For the past 4 months The New American Landscape Channel staff has conducted research on the most effective use of online media for the Green Industry.

The results will be made available in our upcoming report: The State of Online Marketing in the Green Industry.  To take part in the survey and receive results of this valuable research for your business, click here: http://conta.cc/sYj2Jz 

After completing the survey you will be directed to sign up for email notification of this report: "The State of Online Marketing in the Green Industry"

The report is produced to provide the most current information on effective techniques to grow your business with online marketing tools. 

As a designer or contractor of outdoor environments, have you ever had the thought, “I want to use this idea for a bold masonry wall, or water feature, but I am just not sure how the darn thing is put together”.   There are so many amazing ideas that can be realized with masonry products, that developing some knowledge for the process will open up many new opportunities.

A mason who works with concrete block, brick or formed concrete knows the key steps that keep the completed work from failing.  As a landscape architect, designer or contractor, having this basic information about masonry products will give you the added value and flexibility to specify masonry work in your designs.

The two most important aspects of masonry work, that affect both the integrity and construction costs are; the foundation required and the structural reinforcement.  All hardscape work, whether its simple patio paving or structural concrete walls requires proper foundation support.   When the foundation is not done properly, the work will settle and crack, creating costly repairs, loss of hair and lots of F words being thrown about. 

The main elements of getting the foundation right are:  (1) A soils test (2) An engineering plan.   The engineering plan is required to get things right prior to starting any work.  In my experience, both of these pieces of work can be done for less then $400.00.  The key is to do some calling around and locate a private practice structural engineer who is happy to work on small projects. 

The second element of working with masonry products is getting the structural support elements correct.  This is the steel rebar or other types of reinforcement that create integrity for the wall.   The same engineer who is doing the soils test and foundation plan will also provide the structural support plan as a complete plan set.

Learning the key elements of working with masonry material will give you the confidence and ability to speak the language of the trade.  Once you understand the steps involved and learn the language, you bring far more value as a designer and expand the level of projects that can be completed.  

Back by popular demand, the Design Discussion Series is a live online webinar broadcast that provides access to some of the most accomplished designers, builders and authors working in America today.

The next broadcast will be on the creative application of the wall element for outdoor spaces.  This presentation will explore the purpose, styles and new innovations with the landscape wall element. 

The discussion will include an interview with master stone worker Laddie Flock, on the creative application of stone wall features.  Mr. Flock is a skilled stone mason and artist who’s work includes such notable projects as his collaboration, with Robert Irwin and Richard Meier on landscape stonework for the J. Paul Getty Museum, (click link to see video).

This event will also include an introduction to the design and construction skills taught in the upcoming training: The Secrets of Exceptional Outdoor Spaces.

When:      Thursday February 3 at 12:00 PM MST

Where:      Live Online Broadcast

Cost:         Free

To register for this free event, click here

In Landscape Architecture walls provide the element of enclosure that defines outdoor space.  The wall element can be made of hardscape such as brick, block, stone or concrete, but can also be comprised of other materials such as fencing, ironwork, fabrics, glass or planting.  Walls are the like brushstroke used to define the void space that activities can happen within.

Since I have a great passion for the design of outdoor living space, the wall element and the creative details of enclosure are of great interest to me.  In the Idea files I have gathered together a small collection of enclosure element details.  In The Secrets to Exceptional Outdoor Spaces, the element of enclosure is a focus of the online design training system.

If you have creative images of enclosure elements, please consider sharing them with the community of designers and builders here at The New American Landscape Channel.  Simply create a profile and upload  an “article”of images (you must size down images for uploading).  This allows you to share your visual ideas and expand the solutions that inspire us all.

When I  started a design build practice, over 20 Years ago,  one of the challenges was how to help clients understand the value of design and  get pay for it.  I developed a 4 step system that has become very successful.

Step 1: Learn the Skills of Design First

Like many people in the field of landscape design, I initially stumbled into design through a personal passion.  It took almost 5 years to understand that design is not simply having a good eye, but a skill that must be learned.   After completing my design education, the ease of selling design services became far easier, but I still found that something was missing.  

Step 2: Connect with the Client

Once I completed a design education and started to practice again, I still

Had difficulty selling design service.  I made some mistakes until I learned that clients must connect with you personally before choosing your service.  

I then developed a Presentation Process that put the emphasis on the clients project first and my portfolio second.   This allows the client to feel in control and develop a sense of rapport.  Once rapport and, trust is established clients becomes more receptive to being influenced by your previous work and new ideas.

Step 3:  A Clear Contract is Key

Developing a contract to specify the design work provided is critical.

Landscape Design can include many levels of service, everything from a detail plan of an outdoor living area, up to a full site master plan.  The time and cost of these  services are not always understood by a client and must be made clear.   Developing a contract that specifies The “Schedule of Services” along with a “Schedule of Payments is key to being Successful.

Step 4: Do What You Say You Will

Once you have design skill, a sense of rapport, and a signed agreement, the final step is to do what you have promised.  This may seem obvious, but I have experienced that even great design is not appreciated if it is delivered late or not in the format agreed to.    

These are just a few skills of selling design service successfully.   My Experience of using these steps have resulted in a sales close rate of 75%.

These skills are expanded on in our training system, The Secrets to Exceptional Outdoor Spaces.  To learn more or signup for the training program, click here.

I remember in 1988 during the last difficult period for the design / build industry things were economically challenging as they are now.  The construction Industry ground to a halt.  The way I made it through was by taking a step aside and completing the education that was holding me back from higher paying projects.

I returned to school and gained the skills that made me very attractive to an employer as soon as I finished 2 years later.  During the time I was in school, the economy recovered enough to begin creating new work opportunities and when it did I was ready to deliver.

Times have changed and the methods to gain additional design and construction skills have increased.   This is one reason I developed The Secrets of Exceptional Outdoor Spaces.  It is a powerful online training system that will give you advanced level skills to design and build desirable outdoor living areas.

This may not be the solution for everyone, but I have learned from life experience that downturns sooner or later become recoveries.   As this happens, the best position to be in is having the skills that people are looking for.   For me this worked and when I applied for a job with the Boston Parks department, I beat out over 200 applicants because I had exactly the skills needed.

I hope this is helpful to you.   Please leave any comments in the area below.

"Was Frank Lloyd Wright the greatest Landscape Architect ever".  Join us for this spirited live online presentation by award winning author, photographer and garden designer, Derek Fell.   Mr. Fell will be showing images from his recently published book, The Gardens of Frank Lloyd Wright, published in 2009.

Landscapes of Frank Lloyd Wright

 Broadcast presented live online

Click here to register for this free event

Thursday  June 17, 12 PM MST

The discussion will focus on the principles of design that Frank Lloyd Wright used to create spectacular buildings and landscapes. 

The Noon Design series is sponsored by The New American Landscape Channel as part of a commitment to further the knowledge and application of landscape architecture and garden design.

The broadcast is live online at 12:00 PM MST / 2 PM EST / 11 AM PST  To join in the broadcast, you must register by clicking on this link:  The Gardens of Frank Lloyd Wright

The State of the Landscape Industry Report was presented to a nationwide audience of eager listeners on May 20, 2010.   Results of the survey showed a split between companies reporting improved sales, (46%) in the first quarter of 2010 and companies that have the same or lower sales (53%).

Guest presenter, Judy Guido, principal of Guido and Associates provided additional insights on how the landscape industry is doing nationwide.  Judy pointed to research from her firm showing the design / construction side of the industry still down, but that maintenance is up approximately 5%-6%

When survey respondents were polled on which resources would be useful to  businesses right now, an overwhelming 60% noted that better marketing knowledge is needed.  

In her talk, Judy Guido provided valuable knowledge on how to build brand identity.  From her experience as Chief Marketing Officer of Valley Crest, the nations largest landscape company, Judy stated that “Absolutely everything contributes to the brand”,  including “how the trucks are kept, whether employees have uniforms and even how the receptionist answers the phone.  For more information on Guido and Associates visit: http://www.guidoassoc.com/

If you missed the presentation, but would like to get results of the survey, it can be accessed by going to: http://tiny.cc/dxmkw    In response to poll results for better business marketing knowledge, The New American Landscape Channel is presenting a 4 part, live online class, on the use of Internet marketing tools for the landscape industry.  To see details and sign up for the class, go to: http://thenewamericanlandscape.com/classes/   

Tremendous interest has emerged in the topic of creating seemless indoor and outdoor living spaces

One of the featured classes will show how to design, how to plan and how to build this type of  landscape project.   One of the projects that will be used as a case study is this historic patio project that was designed and built for a Georgian style home in Colorado.

Patio features such as fire features, outdoor kitchens and architectural water features have all become popular aspects of outdoor living.  

The Master Design Class Series will include the general program on outdoor spaces, but also specific classes focused of the details of landsape features.

Master Design Class Series

Principles of Landscape Design

Outdoor Living Spaces

Night Lighting

Naturalized Streams, Ponds and Waterfalls

Architectureal Water Features

Outdoor Kitchens

Patio Fire features

To Learn About Class Registration

Click Here

An old friend being rediscovered

The front porch is part of traditional American culture, now being reconsidered as a smart architectural feature.   The front porch is a favored aspect of the New American Landscape palette because it contributes to vibrant communities and connected family lifestyles 

Neighborhoods with front porches are part of traditional town planning that was dominant prior to the 1950’s.   This form of neighborhood layout includes elements such as: grid street patterns, pedestrian sidewalks, alleyways and auto garages at the rear of the house.  Traditional town planning was prevalent until suburban development became popular and the automobile replaced pedestrian modes of transportation.

The Front porch is a feature of traditional neighborhoods that enhance social vitality and community health.  The front porch facilitates neighborhoods where people have the opportunity to meet and create lively social interactions.    Without the front porch and its close connection to the sidewalk, a house becomes a fortress, disconnected from the life of the neighborhood.

The suburban design alternative provides the automobile garage as the social and aesthetic face of the house.   When this pattern is made efficient with a push button garage door opener, the possibility of neighborhood interactions is lost.   The result is neighborhoods devoid of social connection and supportive interactions.  

The New American Landscape advocates for the front porch as one design feature that can breathe life into community fitness.  As a spatial element, the front porch is a smart ingredient that allows connections to occur naturally.   When community interactions are vibrant the result is often neighborhoods that become the most desirable places to live.

See a collection of front porch ideas and inpiration in the Lifestyle Section / Eco-Living Page of The New American Landcape Channel.  Scroll down to the slide show player and see my favorite front porch images.

If you concur with these thoughts, leave your comments below and use your voice to promote the development of vibrant communities.

Inspiration flowing from beauty is an energy, motivating the spirit to accomplish great things.  Inspiration is a power, causing us to create the great moments we call history.  In everyday life, inspiration from beauty can simply make the day more vivid, more energized and more worthwhile.

The role of designer, artist, photographer, painter or architect, is to create and bring forward the beauty that inspires us.   This energy becomes a gift to those who are made aware and fortunate enough to experience it.   Inspiration can happen strolling through a garden, a beautiful building or watching the cinematography of a memorable film.

To be aware of inspirational beauty is the sign of an advanced culture.   The New American Landscape Channel is here to embrace the treasures of inspiration in American lifestyle.   Through authoring, production of New Media and linking to thousands of other contributors, our purpose is to uplift, make aware and motivate the appreciation for what is best in American lifestyle.   

If you concur with this, take a minute to leave your comments below.   Like to be to be added to the weekly updates?  Let us know….

J. Gieo Pensoneault, Host

The New American Landscape Channel   

The summer started off with a certain gloom in the air.  The housing bubble had collapsed; the financial markets teetered on the brink of disaster.   It was the kind of news that causes people to put off investing in one of the most rewarding activities of life:  Finding beauty and inspiration in the natural surroundings.

Sometimes life produces disappointment and the choice is to be depressed about what’s missing, or to seek joy where it can be found.   After a little indulging in feeling sorry for the situation, I decided to look at things in a different way and become inspired.   

The sunflower garden started off as a simple response to be surrounded and inspired with colorful natural beauty.

When I asked my neighbor at the end of the block if I could gather plants from the over grown lot of Sunflowers and Cosmos next to her house, she responded by offering the entire patch.  “Take them all, they get so tall they block the view when I pull out onto the street”   I thought, perfect for my fence line, a row of Sunflowers to grow tall and give privacy to my patio space.

Now as the summer is drawing to a close I can appreciate what this effort of inspiration has provided.   My neighbors walked past the planting, showering me with words of praise all summer long for the beauty of the sunflowers.  

The privacy for my patio space was realized and made possible one of the best summers for outdoor entertaining.  

The flowers are mostly gone now, yet I still enjoy each morning, as flocks of birds and squirrels feast on the sunflower seed harvest.    

Before the plants are completely gone, I plan to decorate the stalks with spider webbing and tiny glowing spiders for Halloween. 

Sometimes life hands you a lemon, rather then allowing circumstances get you down, do something that inspires you and those around you.  Create beauty and connect to nature. 

Do the things you love and watch it feed the energy of inspiration for all to enjoy.

An East Coast Cottage style patio garden in Colorado?  This patio is inspired from the outdoor garden spaces I grew up in and around.

Elements of this style include a very crafted stone seating wall that surrounds the patio space.   The wall is dry stacked stone work, with no visible mortar cement.  (the wall actually does have mortar, but hidden from view on the inside of the wall) 

This type of stone work is a regional construction style dating back to 1770’s.   The  farmers of New England, including the fishing villages of Nantucket and Montauk all created dry stacked stone walls to keep in livestock.  (and to do something with all the stone that is everywhere in the fields)  Over time the stone work craft developed into a profession producing some of the most beautiful garden walls, property fence lines and stone patios in the county.

The patio paving for this project is a large cobblestone like paver that has similarities to the historic street pavers of New England. Large cobble stone pavers were originally made from Granite and used to pave streets in Boston, Providence and many smaller towns.   The material in this project is a Paverstone “tumbled Venetian” product made from colored / textured concrete.   Although not as historically authentic as stone pavers, the cost and availability make it an excellent choice for patios any where in the county.

Creating a small patio space like this is a project that can be accomplished in a reasonably short period of time.  This patio and landscape was completed in approximately a week and a half, with the labor of 6 workers.   It is a project that can be completed by a home owner along with the help of some insider tips.

To get complete training for how to build patios and outdoor living spaces like this, purchase The Secret Series, “Inspired Outdoor Living Spaces”   The 30 minute Dvd shows all the steps involved in designing and creating a patio space like this for your home. 

Interested to have an outdoor living environment, patio, pool, spa or garden designed.  Residential or Commercial   Contact me via email at:

gieo@thenewamericanlandscape.com     

J. Gieo Pensoneault, MLA

A river of glass in the garden creates a colorful feature, adding eye-catching color, texture and sparkle to the landscape.   Recycled glass is a unique material, perfectly suited to use in the outdoor environment.    The shape and texture of recycled glass ranges from random angular pieces to smooth button shaped droplets.  In all cases the glass has been tumbled or reformed to remove sharp edges.

Recycled glass can be used to create a river of sparkling color.  The idea suggested with the meandering glass mimics water moving through the heart of a garden space.  The glass can be used alone, or sprinkled into the bottom of a dry river rock bed.

The variety of bold colors available can be used artfully to add punctuation in the landscape.  It can be used as a mulching material in planting beds or simply to create line, color and shape.    

A modernist reasoning is suggested when glass is used for abstract line and color.    Like a Jackson Pollock painting, colored glass can be used to create random patterns.  When glass is blended into natural materials of rock, sand or planting beds, the idea can be a bold contrast, yet still suggesting qualities of a traditional garden environment.

Glass is a hard durable material that stands up to heat, light and water without losing its intrinsic quality.  For this reason glass is often used as an element in water or fire features.  

On the patio, a fire element can be covered with glass, creating a an ethereal glow, pushing up through the shiny pieces.    Water features also gain an extra sparkle as water drips and splashes onto button shaped beads of color.

Using glass as an element in the landscape has properties that make it a great material to consider.  Since it is a recycled material, the ecological implications have an added social benefit. 

Glass may not fit into the traditional concepts of landscape design, yet with some imagination and creativity, glass can provide a unique and personalized quality to a garden.

Photos courtesy of recycled glass supplier:

http://www.thegardenofglass.com  

J. Gieo Pensoneault                                 March 30, 2009

Spring gardening in the central rocky mountains of Colorado (8000 ft elv.) was starting to look promising until recently.   Take a look at all the new snow and weep, or….. jump for joy!  It all depends on if your outdoor passions include skiing….

Just before spring break, it was beginning to look like the balance of Mother Nature was tipping toward warm days, melting snow and Spring Ephemeral flowers coming up.   At the last minute, just as my daughter and I arrived in Vail, Colorado for our annual spring vacation getaway, the storm arrived.   Before the snowfall ended, three days later, over 30 inches of fresh power (yes, the light fluffy stuff) had fallen.

For those of you who know the expansive back bowls at Vail, I can tell you, it was one of those powder days not to miss.   I skied down through tree glades; super steeps and rough bumps, now all covered in soft fluffy snow..… up to my knees. 

It was amazing to see how quickly the entire climate experience can change at this altitude.  Last week the sun was out with temps in the 50’s and now winter had fully returned, snow, cold weather and all.  Yahoo for the snow!   We’ll get started on that Rocky Mountain gardening soon enough.  For now enjoy the wonderful surprise of spring snows.  

For those of you in other parts of the country, share pics of how spring is unfolding in your part of the country,…….    send us an email or click on the link below, with attached photos to:  The New American Landscape Channel, how spring is unfolding where you are. 

Respond to:            Spring is Here!

                        Gieo@thenewamericanlandscape.com