The Environmental and Economic Benefits of Good Design

The many challenges of the design professional have become even more evident as our clients environmental awareness changes and becomes much more enhanced. Yet our client is still looking for great value in these tough economic times. While it may have been commonplace for the design professional to emphasize the benefits of good environmental design to the client in years past, this is not as necessary true anymore because it is the client that is now insisting in responsible environmental design.

Educated clients are investing in their property much more carefully than before because of economic impact and yet considering the environment in what they want in their landscape like never before. It goes without saying that it is essential for the landscape design professional to know their client’s concerns for the environment and their desires for their overall landscape more than ever before.

Of course good design has always offered both environmental and economic benefits so as design professionals we should welcome these added challenges. From the strategic placement of shade trees and evergreens, which benefits the client in reducing energy costs, to the efficient use of irrigation in reducing water use, it seems that the client is becoming vitally aware of many aspects of the design of good design. If we as design professionals don’t know the positive benefits of what we do, it is a now a good bet that many of our prospective clients do, so it is vital we communicate effectively with them regarding what we do.

Case in point, I actually at one time prided myself on telling potential clients, “I don’t promise I can save my clients money.” Whew, what a dummy I can be sometime! Needless to say, I don’t make this foolish statement anymore. In fact I am not shy anymore in expressing to my potential clients that I can provide a landscape design that can eventually save with both energy and water consumption. A well-designed landscape will work well with environment, not against it, and this will obviously result in less energy and water consumption as well as lower maintenance costs.

The attitudes and desires of the landscape design client are shifting. Educated clients regarding the environmental impact and economic concerns for their project can make good landscape design a priority for them. The client may not always directly see the potential benefit initially of a perceived benefit but explained in detail and properly and the client is much more likely to embrace what is being offered.

The client’s level of concern for environmental and economic issues is indeed changing, yet this can only be seen as a positive for our industry in the years to come. In positioning our services and expertise to enhance both the environmental and economic concerns of our clients our industry and our business reputation can only increase.

My Favorite Plant

The Desert Bird-of-Paradise, or Yellow Bird-of-Paradise as it is sometimes called - Caesalpinia gilliesii has got to be my hands down favorite plant to use in the landscapes I design. I mean, if I could get away with it I'd love to use this plant in every landscape I design! Ah, but sadly this is neither practical nor desired in a number of cases.

One thing I certainly appreciate about the Desert Bird-of-Paradise is the versatility that this plant offers. Left alone to grow on it's own without any care or pruning and she can become a wonderful natural screen, growing easily to 6 to 10 feet in height and spread. Desert Bird-of-Paradise can work quite well in many various design styles such as Mediterranean, Southwestern, Asian or even tropical due to it's exotic look. For the gardener that enjoys taking care of the plants in their garden there are definitely certain rewards in taking care of the Desert Bird-of-Paradise. It takes bloom pruning effortlessly and in fact, just like any Rose bush, the more it is pruned the more blooms it will produce. It's extremely cold hardy to 5°F and even lower in some areas where is can be protected.

Desert Bird-of-Paradise is extremely attractive to, and sought after by hummingbirds; so much so that I have seen hummingbirds fight each other over them! So if you are a lover of hummingbirds in the garden (and who isn't?) then you'd enjoy having these in your landscape.

But the most delightful reason to have the Desert Bird-of-Paradise in your landscape is the obvious benefit in water use as this plant is extremely drought resistant, and very heat tolerant. In fact there is absolutely no need to provide this plant with ANY direct irrigation - none! Desert Bird-of-Paradise is a welcome addition to any xeric garden and has a high tolerance for saline and alkaline soils. So in short there seems to be very few negatives and a tremendous number of positives regarding the Desert Bird-of-Paradise.

Americans Could Use Better Landscape Advice

The following is from an article that appeared on Landscape Online.com.

Home gardeners and do-it-yourselfer's in the U.S. get most landscaping advice from neighbors and friends—instead of from more authoritative sources, says a University of Minnesota study this month. The finding suggests that most Americans could use more help from landscape architects, contractors and tree professionals.

University extension services are perceived as more credible than friends and neighbors, but need to be more convenient, the study also found.

An Information Gap

Staff at University of Minnesota Extension has published results of a survey that concludes that the majority of backyard gardeners get their planting and plant information informally—most often from friends, neighbors and local garden centers.The survey of 1,000 Minnesota gardeners published in the January–March, 2008 issue of HortTechnology showed that although respondents viewed the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum as more credible than garden centers, 78% of respondents indicated that they were most likely to turn to neighbors and friends for gardening advice.

Dr. Mary Hockenberry Meyer, Professor of Horticultural Science and Extension Horticulturist at UM Extension, explained, “We wanted to determine where gardeners got their information and if they think university information is of higher quality than information from garden centers or home centers. We found that university information is viewed as higher quality; however, a large number of people indicated they “did not know” the quality of university information, which surprised us.”

''Talking with Friends''

The survey also indicated that gardeners’ age determined the most likely sources for information seeking. Older gardeners were less likely to use the Internet than younger gardeners. When asked “How do you learn best?,” most respondents said that they had not attended a gardening class in the past year and indicated they learn best from talking with friends. Access to publications containing color photos and illustrations was also highly valued by gardeners who responded to the survey.

According to Dr. Meyer, the information from the Minnesota survey can be useful to other universities, extension programs, and arboreta dedicated to providing relevant resources for gardeners. She stated, “Participants in this survey indicated they look for convenient sources of gardening information and, although many felt the land-grant university and arboretum were highly credible and knowledgeable, they were still more likely to use other sources for their gardening information. This poses a challenge to universities and arboreta to use new ways to reach gardeners.”

The complete study is available (for a fee) on the ASHS HortTechnology electronic journal web site: horttech.ashspublications.org