Swimming Pool Restoration As Not As Extensive As Swimming Pool Renovation
October 24, 2009 by Lawn Care · Leave a Comment
Lawns in the Landscape
April 27, 2009 by Lawn Care · Leave a Comment
Part of the award-winning A. C. Burke & Company instructional DVD series, Lawns in the Landscape shows you how to design, install and maintain a beautiful lawn. This program was created not only for students and employees, but also for gardening enthusiasts who want to learn more about residential landscaping.
Widely used in the classroom to illustrate landscaping and horticulture concepts, it is divided into concise, easy-to-understand segments and was reviewed by a panel of teachers for accuracy. Lawns in the Landscape
shows you:
* The history of lawns
* Advantages and disadvantages of lawns
* Common types of turfgrass
* Lawn design and selection criteria
* How to prepare a lawn planting area
* How to install a lawn by seed
* How to install a lawn by sod
* Basic lawn maintenance requirements.
Your host, Don Marquardt, ASLA, has taught Landscape Architecture Professional Certificate Courses at UCLA Extension for twenty-seven years. A printed glossary of landscaping terms is included. Other programs in this series cover landscape design, plant selection and installation, perennial gardening, and plant propagation techniques.
Winner of these awards: Aegis Award, Telly Award, Communicator Award of Distinction.
“…Whether you use seed or sod, plant in the sun or shade, live in a warm or cold climate, your lawn needs are reviewed and clearly explained…recommended…” Library Journal. “Well organized…informative program…” Booklist
Landscape Plant Selection Soil Preparation and Planting
April 27, 2009 by Lawn Care · Leave a Comment
Landscape Plant Selection Soil Preparation and Planting
Part of the award-winning A. C. Burke & Company instructional DVD series, Landscape Plant Selection, Soil Preparation & Planting shows you how to select and install plants in your garden. This program was created not only for students and employees, but also for gardening enthusiasts who want to learn more about residential landscaping.
Widely used in the classroom to illustrate landscaping and horticulture concepts, it is divided into concise, easy-to-understand segments and was reviewed by a panel of teachers for accuracy. Landscape Plant
Selection, Soil Preparation & Planting introduces you to:
* The landscape design process
* Basic plant selection criteria
* Plant color concepts
* Common design mistakes
* How to develop a planting design
* Different categories of plants
* Soil preparation concepts
* How to install plants in your garden.
Your host, Don Marquardt, ASLA, has taught Landscape Architecture Professional Certificate Courses at UCLA Extension for twenty-seven years. A printed glossary of landscaping terms is included. Other programs in this series cover landscape design, lawn installation, perennial gardening, and plant propagation techniques.
Winner of these awards: Aegis Award, Telly Award, Communicator Award of Distinction.
“…an outstanding, no-nonsense introduction to planning and planting the home landscape… Highly recommended.” Library Journal
Sustainable Landscaping For Dummies For Dummies Home and Garden
April 27, 2009 by Lawn Care · Leave a Comment
Sustainable Landscaping For Dummies For Dummies Home and Garden
Sustainable Landscaping For Dummies provides hands-on, how-to instruction for realizing the benefits of a sustainable landscape, from selecting sutainable hardscape materials to installing a rain-water catchment system to choosing native plants.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Practical Advice — Start to Finish
I recently bought this book in preparation for a number of landscaping projects around the house this spring and summer. I’ve found the guide to be extremely thorough and helpful. It has shown me how to take small steps that add up to making my yard more sustainable and healthy for the family. Included are a number of ready-to-be-implmented, professional quality landscape plans.
5 Stars Very Timely Advice
A much needed timely volume of practical advice for those on both professional and homeowner levels in the landscape development business. -A must have source for tips that we should all be implementing immediately to mitigate the climate crisis on our personal level!
5 Stars It’s About Time
Owen Dell is the individual most responsible for the way that I look at landscape, design and my footprint in general. Owen is an amazing speaker, part time tv geek and landscape guru. You can now add entertaing author to the resume. This is a book that will make you look at the art of landscaping in a way that keeps us in tune with dear ol’ mom. (Mother Earth that is) In simple easy to understand language, you can be a pro (Or just design like one) in no time. You will learn how to work with nature and our limited resources while having a positive impact on the environment. As with most ‘Dummies’ books, you can skip around to find areas of interest but I found it hard to put the book down once I started. Written with a true talent to entertain and keep the reader interested, I applaud Mr Dell and his commitment to the future of our natural resources.
5 Stars Zany, wacky, chock fulla’ good stuff!
I completely understand why the subject of sustainable landscaping isn’t splashed over the media. Unlike Madonna’s marital status or how much Paris Hilton’s new dog cost, it’s not something the general populace craves. No one is braving water cannons to protest people who wash down driveways. And who’s losing sleep over the out-of-control non-native plants that gradually displacing native vegetation in the wild?
Well, if there’s one person who ignites people’s passions about sustainable landscaping, it’s Owen Dell. [Required Disclosure - Owen and I are buddies and co-hosts of a sustainable landscaping TV show. We've also spent countless Wednesday nights in our "Billy and Owen Take Over The World" sessions, plotting how to proselytize the masses and convince them to come into the light of sustainable landscaping. So, I might be a bit prejudiced in this review. But he's a mensch and really does deserve the mounds of praise I'm about to bury him in.]
I think Owen’s book is very important. It needs to be read, embraced and acted upon by many, many people. Is there any better way to reach the knowledge-hungry masses than with one of those books with the black and yellow cover, and the iconic image of a strange guy with a buzz cut and triangular head? I’m talking about “Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies.”
What I’ve always liked about Dummies books is that they’re written by and for really smart people (or those who are about to be much smarter for having read the book). Their authors anticipate what a reader needs to know and gives it to them in a delightful package with all the fat trimmed off. That’s just what Owen did in this book.
The blurb at the publisher’s website (Wiley Publishing, Inc) briefly describes the content as a “hands-on, how-to instruction for realizing the benefits of a sustainable landscape, from selecting sustainable hardscape materials to installing a rain-water catchment system to choosing native plants.” I’m not sure this rather flat description alone will get people on their feet and into the street, so let me expand just a tad.
The book starts by making sure we know how the word “sustainable” fits with landscaping. It’s patently simple, Owen tells us–strive for a garden that acts as a natural system, needing little help from you once it’s up and running. By the time you’re done with this section of the book you’ll smack your forehead and mutter “of course” because he makes it seem so obvious.
Onward the author forges, praising the virtues of good design, working safely, and throwing in some tricks the pros use. There’s a strong emphasis on managing water, the most precious resource for me, located here in southern California. But climate change is demonstrating that water shortages aren’t just about the southwestern states, so all pay heed. Owen also tackles the complex subject of hardscape (all the stuff in a landscape that isn’t plants), showing how elegant spaces can be created with earth-friendly materials and by pulling discarded materials from waste stream and put it back to use.
Of course there’s lots of information about plants starting with the fundamental idea that plants aren’t just for decoration–they can DO something, like provide habitat for birds, reduce energy consumption and feed your family. The greenery section even zooms in on ways to make container gardening more sustainable.
I could go on, but I’m running out of space–just get the book.
Billy Goodnick
Landscape Architect
[...]
Landscaping Your Home Creative Ideas from Americas Best Gardeners Fine Gardening Design Guides
April 27, 2009 by Lawn Care · Leave a Comment
Landscaping Your Home Creative Ideas from Americas Best Gardeners Fine Gardening Design Guides
Curb appeal is by now a commonly used term for the process of beautifying the front yard or entranceway of a home. Creative landscaping concepts generally enhance the overall property, so backyards are given equal time in Landscaping Your Home, which offers fundamental advice on creating a landscape design from scratch. This collection of useful and enjoyable articles by expert gardeners includes plenty of how-to information–from measuring and drawing the basic layout, to matching one’s house with an appropriate design scheme, and creating important focal points. Alice Joyce
Copyright
Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan
April 27, 2009 by Lawn Care · Leave a Comment
Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan
Sunday Oakland Press (Pontiac, MI), April 23, 2006
“It’s a treasure for the backyard gardener with an eye on keeping Michigan green.”
Westland Observer, Feb. 8, 2007
“This beautifully illustrated guide to gardening in Michigan describes the state’s native plants, explains how to grow them successfully, and gives tips and advice on solving common garden issues.”
Michigan Gardener, June 2007
“Combines the practicality of a field guide with all the basic information home owners need to create an effective landscape design.”
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan
I bought this for my daughter, an avid gardener, who moved to Michigan last year. She is thrilled with it, said it is full of great information and she looks forward to using it this spring.
5 Stars Excellent Book for Beginners and Advanced Gardeners
I am an Advanced Master Gardener and have loaned this book to many friends who have all ultimately bought the book. The trend is now to plant more native species and this is an excellent reference book. If you want to plant a raingarden or just incorporate more hardy native perennials into your existing landscape this is the book for you. People think native plants are just a bunch of weeds, but this book shows you that isn’t true.
5 Stars Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan
I purchased this book for my daughter to replace a borrowed copy. She is trying to plant her back yard with native plants. She thought this was an exceptional book.
4 Stars Great start
This book was a great introduction to the native plants of MI, how to plant and take care of them and which non-native species to avoid. Really the only thing lacking was a more complete list of the native plants. I have found several that were not included in the book. I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in planting only native plants of MI in their gardens.
5 Stars Landscaping with Native Plants in (Kalamazoo) Michigan
I am new to gardening and new to Michigan. I have found the book very helpful in choosing plants of all kinds (trees, shrubs, ground covers, etc) to include in the landscape of our suburban home. The author provides tips on landscape design and style, as well as information on many of the more technical aspects of planting, such as soil testing and modification. But most importantly, the book is full of beautiful pictures of individual species as well as plant groupings, with information on the landscape use and requirements for each. I keep the book by my favorite chair and browse the pages when I have a bit of free time, enjoying the pictures, learning about the seasonal color or bird-attracting traits of individual plants, and choosing which ones I would like to add to my yard.
Landscaping with Native Plants of Southern California
April 27, 2009 by Lawn Care · Leave a Comment
Landscaping with Native Plants of Southern California
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Very useful!
This book is both practical and visually appealing. It provides basic gardening instructions and includes a full color visual encyclopedia of native Southern California plants. I recommend it to anyone in Southern California who is searching for a more environmentally friendly way to landscape.
5 Stars native plants oof S cal.
excellent book. very informative. I am planning on giving a lecture on native plants and butterfly host plants so this book is an excellent source.
