Land Design Inc.

The year of the Forsythia

jkelly — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:22:33 +0000

Our mild Winter of 2011-2012 will come back to haunt us, I’m sure. Hordes of mosquitoes and other insect pests running amok. Inadequate water reserves, the list goes on…

But wow, it is the year of the forsythia. They all bloomed beautifully and the cooling weather has allowed them to preserve their flowers.

Little ones, big ones, ones that have been mutilated by hedge shears, old ones, and young ones. I saw a forsythia that was basically no more than one stick coming out of the ground and it had beautiful flowers.

So as I’m being attacked by ticks and mosquitoes months from now I’ll have to close my eyes and think of the forsythia…

Capital District Flower and Garden show discount

jkelly — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 13:18:19 +0000

New clients who like our facebook page will receive $20 off a 2 hour consultation or $40 off a landscape design package.

If you don’t use Facebook please use the postcard included in the bags handed out at the show.

Discount will end April 30, 2012. Please mention this discount when making your appointment.

Thanks and hope you enjoyed the show!

It’s officially here!

jkelly — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:09:53 +0000

Spring is officially here; what an exhilarating but still spiritual part of our seasonal cycle.

Let’s all take some time today and see all of the life exploding and enjoy these days…

The unseen world

jkelly — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:00:50 +0000

After almost 8 years of not having a wood stove in our home we finally installed another. There were a number of fallen trees on our property that we were able to pull out of the woods and cut and split. When I was splitting the wood the bark peeled off easily since the trees had started the natural decay process. The patterns in the inside of the bark were fascinating; highways created by insects and lattice patterns of the wood fungi. Tree bark is often decorative on the outside but this was an interesting glimpse into the unseen world of nature’s cycle in a forest.

See the photos I shot on our Pinterest page…

Pileated Woodpecker

jkelly — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:08:40 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSJYug_URFE

We have the honor of hosting a male pileated woodpecker who has decided to carve a nesting hole in an ancient Crimson King maple here at the house. They are the biggest and most elusive of our native woodpeckers in this area of the country.

I knew the tree sustained damage due to excavation when we did an addition to our home. I fenced around the tree out to its drip line but it still is in decline for years and evidently hosting insect activity which attracted our buddy.

We’ll see if this bachelor attracts a gal to his newly constructed (or should I say destructed) home.

New USDA Hardiness Zone map

jkelly — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:43:21 +0000

Our friend Harriet from Foxgloves posted this link to the revised map:

Hardiness Map

Here in Albany’s Capital District most of us are Zone 5B…

Where’s the Snow?

jkelly — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:35:45 +0000

From a landscape designer’s viewpoint I usually like to see at least a 6″ snow cover for most of the Winter; it’s Nature’s blanket that protects delicate plant roots from extreme cold.

However I do have to admit I do not miss wrestling the snow blower through massive drifts week after week .

The balmy weather allowed my friend Ray Shepard, of Shepardspropertyservices.com, to be out and working right through the Winter. Freezing temps are great for equipment work as they minimize lawn damage.

They’ll be many more videos to come of Ray using his weapons of landscape construction…

Grading with Ray

Now’s the time to see (or not see) your landscape planting design

jkelly — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:56:28 +0000

Well, most of the leaves have now left their deciduous owners and we now have the opportunity to look at our plantings and evaluate their appearance for 30% of the season. Heavy snow will fill and obscure bare plants certainly in our typical Winter here in the Albany, NY area.

But for many areas such as foundation plantings, entry plantings, and prominent driveway beds now is a great time to see their appearance and evaluate their structure.

Evergreen shrubs and trees provide structure and interest year round, of course. Many woody shrubs and trees have wonderful Winter “bones” also and help balance the disappearance of perennial and annual plants.

The right balance of structure, texture, color, heights, and form can take a beautiful summer bed and make it a memorable year round planting.

Look for a video or 2 on this subject before the snows drive us all indoors….

Planning and Planting in the Fall

jkelly — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:15:26 +0000

What a unusually warm and beautiful weekend; time to get out there and see our landscapes at their height. Most plants really appreciate the warm days and cool nights and have a renaissance before their Winter’s nap. We’ll be taking some YouTube walks to visit with some of these all stars so keep an eye out for those.

In the coming weeks we’ll all need to start thinking about preparing our gardens and outdoor spaces for the Winter but now is the time also to plant new shrubs and trees, the cool weather being optimal for root growth and plant establishment.

Also now is the time to plan for next Spring and beyond; most landscape master plans need time to develop and prepare for and waiting until March and April rushes the entire process. Take some time now to consult with a professional landscape designer so you can enjoy you garden / landscape right away in the Spring!

Plan now for that landscape project!

Spring Snow and Winter Planning

jtafur — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:06:08 +0000

Well, it looks like we’re in for a snow storm again; that’s what we get for living here in the Northeast.

So I think it is appropriate for me to discuss some Winter related issues one last time. We’ll cycle back around and hit them again in Fall 2011.

This past Winter illustrates how much snow we can have – were you running out of room to pile it before we had the thaw? I know it was close for me and I was using a huge snow thrower and hurling it 30 feet off the drive. When we design and plant our landscapes around driveways and walkways we always should think of this. Planning on where that snow is going to go isn’t the first thing on your mind in June. I can remember many a time when someone with a side load garage wanted to plant a tree off the end of their drive so they could have a nice focal point every time they come home. Just make sure that tree is 15 – 20 ‘ back or the hard working plow guy might push it into the neighbor’s yard for you.

I’m not a huge fan of lining a drive on both sides with plantings; it’s too easy to get the dreaded airport runway effect (enhanced by 20 solar path lights dimly glowing at night). Where plantings hug a drive or walk using herbaceous perennials which die back to the ground for the Winter is a good way to keep a few spots open for snow pile.

Ice melting products – rock salt types can be more damaging to plant material and walk surfaces. Calcium Chloride, while having a premium price is effective to minus 10 and small amounts work well.

Let’s talk further about this topic in 7 months or so!