On behalf of a contractor client I'm working with a great couple who are building a new custom home in northern Virginia. As part of the landscape design, they wanted to … [Read more...]
How Do I Address Hillside Erosion?
Water can cause a lot of damage. Any time you have a slope you have the potential for water and erosion issues, and it's my job as a landscape designer to address identify and … [Read more...]
Understanding Flagstone: Sawcut, Thermaled, and Chiseled Edges
You've decided to use flagstone in the landscape. Good call! You may not be done making decisions, however. If the stone will be used in an application where you see the edge of … [Read more...]
Virginia Deck Design Explained, Part 3: Decking and Railings
Ok, your framing is up and you have the solid foundation for a deck. Now you have choices - what decking to use, and what type of railings? Decking I break decking up into … [Read more...]
Virginia Deck Design Explained, Part 2: Posts, Beams and Joists
Last week I talked about the ledger board and the footers, the first steps in building your deck. Today I'll cover the next steps. Posts The standard spec for a deck is for it to … [Read more...]
3 Great Plants for Winter Color in the Virginia Landscape
Winter and I have a challenging relationship. I don't love the way business slows down for a few months, I'm not a fan of the fact that it causes my construction jobs to take … [Read more...]
Virginia Deck Design Explained, Part 1: Footers and Ledger Attachment
My name is Dave Marciniak, landscape designer and owner of Revolutionary Gardens, and I use jargon. I'm deeply sorry. However, the fact is that when it comes to building … [Read more...]
Transparency in the Landscape
As modern humans, we spend our days surrounded by solid, imposing "stuff". We live in big brick and wood houses, drive two-ton steel vehicles to work on concrete and asphalt … [Read more...]
Drainage and Infrastructure Are Not Like Milk Duds
I'm still recovering from Halloween - 538 trick-or-treaters is a LOT Of kids - and it's still framing how I look at things. Of the nearly $200 we spent on candy we have a bowlful … [Read more...]
When Should I Have My Irrigation Installed – Before or After Planting?
This is a question I get quite a lot. In an ideal world, this is the order of operations: All planting areas are prepped Trees and shrubs are planted Irrigation system is … [Read more...]