November 28, 2022

Landscape Design for Steep Slope Stabilization & Erosion Control | Old Tappan, NJ | Bergen County

Newly terraced slope stabilizes hillside. Natural stone steps make it accessible. Our first landscape design project in Bergen County, New Jersey was a complex storm restoration project on a steep slope overlooking a river. During Hurricane Ida, historic rainfall collapsed the side yard slope just feet from the house.  Existing retaining walls began to collapse, and the once navigable slope 

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August 24, 2020

Lawnscaping Versus Ecological Landscaping | Westchester & Fairfield County

The majority of landscaping in the United States is really just lawn care. There are approximately 40 million acres of lawn in the lower 48 states alone, accounting for 1.2% of the continental land mass. What do we achieve from such colossal acreage? Well, lawns are the largest irrigated crop in the US, and Americans apply a staggering 80 million 

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May 7, 2020

Landscape Design for Natural Mosquito Control (Storm Water Management for Health) | Step 4 for a Healthy Landscape

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, 

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March 29, 2020

Ecological Landscape Design, Bioengineering and Permaculture in NYC’s Brooklyn Bridge Park

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 

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March 24, 2020

Storm Water Management, Landscape Design & Engineering: The Big Picture | Darien, CT

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 

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