Mosquitos are a total nuisance – they can make treasured outdoor spaces unbearable!  They are also a public health risk, carrying diseases such as West Nile in the Northeastern US. This is Step Four of our series on How to Make Our Landscapes Safer & Healthier.  Catch up on Steps One and Two and Step Three.  Traditional (Toxic) Mosquito Control Unfortunately, …

In an effort to respond, as opposed to react to climate change and storm water management, this wonderfully unique and highly functional design allows for and encourages casually directed foot traffic around garden beds, while an interesting, random pattern of repurposed brick in a gravel base substrate allows for maximum on-site infiltration of storm water. Talk about the best of …

Topography, flow paths and sheet flow, surface, subsurface, French drains, perimeter drains, berms, bioswales, perk and infiltration rates are all important physical considerations to developing any substantial landscape architecture or garden design plan. In consulting we often see the negative effects of lack of design planning and storm water engineering, like the ponding in the above photo. This occurred at …

Good design anticipates future changes in the landscape and site conditions, including ever more powerful storm and rainfall events. Keep in mind, if you don’t maintain what you have (original design), it will change! Not always for the better. The Problem: Landscape Erosion In this case, erosion caused slope failure and scouring resulting in significant deposition and accumulation of soil …

With more frequent storms and greater volumes of rainfall/storm water, we need to consider how that impacts our properties and effects landscape design as well as maintaining our existing and future drainage systems. Wherever, whenever we can we design and employ bioengineering techniques. This may be as simple as bioswales and rain gardens or more advanced and complicated systems such …