Storms and rainfall accumulation have gotten more extreme in our region; in fact, this is the fourth wettest year on record (so far). The Northeast is now approaching temperate rainforest levels of annual precipitation. That means our landscapes need to be designed to manage an increased quantity and frequency of extreme stormwater events. Green Infrastructure is our pejorative toolbox for …

A Hillside garden can be one of the most challenging landscape designs to execute, especially if it is a steep slope, like this Holmes, NY backyard. Why? Steep slopes are more prone to erosion — washing away of precious topsoil — especially during storm events. Furthermore, if the soil structure is high in sand and gravel, stormwater can drain too …

A familiar, common reoccurring problem in pond and lake management is nutrient loading causing duckweed or algae blooms. The best solution or remedy for these problems usually lays in the overall land management practices. If fertilizer and pesticides are running directly into a water body we identify this as point source pollution, a primary cause of the duckweed or algae. …

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 …

In our landscape design and construction business we often run into issues which might not ordinarily be considered “landscaping”. Case in point would be infrastructure drainage. Many water management problems start with the infrastructure. This includes displacement of ground water due to overdevelopment by increasing impervious space. Same is true of surface water or storm water/rainfall. Very simply, water needs …