The design process is very fascinating. Many of you may have read my previous blogs on design preparedness and process and you have decided to learn more. Well here is my list of top design books to help you go deeper into design. This list is by no means exhaustive and if you have more you’d like to share please post them in the comments area.
Over the many years that I have been designing residential properties in the Austin, Texas area, I have often encountered yards (mostly back yards) completely destroyed bythe family pet.
In many cases the owners did not seem to care about the condition of the yard; they were happy as long as long as ‘Mr. Scruffy’ had a place to run around in and a place to ‘do his business’.
For the past few months a group of “20 somethings” have been pondering a blank field on the corner of 45th and Lamar in Austin, Texas. Eager to help out the families that utilize the Austin Child Guidance Center, these young women developed a design to install a therapeutic garden of native plants and materials. Headed up by Sarah Jones, LMSW, a therapist at the Center, and accompanied by other employees, over the course of the summer, the garden project was organized.
My permaculture teacher contacted me about offering up my design services, which I was delighted to do. In June I met with Sarah, Tracy Tanner, and Grayson Hoffman, and off we went dreaming up arbors, council circles, mazes, veggie gardens, and outdoor classrooms. After a few meetings, countless emails, and tons of fun we had a final design and a plan of action.
Thanks to the Keep Austin Beautiful program, trees and soil were donated and a grant was awarded to the Children’s Healing Garden at the Austin Child Guidance Center. With the help of William Thompson of TexFlora Nursery, plants and material for stone edging was found. Most of the plants were donated by Native Texas Nursery. Victor Vinson Trucking donated gravel and boulders.
For years, row agriculture has been the norm when it comes to providing for our daily bread. The plow is not agile, making straight, indefinite lines lines work easy and straight lines of seeds could be laid quickly making back breaking work just a bit less painful. Since the inception of this farming format few people have questioned if this is truly the most effective way.
We know what you're thinking: seriously, a post about gravel? Yep, a post about one of the most aesthetically pleasing and cost-effective substrates we use in our residential landscape design.
Gravel is an attractive material that can be employed in the residential landscape for various aesthetic and functional reasons.
Compost ("composting") is a fascinating science that is gaining attention. It is the oldest process for replenishing soils, once again growing in popularity as people return to farming the land – whether on a commercial scale or a small square foot garden plot in an urban backyard. Many people, though curious, are intimidated by the process. They have misconceptions about compost always being a steaming, smelling, unsightly pile of rotting manure. This can be true for certain kinds of composting but for the home garden there is a much more attractive way to create healthy organic material, which is essential to healthy soil structure.
Last March, a group of 20 people stood around a series of wood bins all lined up against a fence in north east Austin. Near the bins laid piles of dead leaves, boxes of kitchen scraps, and heaps of dead plant materials. Each bin represented a different phase of one of nature’s best practices – compost.
In concert with the Homebuilders Association of Greater Austin and Cool River Custom Homes, we are very pleased to present our residential green and sustainable landscape design and architecture contribution to Mueller Austin. Why Austin? In spite of Parade of Homes cancellations across the country, local homebuilders' and real estate professionals' "never say die" attitude made the 2009 Austin Parade of Homes one of the best in recent memory. The same attitude continues to fuel the engine that drives Austin and make it the best community to live, work, and play.
For more information on Mueller Austin, generally, and the neighborhood's over 140 acres of environmentally conscious green space, visit the development's extensive site, or point your browser to Keller Williams' Garreth Willcock's excellent blog that covers Mueller Austin, Central and East Austin development and redevelopment.
For the past few months a group of “20 somethings” have been pondering a blank field on the corner of 45th and Lamar in Austin, Texas. Eager to help out the families that utilize the 
