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on his or her land." HOAs are not required to do anything, but many are currently working on revising their rules to include Florida-friendly guidelines.
Landscape Committees or Architectural Control Committees can still oversee homes within a development but cannot mandate water-wasting practices or inappropriate site design, excessive or improper fertilization, excessive use of pesticides or wrong plant/wrong place. HOAs may not prohibit reasonable and appropriate use of mulch, plants attractive to wildlife (such as butterfly and hummingbird gardens), swales or rain gardens, waterfront buffers and compost bins or rain barrels.
This doesn't mean that HOAs will loose control of the development and home values will plummet. A Florida-friendly landscape can be well maintained and HOAs can still provide limitations. For example, if a property owner wants to include a compost bin or a rain barrel, the HOA can mandate that it be placed in the side yard or backyard and cannot be viewed from the street but must be screened with either plant material or a privacy fence.
HOAs can still require that landscapes should be well maintained, free of debris and weeds managed. A list of plant material can be included for use around ponds to protect the waterfront and prevent fertilizer runoff. Options might include canna lily, muhly grass, gulf cord grass, pickerel weed or blue flag iris.
For more information on this topic, go to aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/aquascape.html.
To further water conservation, areas watered with high volume irrigation may be reduced in size as plant beds using micro-irrigation increase. This will affect existing irrigation systems, so some changes may be required.
Lawn and plant beds should be on separate zones because they have different irrigation needs. The use of drought-tolerant plants will also conserve water because once established, they will not require supplemental irrigation except during an extended drought.
Requirements can be made so that each homeowner is required to maintain turf or a low ground cover in a designated area in the front landscape to maintain integrity of the development.
HOAs could offer options that include St. Augustine grass, zoysia, centipede, Bermuda or Bahia or a low growing ground cover such as Asiatic jasmine, powderpuff mimosa, perennial peanut, or mondo grass (shade).
A change related to irrigation is in Senate Bill 494 (section 373.62). This requires everyone with an in-ground irrigation system to have an operational rain shut-off device or soil moisture sensing device that inhibits or interrupts operation of the system during periods of sufficient moisture. The major change is that systems installed prior to 1991 were exempt and now they must comply.
So what is a Florida-friendly landscape? Florida-friendly landscapes are not out of control or full of weeds, but are lush compared to a traditional landscape. They protect natural resources by conserving water, reducing waste and pollution, creating wildlife habitat and preventing erosion. There are nine Florida-friendly principles, which include right plant/right place, water efficiently, fertilize appropriately, mulch, attract wildlife, manage yard pests responsibly, recycle yard wastes, reduce stormwater runoff and protect the waterfront.
For more information on Florida-friendly landscaping, go to fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/ and floridayards.org/.
Another new publication that will be helpful is "Adopting a Florida-Friendly Landscape: Steps for Converting a Traditional Development Landscape to a Florida-Friendly Landscape" found at edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP396
There are some changes that apply to Homeowner Associations (HOAs). A major item included in SB2080 is, as of July 1, "HOAs may not prohibit a property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on his or her land." HOAs are not required to do anything, but many are currently working on revising their rules to include Florida-friendly guidelines.
Landscape Committees or Architectural Control Committees can still oversee homes within a development but cannot mandate water-wasting practices or inappropriate site design, excessive or improper fertilization, excessive use of pesticides or wrong plant/wrong place. HOAs may not prohibit reasonable and appropriate use of mulch, plants attractive to wildlife (such as butterfly and hummingbird gardens), swales or rain gardens, waterfront buffers and compost bins or rain barrels.
This doesn't mean that HOAs will loose control of the development and home values will plummet. A Florida-friendly landscape can be well maintained and HOAs can still provide limitations. For example, if a property owner wants to include a compost bin or a rain barrel, the HOA can mandate that it be placed in the side yard or backyard and cannot be viewed from the street but must be screened with either plant material or a privacy fence.
HOAs can still require that landscapes should be well maintained, free of debris and weeds managed. A list of plant material can be included for use around ponds to protect the waterfront and prevent fertilizer runoff. Options might include canna lily, muhly grass, gulf cord grass, pickerel weed or blue flag iris.
For more information on this topic, go to aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/aquascape.html.
To further water conservation, areas watered with high volume irrigation may be reduced in size as plant beds using micro-irrigation increase. This will affect existing irrigation systems, so some changes may be required.
Lawn and plant beds should be on separate zones because they have different irrigation needs. The use of drought-tolerant plants will also conserve water because once established, they will not require supplemental irrigation except during an extended drought.
Requirements can be made so that each homeowner is required to maintain turf or a low ground cover in a designated area in the front landscape to maintain integrity of the development.
HOAs could offer options that include St. Augustine grass, zoysia, centipede, Bermuda or Bahia or a low growing ground cover such as Asiatic jasmine, powderpuff mimosa, perennial peanut, or mondo grass (shade).
A change related to irrigation is in Senate Bill 494 (section 373.62). This requires everyone with an in-ground irrigation system to have an operational rain shut-off device or soil moisture sensing device that inhibits or interrupts operation of the system during periods of sufficient moisture. The major change is that systems installed prior to 1991 were exempt and now they must comply.
So what is a Florida-friendly landscape? Florida-friendly landscapes are not out of control or full of weeds, but are lush compared to a traditional landscape. They protect natural resources by conserving water, reducing waste and pollution, creating wildlife habitat and preventing erosion. There are nine Florida-friendly principles, which include right plant/right place, water efficiently, fertilize appropriately, mulch, attract wildlife, manage yard pests responsibly, recycle yard wastes, reduce stormwater runoff and protect the waterfront.
For more information on Florida-friendly landscaping, go to fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/ and floridayards.org/.
Another new publication that will be helpful is "Adopting a Florida-Friendly Landscape: Steps for Converting a Traditional Development Landscape to a Florida-Friendly Landscape" found at edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP396
Small landscaping businesses could stay at residence
Small landscaping companies could continue as home occupations in Knox County, but owners might quickly find their businesses have grown to the point they would have to move to commercial property, under proposed ordinance amendments headed to Knox County Commission.
County Commission has been mulling ordinance language to strike a balance between allowing small landscaping operations as home occupations but preventing large commercial landscaping companies in residential neighborhoods. The commission put together a Contractor Review Committee in July, which revised some amendments proposed by the Metropolitan Planning Commission and sent them back to MPC for a vote. MPC approved them unanimously Thursday.
No neighborhood representatives spoke then, but Grant Rosenberg, Knox County director of codes enforcement, urged MPC to approve the request.
"The most controversial use has been tackled," he said. "It's been taken off the table."
The committee had added landscaping companies to the definition of "contractor" and the provision dropped would have allowed contractors to store materials and equipment on property zoned agricultural. Now, these uses would be restricted to rural commercial and general business zones.
When MPC considered an earlier set of amendments in April, Lisa Starbuck, president of the Northeast Knox Preservation Association, said agricultural was a broken zoning category once appropriate for farm communities. She said now the category allows neighborhoods to exist next to portable sawmills, demolition landfills and other incompatible uses.
The flash point for neighborhood opposition was a legal challenge in September by Robert Wilkerson, owner of the Outdoor Designs Professional Services landscaping company, against codes officials who said he could not operate out of his Beaver Creek Drive home.
Wilkerson said the proposed ordinance amendments would likely kill fledgling landscaping operations rather than separate them from the larger companies. He noted that the Knox County ordinance allows home occupations to keep two commercial vehicles and/or trailers on site, giving businesses a chance to get started, but once a business needs more equipment and materials, it will be hit with the order to move to a commercial property. MPC Deputy Director Buz Johnson confirmed this.
"There is a threshold and it would be those two commercial vehicles," he said.
Whether a person had exceeded that limit would be determined by a codes enforcement official, Johnson said.
"I think if the guy has just one or two people, this is not going to affect him," Wilkerson said. "But for the guy who has two or three, this might be too much. They cannot afford to go out and get a piece of commercial property," Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson said he filed a lawsuit in Knox County Circuit Court to block the county's challenges to his landscape operation through the state's Right to Farm laws but lost
County Commission has been mulling ordinance language to strike a balance between allowing small landscaping operations as home occupations but preventing large commercial landscaping companies in residential neighborhoods. The commission put together a Contractor Review Committee in July, which revised some amendments proposed by the Metropolitan Planning Commission and sent them back to MPC for a vote. MPC approved them unanimously Thursday.
No neighborhood representatives spoke then, but Grant Rosenberg, Knox County director of codes enforcement, urged MPC to approve the request.
"The most controversial use has been tackled," he said. "It's been taken off the table."
The committee had added landscaping companies to the definition of "contractor" and the provision dropped would have allowed contractors to store materials and equipment on property zoned agricultural. Now, these uses would be restricted to rural commercial and general business zones.
When MPC considered an earlier set of amendments in April, Lisa Starbuck, president of the Northeast Knox Preservation Association, said agricultural was a broken zoning category once appropriate for farm communities. She said now the category allows neighborhoods to exist next to portable sawmills, demolition landfills and other incompatible uses.
The flash point for neighborhood opposition was a legal challenge in September by Robert Wilkerson, owner of the Outdoor Designs Professional Services landscaping company, against codes officials who said he could not operate out of his Beaver Creek Drive home.
Wilkerson said the proposed ordinance amendments would likely kill fledgling landscaping operations rather than separate them from the larger companies. He noted that the Knox County ordinance allows home occupations to keep two commercial vehicles and/or trailers on site, giving businesses a chance to get started, but once a business needs more equipment and materials, it will be hit with the order to move to a commercial property. MPC Deputy Director Buz Johnson confirmed this.
"There is a threshold and it would be those two commercial vehicles," he said.
Whether a person had exceeded that limit would be determined by a codes enforcement official, Johnson said.
"I think if the guy has just one or two people, this is not going to affect him," Wilkerson said. "But for the guy who has two or three, this might be too much. They cannot afford to go out and get a piece of commercial property," Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson said he filed a lawsuit in Knox County Circuit Court to block the county's challenges to his landscape operation through the state's Right to Farm laws but lost
Companies Look To Cut Landscape Water Use
Chances are, you aren't a farmer. But your company still might be able to cut irrigation water use by reassessing watering around its facilities.
When it comes to watering landscapes, the title of one report posted on Irrigation.org sums up the problem: "Wednesday Is Not A Good Reason To Irrigate." Too many landscape sprinkler systems, from company campuses to apartment complexes to public parks, have automated timers that spray water based on the calendar and clock, not whether plants need it. Overwatering raises water bills, pollutes through excessive runoff, and damages structures such as sidew
Instead, emerging technology triggers landscape watering using information from sensors that measure soil moisture or calculations based on weather conditions, similar to systems more advanced farmers are using.
The technology isn't perfect, however. The Irrigation Technology Center at Texas A&&M University recently tested six manufacturers' smart controllers for landscape irrigation and found they all applied significantly more water than needed, says Guy Fipps, the center's director. Controllers that collected data at the watering site, from sensors or on-site weather stations, did better than those that relied on data pulled from regional weather stations. And Fipps is encouraged that four manufacturers contacted the Center about how to to improve controllers. "This is a new and emerging technology," he says. "You have to expect problems with new technologies." Also, even systems that watered more than necessary are better than manual systems, which tend to apply twice the water as necessary.
Companies aren't waiting for sensors to be perfect. Hydropoint, the venture capital-backed maker of WeatherTrak landscape irrigation systems, counts AMD, Coca-Cola, and Kohl's among its customers. Jack in the Box restaurants says it cut water use 47% with better water management, including WeatherTrak's system.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which provides a WaterSense certification to water-saving products such as low-flow showerheads, is working on specs for weather- and sensor-based landscape irrigation systems, believing they likely can hit the 20% water savings that the WaterSense label requires
When it comes to watering landscapes, the title of one report posted on Irrigation.org sums up the problem: "Wednesday Is Not A Good Reason To Irrigate." Too many landscape sprinkler systems, from company campuses to apartment complexes to public parks, have automated timers that spray water based on the calendar and clock, not whether plants need it. Overwatering raises water bills, pollutes through excessive runoff, and damages structures such as sidew
Instead, emerging technology triggers landscape watering using information from sensors that measure soil moisture or calculations based on weather conditions, similar to systems more advanced farmers are using.
The technology isn't perfect, however. The Irrigation Technology Center at Texas A&&M University recently tested six manufacturers' smart controllers for landscape irrigation and found they all applied significantly more water than needed, says Guy Fipps, the center's director. Controllers that collected data at the watering site, from sensors or on-site weather stations, did better than those that relied on data pulled from regional weather stations. And Fipps is encouraged that four manufacturers contacted the Center about how to to improve controllers. "This is a new and emerging technology," he says. "You have to expect problems with new technologies." Also, even systems that watered more than necessary are better than manual systems, which tend to apply twice the water as necessary.
Companies aren't waiting for sensors to be perfect. Hydropoint, the venture capital-backed maker of WeatherTrak landscape irrigation systems, counts AMD, Coca-Cola, and Kohl's among its customers. Jack in the Box restaurants says it cut water use 47% with better water management, including WeatherTrak's system.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which provides a WaterSense certification to water-saving products such as low-flow showerheads, is working on specs for weather- and sensor-based landscape irrigation systems, believing they likely can hit the 20% water savings that the WaterSense label requires
"Landscape Urbanism" and "Negative Approach Planning" - Exclusive Interview with Prof. Kongjian Yu
Peking University, Beijing, Nov. 11, 2009: During the 2009 China Landscape Architecture Education Conference & Landscape Architects Conference, PKU English News journalists Xiang Yunke and Han Yafei interviewed the Conference Chairman Professor. Kongjian Yu.
Prof. Kongjian Yu received his Doctor Design Degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1995. He joined the faculty of Urban and Regional Planning at Peking University and founded the Graduate School of Landscape Architecture at Peking University in 1997 and became its first Dean. He is also the founder and president of Turenscape, an internationally awarded landscape architecture and architecture firm, which is also among the first and largest private firms of its kind in China.
Yu——Kongjian Yu
PKU English News——PKU English News journalists
PKU English News: What is Landscape Urbanism?
Yu: Landscape Urbanism (LU) is arguably a new theory on urbanism and design, which has been discussed, promoted and popularized during the past ten years. The term LU was originally coined by Charles Waldheim, an architect and scholar of landscape design. And it was Mohsen Mostafavi, professor of architecture and his Association School of Architectural that spread the wave of landscape urbanism all over the world. Both of them are now professors at Harvard Graduate School of Design. The core argument of the Landscape Urbanism is that landscape, rather than architecture better defines urban forms and experiences pushing landscape architecture to the forefront of urban design.
PKU English News: Do you think Landscape Urbanism is a “new” theory or simply tricks of terminology?
Yu: yes and no.
For a long time, buildings defined urban forms and cities were designed as amplified buildings. Pipelines, road networks and paving materials composed a lifeless infrastructure, connecting to each lifeless building and defining people’s activities and the so-called urban and urbanism. The theory used for these cities and urban designs could be called Architecture Urbanism which was dominant in design institutes’ curricula and in built projects. The chaos and randomness of urban forms resulted from the ignorance of natural ecology, the illiberality of urban space system, and the contradictions and conflicts between cities and the natural environment. The cities were dominated by each single object, illustrated by Shanghai’s Pudong, and in recent years, Beijing and Dubai’s skylines have been crowded by a stack of landmarks. Architecture Urbanism was leading cities into a dead end.
At this background, landscape urbanism is inspiring. However, was the discovery of landscape as a generator of urban form by the architecture field really new? The answer is “not really.” The works of Frederick Law Olmsted, father of American landscape architecture, Charles Eliot, and In McHarg clearly exemplified this strategy many years ago. In Boston, Boston’s “Emerald Necklace” was used as the infrastructure for the urban form; Charles Eliot championed the metropolitan open space network of the Greater Boston area, organizing city planning around natural systems; and McHarg’s began a new phase of urban ecological planning when he coined “design with nature”. Each pioneer treated landscape as an infrastructure to define urban forms, and to meet people’s demands for recreation and living. This is the fundamental difference between landscape architecture and traditional gardening and garden designs. Those acquainted with the planning history of Chinese and other ancient cities will recall from the location to layout; these cities were developed based on natural terrain and landscape patterns. Classic examples of Chinese landscape cities are Hangzhou and the water system of Suzhou City. The famous Incan Empire and Machu Picchu Ruins in ancient South America were also based on natural landscape and human engineering was ingeniously combined with nature.
However, after McHarg, landscape architecture practitioners were infatuated with making a piece of work or a garden, indulging in the work of artists. The professors at the universities of North America are often interested in leading designers and their work, yet the true mission of landscape architecture and the territory defined by the pioneers of landscape architecture had been lost. Landscape Urbanism, like thunder, suddenly awakened landscape architecture: landscape is not a park, not a garden nor a street art; it is an urban infrastructure and more accurately it is urban ecological infrastructure, landscapes are processes rather than fixed forms. This is reactionary to the inveterate Architecture Urbanism, a sort of “negative planning” and “negative design” - it is where urban design should return.
Although its theory is far from mature and its argument needs more testing and practical evaluation, the unprecedented urbanization and urban construction in China will create the greatest opportunity and potentially make the greatest contribution to the development of Landscape Urbanism.
PKU English News: You are the very person who brought up “negative approach” to planning in China. How does this concept distinguish itself from the previous theory?
Yu: The conventional approach for economic centered urban development planning, failed to meet the challenges of swift urbanization and sustainability issues in China. The “negative approach” defines an urban growth pattern and urban form, through the identification and planning of Ecological Infrastructure, instead of reviewing through the projection of population and planning of civil infrastructure in the conventional approach. In this sense, the negative approach is exactly what landscape urbanism is about. I will say, the Negative Approach to urban planning is the Chinese version of Landscape Urbanism, and they were published almost at the same time but in very different situations. The Negative Approach has evolved from the pre-scientific model of Feng-shui as the backbone of human settlement, the 19th century notion of greenways as recreational infrastructure, the early 20th century idea of green belts as urban form makers, and the late 20th century notion of ecological networks and Ecological Infrastructure (EI) as a biological preservation framework.
EI is composed of critical landscape structure that are strategically identified and planned to safeguard the various natural, biological, cultural and recreational processes across the landscape, securing natural assets and ecosystems services, essential for sustaining human society. EI functions as an effective tool for smart growth in the context of rapid urbanization, and is planned ahead of time, anticipating the scale, context and configuration of future urban development patterns. EI is strategically planned and developed using less land but more efficiently preserving the ecosystems services.
PKU English News: Which can better identify your role, an educator or a landscape architect?
Yu: I will say, I am more at the education side. I start as a professor and will continue to be a professor. All my projects are educational, while at the same time, I run Turenscape as a school - Turenscape has been organized as a school and operated as a school, which creates an ideal platform of knowledge and educates young generation. We consider design as a research to solve multiple unban and environmental problems in China. Turenscape’s driving planning and design philosophy is based on sustainability. I have been fortunate that five of these projects that cover a wide range in scales have received awards by the ASLA.
The Red Ribbon - Minimum Intervention To Urban Greenway (2007 ASLA Design Honor Award) demonstrated to create a sustainable and enjoyable urban space with minimum impact on the natural processes. It was considered as “a celebration integrating artistic elements into a natural landscape in an ingenious way, very dramatic, yet highly functional. It's transformative and curative.”(Jury Comments).
The Floating Gardens - Yongning River Park (2006 ASLA Design Honor Award) demonstrated the alternative ecological approach to flood control, and to make friends with floods in steady of making enemy with the natural forces, “arresting architectural forms playing off natural vegetation create a sensory experience. Nice work!” (Jury comments).
The project “Urban Development Pattern of Taizhou Based On Ecological Infrastructure” (2005 ASLA Honor Award, Analysis and Planning) formulates an urban development planning strategy that is based on landscape ecological security patterns. “Analysis is very comprehensive… creates framework from which various architectural and landscape architecture forms can emerge… starts with ecological and environmental issues. (Jury Comments)
The Shenyang Architectural School Campus (2005 ASLA Design Honor Award) utilizes rice paddies to define the structure for the landscape design, as well as introducing a productive landscape in the urban environment. It is a demonstration of a method to deal with the tension between urban development and food production in today’s developing world. It is a “productive landscape and a beautiful landscape… this will put the students directly in touch with agriculture…. biggest stroke is to put test plots in the middle of campus.” (Jury comments)
The Zhongshan Shipyard Park (2002, ASLA Design Honor Award) is about re-using and recycling a brown field industrial site, a shipyard built during socialist China. “It reflects the remarkable 50-year history of socialist China, including the Cultural Revolution. The challenging setting included fluctuating water levels, remnant rust docks and machinery, and tree preservation, and concerns of flood control versus old trees protection.” (Jury Comments)
PKU English News: What do you think is the most valuable quality needed for landscape architecture students , and urban planning students?
Yu: Love the land and his people, and to be passionate are the most important qualities for the landscape and urban design students.
PKU English News: China is experiencing an unprecedented process of urbanization. What can landscape architects do to face the challenges as well as opportunities?
Yu: In a new era of multiple unprecedented challenges imposed by the processes of industrialization and urbanization, landscape architecture is now on the verge of change in China. It is time for this profession to take the great opportunity to position itself to play the key role in rebuilding a new Land of Peach Blossoms for a new society of urbanized, globalized and inter-connected people. In order to position itself for this sacred role, landscape architecture must define itself in terms of the art of survival, not as a descendent of gardening. The profession must re-value the vernacular of the land and the people, and lead the way in urban development by planning and designing an infrastructure of landscape and ecology, through which landscape can be created and preserved as a medium, and as the connecting link between the land, people and our spirits.
Prof. Kongjian Yu received his Doctor Design Degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1995. He joined the faculty of Urban and Regional Planning at Peking University and founded the Graduate School of Landscape Architecture at Peking University in 1997 and became its first Dean. He is also the founder and president of Turenscape, an internationally awarded landscape architecture and architecture firm, which is also among the first and largest private firms of its kind in China.
Yu——Kongjian Yu
PKU English News——PKU English News journalists
PKU English News: What is Landscape Urbanism?
Yu: Landscape Urbanism (LU) is arguably a new theory on urbanism and design, which has been discussed, promoted and popularized during the past ten years. The term LU was originally coined by Charles Waldheim, an architect and scholar of landscape design. And it was Mohsen Mostafavi, professor of architecture and his Association School of Architectural that spread the wave of landscape urbanism all over the world. Both of them are now professors at Harvard Graduate School of Design. The core argument of the Landscape Urbanism is that landscape, rather than architecture better defines urban forms and experiences pushing landscape architecture to the forefront of urban design.
PKU English News: Do you think Landscape Urbanism is a “new” theory or simply tricks of terminology?
Yu: yes and no.
For a long time, buildings defined urban forms and cities were designed as amplified buildings. Pipelines, road networks and paving materials composed a lifeless infrastructure, connecting to each lifeless building and defining people’s activities and the so-called urban and urbanism. The theory used for these cities and urban designs could be called Architecture Urbanism which was dominant in design institutes’ curricula and in built projects. The chaos and randomness of urban forms resulted from the ignorance of natural ecology, the illiberality of urban space system, and the contradictions and conflicts between cities and the natural environment. The cities were dominated by each single object, illustrated by Shanghai’s Pudong, and in recent years, Beijing and Dubai’s skylines have been crowded by a stack of landmarks. Architecture Urbanism was leading cities into a dead end.
At this background, landscape urbanism is inspiring. However, was the discovery of landscape as a generator of urban form by the architecture field really new? The answer is “not really.” The works of Frederick Law Olmsted, father of American landscape architecture, Charles Eliot, and In McHarg clearly exemplified this strategy many years ago. In Boston, Boston’s “Emerald Necklace” was used as the infrastructure for the urban form; Charles Eliot championed the metropolitan open space network of the Greater Boston area, organizing city planning around natural systems; and McHarg’s began a new phase of urban ecological planning when he coined “design with nature”. Each pioneer treated landscape as an infrastructure to define urban forms, and to meet people’s demands for recreation and living. This is the fundamental difference between landscape architecture and traditional gardening and garden designs. Those acquainted with the planning history of Chinese and other ancient cities will recall from the location to layout; these cities were developed based on natural terrain and landscape patterns. Classic examples of Chinese landscape cities are Hangzhou and the water system of Suzhou City. The famous Incan Empire and Machu Picchu Ruins in ancient South America were also based on natural landscape and human engineering was ingeniously combined with nature.
However, after McHarg, landscape architecture practitioners were infatuated with making a piece of work or a garden, indulging in the work of artists. The professors at the universities of North America are often interested in leading designers and their work, yet the true mission of landscape architecture and the territory defined by the pioneers of landscape architecture had been lost. Landscape Urbanism, like thunder, suddenly awakened landscape architecture: landscape is not a park, not a garden nor a street art; it is an urban infrastructure and more accurately it is urban ecological infrastructure, landscapes are processes rather than fixed forms. This is reactionary to the inveterate Architecture Urbanism, a sort of “negative planning” and “negative design” - it is where urban design should return.
Although its theory is far from mature and its argument needs more testing and practical evaluation, the unprecedented urbanization and urban construction in China will create the greatest opportunity and potentially make the greatest contribution to the development of Landscape Urbanism.
PKU English News: You are the very person who brought up “negative approach” to planning in China. How does this concept distinguish itself from the previous theory?
Yu: The conventional approach for economic centered urban development planning, failed to meet the challenges of swift urbanization and sustainability issues in China. The “negative approach” defines an urban growth pattern and urban form, through the identification and planning of Ecological Infrastructure, instead of reviewing through the projection of population and planning of civil infrastructure in the conventional approach. In this sense, the negative approach is exactly what landscape urbanism is about. I will say, the Negative Approach to urban planning is the Chinese version of Landscape Urbanism, and they were published almost at the same time but in very different situations. The Negative Approach has evolved from the pre-scientific model of Feng-shui as the backbone of human settlement, the 19th century notion of greenways as recreational infrastructure, the early 20th century idea of green belts as urban form makers, and the late 20th century notion of ecological networks and Ecological Infrastructure (EI) as a biological preservation framework.
EI is composed of critical landscape structure that are strategically identified and planned to safeguard the various natural, biological, cultural and recreational processes across the landscape, securing natural assets and ecosystems services, essential for sustaining human society. EI functions as an effective tool for smart growth in the context of rapid urbanization, and is planned ahead of time, anticipating the scale, context and configuration of future urban development patterns. EI is strategically planned and developed using less land but more efficiently preserving the ecosystems services.
PKU English News: Which can better identify your role, an educator or a landscape architect?
Yu: I will say, I am more at the education side. I start as a professor and will continue to be a professor. All my projects are educational, while at the same time, I run Turenscape as a school - Turenscape has been organized as a school and operated as a school, which creates an ideal platform of knowledge and educates young generation. We consider design as a research to solve multiple unban and environmental problems in China. Turenscape’s driving planning and design philosophy is based on sustainability. I have been fortunate that five of these projects that cover a wide range in scales have received awards by the ASLA.
The Red Ribbon - Minimum Intervention To Urban Greenway (2007 ASLA Design Honor Award) demonstrated to create a sustainable and enjoyable urban space with minimum impact on the natural processes. It was considered as “a celebration integrating artistic elements into a natural landscape in an ingenious way, very dramatic, yet highly functional. It's transformative and curative.”(Jury Comments).
The Floating Gardens - Yongning River Park (2006 ASLA Design Honor Award) demonstrated the alternative ecological approach to flood control, and to make friends with floods in steady of making enemy with the natural forces, “arresting architectural forms playing off natural vegetation create a sensory experience. Nice work!” (Jury comments).
The project “Urban Development Pattern of Taizhou Based On Ecological Infrastructure” (2005 ASLA Honor Award, Analysis and Planning) formulates an urban development planning strategy that is based on landscape ecological security patterns. “Analysis is very comprehensive… creates framework from which various architectural and landscape architecture forms can emerge… starts with ecological and environmental issues. (Jury Comments)
The Shenyang Architectural School Campus (2005 ASLA Design Honor Award) utilizes rice paddies to define the structure for the landscape design, as well as introducing a productive landscape in the urban environment. It is a demonstration of a method to deal with the tension between urban development and food production in today’s developing world. It is a “productive landscape and a beautiful landscape… this will put the students directly in touch with agriculture…. biggest stroke is to put test plots in the middle of campus.” (Jury comments)
The Zhongshan Shipyard Park (2002, ASLA Design Honor Award) is about re-using and recycling a brown field industrial site, a shipyard built during socialist China. “It reflects the remarkable 50-year history of socialist China, including the Cultural Revolution. The challenging setting included fluctuating water levels, remnant rust docks and machinery, and tree preservation, and concerns of flood control versus old trees protection.” (Jury Comments)
PKU English News: What do you think is the most valuable quality needed for landscape architecture students , and urban planning students?
Yu: Love the land and his people, and to be passionate are the most important qualities for the landscape and urban design students.
PKU English News: China is experiencing an unprecedented process of urbanization. What can landscape architects do to face the challenges as well as opportunities?
Yu: In a new era of multiple unprecedented challenges imposed by the processes of industrialization and urbanization, landscape architecture is now on the verge of change in China. It is time for this profession to take the great opportunity to position itself to play the key role in rebuilding a new Land of Peach Blossoms for a new society of urbanized, globalized and inter-connected people. In order to position itself for this sacred role, landscape architecture must define itself in terms of the art of survival, not as a descendent of gardening. The profession must re-value the vernacular of the land and the people, and lead the way in urban development by planning and designing an infrastructure of landscape and ecology, through which landscape can be created and preserved as a medium, and as the connecting link between the land, people and our spirits.
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