Elements of Design: Mass in Landscape Design
There was a guy at one of the gyms at which I worked out who had a T-shirt that said “don’t be passive, be massive.” He was definitely the latter; you kind of have to be to pull off such…
Tag northern virginia landscape design
Elements of Design: Shape or Form
We often think of shapes as two-dimensional: squares, rectangles, circles, and triangles. This isn’t how we perceive them in the landscape, however. We see them in three dimensions, like cubes, spheres, and cones. Shape (or form) in the landscape can…
Elements of Design: Space
Space is a funny concept in design, especially landscape design. Space is an abstract concept that can’t really be described until it’s defined by walls or boundaries. It’s a crucial part of design, as evidenced by the fact that a…
How to Build a Round Deck
Step 1: Build a square deck. Step 2: Cut off all the corners. In all seriousness, building a round deck isn’t all that different from building a rectangular deck. I’ve designed several. The basic framing has the same considerations as…
Principles and Elements of Design: a Series
You may have noticed that it’s winter outside, so there’s not a lot of pretty stuff for me to take pictures of right now. It seems to me it’s a great time to talk about design, and what makes for…
Pros and Cons of a Fiberglass or Wood Pergola
“I want zero maintenance.” If you wanted to know how many times I’ve heard these words in my career as a designer, I’d say to take the number of presents under a spoiled kid’s Christmas tree and multiply by five…
Nokesville Landscape Design & Driveway Case Study
A driveway? Really? I know, but bear with me – it’s totally worth it! Two springs ago, I met with a couple (they’re referenced in my post “Do I Really Need a Landscape Designer“?) to do a complete landscape master…
What To Plant Under Power Lines
I don’t have to tell you this is bad, right? Wrong plant, wrong place and all that? Obviously you’ve seen examples of corrective pruning to deal with improperly located trees, but it’s better for everyone – homeowner, arborist, and tree…
10 Myths About Hiring a Landscape Contractor
The other day, one of the industry blogs I follow highlighted a hit piece that someone did about hiring a contractor. I started to write him an email rebutting all his flawed points when I realized what a great blog…