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Bobcat Introduces TL623 Telehandler
Jessica Schwartz
The Highs & Lows Of Rooftop Landscaping Projects
For decades, big cities worldwide have implemented initiatives to increase the amount of green space within their concrete-laden streets. And the reasoning makes perfect sense: Living trees, plants, and flower and vegetable gardens add a sense of vibrancy and warmth to cold, urban environments—their healing and rejuvenating qualities can highly benefit city dwellers—while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and purifying the smoggy air found in densely populated areas. Since available ground space to cultivate these green spaces is nearly impossible to come by in bustling cities, many commercial building owners have looked up for an alternative solution. Once an underutilized piece of real estate, rooftops are now being used for community gardens, outdoor lounges, and verdant areas that tenants can escape to when they need a break from their stuffy offices or apartments—an especially important quality in the COVID era. This rooftop landscaping trend has even carried to privately owned residential properties in metro areas. Senior Landscape Architect Dan DeGrush of Lifescape Colorado—a landscape design, construction, and property care company based in Denver—says more homeowners are following in the footsteps of commercial buildings in downtown areas and converting their rooftops into green spaces to make the most of their property’s limited square footage. “We’ve seen some rooftop gardens outside the city, but by and large, they’re in the metro areas where space is at a premium,” he says. “As Denver grows at a rapid pace, there is less room for development. Yard sizes are decreasing, so creating an outdoor ...
Longwood Gardens Transforming Renowned Conservatory Grounds
In Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley, Longwood Gardens has unveiled plans for a sweeping transformation of its core area of conservatory gardens. The $250 million project is the most ambitious revitalization in a century of one of America’s greatest centers for horticultural display. Adding new plantings and buildings across 17 acres, Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience will expand the public spaces of the renowned central grounds and connect them from east to west, offering a newly unified but continually varied journey from lush formal gardens to views over open meadows. The project originates from a master plan developed in 2010 by West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture with WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism. Longwood has continued working with WEISS/MANFREDI as lead designer, in collaboration with Reed Hilderbrand, on Longwood Reimagined, which continues the institution’s history of commissioning and collecting outstanding garden designs and glasshouses. The project will be managed by Bancroft Construction Company, based in Wilmington, DE. In keeping with Longwood’s tradition of blending fountain gardens and horticultural display, the centerpiece and largest single element of Longwood Reimagined is the creation of a new 32,000-square-foot glasshouse, designed by WEISS/MANFREDI, with gardens and pools designed by Reed Hilderbrand. This new West Conservatory with its asymmetrical, crystalline peaks seems to float on a pool of water, while the garden inside, inspired by the wild and cultivated landscapes of the Mediterranean, is conceived as seasonally changing islands set amid pools, canals, and low fountains. In the tapestry-like garden design, iconic plants of this ecology such ...
Get Equipped: Water Features
Take a look at this assortment of water features that can add value and beauty to your professional lawn care and landscaping services. Outdoor Fire & Water™ Spillways From Trex® Trex Outdoor Fire & Water spillways are both purposeful and decorative and will add a whole new level of elegant design to a backyard environment. Constructed from premium grade copper or stainless steel, Trex Outdoor Fire & Water spillways are fully welded and polished for optimal performance and aesthetics. They won’t warp, cave, or bend and feature expertly engineered baffles to ensure water flows smoothly without clogging, corroding, or leaving calcium build-up on surrounding surfaces. Contractors can integrate the spillways into walls and garden structures or use them for spillover applications. Trex Outdoor Fire & Water spillways are available in Smooth Flow, Radius, U-Shape, Wall Mounted Bowl, and Cannon options to create different looks and water patterns. The spillways also can be made in custom sizes or to fit concave or convex radius walls. Nanobubble Generators From Moleaer Is your client’s pond or lake plagued with blue-green and filamentous algae? An alternative to traditional chemical (algaecides and alum) and aeration methods, Moleaer’s clear nanobubble generators work by injecting trillions of oxygen-rich nanobubbles into water. These nanobubbles, 2500 times smaller than a grain of salt, dissolve nearly all their oxygen evenly throughout a body of water irrespective of depth, and penetrate the muck layer. They provide a chemical-free oxidant capable of destroying algae cells and toxins, reducing biofilm growth, and suppressing ...
Living Shorelines: A Way To Help Combat Hurricane Season?
As we enter the 2020 hurricane season, landscapers who work in areas with large coastlines know potential storm damage is about more than just fallen trees and debris. Flooding and erosion can cause some of the costliest and irreparable destruction to a property. Even without a storm event, the progressive erosion of a coastline by wave action over years can be just as damaging. To complicate matters further, coastal sea levels in the U.S. are rising—and at an accelerating rate, according to a “report card” released this past February by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The U.S.’s most visited national park, the National Mall Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, is just one example of how rising tidewaters are submerging walkways, eroding soil, and damaging the roots of DC’s famed cherry trees. Traditionally, bulkheads have been installed to protect a property from water encroachment. Given the cost and materials, many property owners expect bulkheads to protect their shoreline indefinitely. However, even in the best of cases, bulkheads often completely fail after twenty or thirty years. They can begin to lose sediment from behind the bulkhead even sooner and cause erosion on neighboring properties. And ultimately, even a weak hurricane can demolish a brand new bulkhead. Another thing many may not realize is that once a bulkhead is installed, the intertidal zone (the land between high and low tide) is often eliminated. By losing this zone, an important habitat for fish and other wildlife disappears, water quality ...
Trex Introduces Outdoor Fire & Water Collection
Trex Company announces the launch of Trex® Outdoor Fire & Water™, a collection of stylish and durable outdoor fire features, decorative planters, and water elements. “Trex Outdoor Fire & Water is a natural extension of our ever-expanding product portfolio,” said Adam Zambanini, president of Trex residential products. “The pieces in this new collection are ideal complements to our high-performance decking and lend ambiance and style to create an ultimate outdoor oasis.” The new Outdoor Fire & Water collection delivers the aesthetics, durability, and low-maintenance benefits that the industry has come to expect from the No. 1 brand of decking in the world. The collection is comprised of fire pots, fire tables, planters, water spillways, and water bowls – all made with heavy-grade copper and stainless steel manufactured in the US by skilled artisans. Fire Pots and Fire Tables Available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and finishes, Trex Outdoor Fire & Water fire pots and fire tables offer modern design accessories sure to add a touch of drama to any outdoor space. The versatile fire pots can be positioned almost anywhere to create a cozy gathering spot. When combined in a series, they provide an ambient boundary for larger outdoor areas. For even greater visual and aesthetic impact, the heirloom quality fire tables serve as ideal focal points and take an outdoor space to a new level. All Trex Outdoor Fire & Water fire pots and tables feature a unique burner design that creates a larger, fuller, and more natural-looking ...
Living Shorelines: New Opportunities For Landscapers
An interesting sea change is taking place regarding shorelines and it could be a growth area for ecologically-minded landscapers. Last week, the House passed legislation authored by Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) to help protect coastal communities from sea level rise and stronger storms. The Living Shorelines Act would create a federal grant program through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) to assist states, localities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in constructing living shorelines. Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have introduced the companion bill in the Senate. What Is A Living Shoreline? Living shorelines are a green infrastructure technique using native plants (marsh grasses, etc) with either a natural or engineered means (such as oyster beds, stones, dunes, etc) of breaking up wave energy to create and allow for the natural flood resilience of a healthy, growing shoreline ecosystem. Hard shorelines, on the other hand, such as seawalls or bulkheads, deflect wave energy. Research indicates that living shorelines are more resilient than bulkheads in protecting against the effects of hurricanes, according to NOAA. They also enhance ecosystem functions, which can improve water quality and wildlife habitat protection, say experts. The Living Shorelines Act passed as part of a package of bills included in H.R. 729, the Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act, and has the support of the American Society for Landscape Architects. The legislation provides $50 million in federal funds that would be matched by state and local governments and NGOs applying for grants and ...
Reducing Water Needs At A Desert Property
In Arizona, a program to replace the green grass turf with native desert landscape around Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is anticipated to save $400,000 annually in labor and materials as well as millions of gallons of water. The airport has embraced the xeriscape approach—a landscaping method developed for arid and semi-arid climates that utilizes water conserving techniques (such as the use of drought tolerant plants, mulch, and efficient irrigation). This turf replacement and landscaping project, completed in June 2019, is a step toward a more sustainable future for the airport—and the city. This region is known for its dryness and intense summer heat, which puts a premium on water. This means water conservation is essential for the Phoenix metropolitan area’s long-term sustainability. Water consumption at Sky Harbor airport averages 30 million gallons per month, necessitating such conservation efforts like the use of low-irrigation xeriscape. Removing all grass turf (that demands high water consumption) from airport grounds is expected to dramatically reduce water usage, by 5.375 million gallons per year. Replacing the grass (that also required high maintenance as well as water) is suitable desert scenery that includes the following: 435 new low-water-use trees 75 saguaros (type of cactus), 61 of which were salvaged from the areas where turf was removed 275 large signature cacti (ocotillo, senita, totem pole, Mexican fence post, organ pipe, and Argentine toothpick); About 2,900 accent plants and shrubs These succulents and drought tolerant plants are hallmarks of the desert. But, meanwhile another new landscape feature ...
Massachusetts Woman Dies Of Eastern Equine Encephalitis
In late August, a Massachusetts woman died of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). Three other human cases have been reported in the state this year, the first since 2013, according to the Massachusetts Department of Health (MDPH). Additionally, a goat and three horses have also tested positive for EEE. Massachusetts experiences an outbreak once in a decade or two, with each outbreak lasting two to three years, according to MDPH. Nine cases were reported between 2010 and 2012, during which four people died, and 13 cases were reported between 2004 and 2006. Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a rare but serious disease caused by a virus generally spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. EEE can cause flu-like symptoms or brain infections. Approximately a third of all people with EEE die from the disease. In total across Massachusetts, there are 24 communities now at critical risk, 24 at high risk, and 55 at moderate risk for the EEE virus. (See map.)“Although cooler weather will start to reduce mosquito populations, the season is not over yet,” said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH. “We are urging people across the state to remember that the peak time for transmission of mosquito-borne illness extends through September here in Massachusetts.” In the U.S., an average of seven human cases of EEE are reported annually, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Most cases of EEE have been reported from Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina. EEEV transmission is most ...
Reviving A River With Landscape Design
There’s something about moose being one of the bigger challenges of a project that signals this isn’t an average landscape job. And, the Blue River Habit and Restoration project carried out in 2017 in Colorado certainly was not ordinary. Skiers likely recognize Breckenridge, CO for its world-class peaks, but what the snow covers in the winter doesn’t necessarily look quite as glorious come spring. Located just west of the Continental Divide, this area was originally settled by miners who stripped the land and left piles of rocky waste in their path. Work has been ongoing for more than two decades to clean up the rubble and improve fishing along the Blue River, which drains the area and provides drinking water for the Denver metro area. In fact, the 2017 version of the river restoration project earned a silver award for the Eagle, CO office of Rocky Mountain Custom Landscapes, Inc. This award was part of the 2018 Awards of Excellence (ACE) for the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP). Brian Wells, Rocky Mountain Custom Landscapes’ construction manager for that segment of the project, says the goal was to create a natural park setting where people can hike along the Blue River north of the Breckenridge central business area and restore a stretch of the river along Coyne Valley Road and Colorado Highway 9. “We were recommended by (Denver-based) DHM Design, who did the overall design,” says Wells. “We had done some work with them over in the Aspen area. It ...
Innovations In Lake Management
By Shannon Junior Herbicides and algaecides have traditionally been used to maintain balanced ecosystems in lakes and ponds—but wouldn’t it be exciting if there was a new technology or process that could totally revolutionize the way we approach environmental problems around our lawns and golf courses? Industry leaders have long understood that proactive, holistic management strategies are the key to achieve long-term balance in our aquatic environments; however, our toolbox of sustainable solutions has not always grown at the same pace as our knowledge. That’s why we are so excited about recent advances in aquatic habitat restoration. EPA-registered herbicides and algaecides are generally only used as a last resort solution—but sometimes they are necessary and valuable tools. Just as you might take an antibiotic to recover from an infection, pesticides help your waterbody recover from nuisance and sometimes harmful aquatic weed infestations. Now, new herbicide technologies are optimizing the safe eradication of undesirable plant species with very limited impact on native vegetation, wildlife or recreational activity. These highly-targeted herbicides combine the best features of traditional options to target the unique growth processes in undesirable aquatic weeds and achieve more selective and long-lasting vegetation control. Thanks to their favorable environmental profile, they require 100-1000x lower use rates than traditional herbicides and have been designated by the EPA as a “Reduced Risk” solution that is virtually non-toxic to humans, pets and wildlife. Reduced Risk herbicides can be highly successful for the management of many species ...
