in 1906 the earthquake that burned down SF left many people homeless. Tiny ‘earthquake shacks’ were built to house people quickly. There are not that many of them left in SF but my sister happens to live in one of them!
I drew it from Google maps and I will frame it and give it to her for her birthday. I had such fun drawing and painting this!
I just thought I would post some of the various painting and drawing I have been doing. Some of it is work related and some is not!
Green and gold watercolor swatches.
I did this quick visualization for a client recently. We want to remove this lawn, a little privacy fence (not too overwhelming) and some interesting colorful plants.
Okay, so I also took this irrigation class through the Zone 7 Water Agency. the class was taught by Lori Palmquist, who is an irrigation WIZARD. She’s a good speaker and a good teacher. I may also have accosted her about some APLD stuff and she was like WhoTF are you?!? LOL. No worries, Lady, I’m just a stranger asking you for access to this website you used to work on. Don’t mind me! Anyway, here is an illustration of an irrigation manifold. As you can see, I am an excellent student who does not struggle to pay attention.
I should be learning about what these things are and do but instead I am drawing them. Don’t come at me, I have ADHD.
We had a little field trip to Drake’s Beach and I did a quick vignette.
Some other sketchy doodles for work:
I like the textures in the photo I took at American Soil and Stone. So stripes, much vertical! I find visiting stone yards to be very satisfying. Magpie-like I usually want everything there.
Two plants I am enjoying in my own yard right now. This yellow lotus plant and my Spraxis bulbs! Aren’t hey pretty?!
What else has been happening? We have been doing a few small plant installs at work.
Oh and I kind of love this picture of J*** buried under plants in the car. LOL.
I went the NorCal Landscape Trade Show this year. I do find wandering around looking at all the plants to be very useful and inspiring! They have this trade show in San Mateo every February.
This Lomandra Platinum Beauty is so pretty ! and I love the Pittosporum Silver Sheen as well. And there is something about the Acacia ‘Cousin Itt’ plant that is so satisfying. The name is good and so perfect for it!
I just want all these plants for my own yard. LOL. Also, I am in love with all these tiny conifers from Iseli Nursery. Behold this tiny baby!! There is no way they stay this size though, right?!
What is all this water falling from the sky? Weird. It makes trimming through landscape less residential plots a bit hazardous. I think I need to start keeping rain boots in my car because this is absurd. :P But seriously, what is up with these housing neighborhoods where they just leave the entire backyard a mud pit? sheesh!
I’m really loving all these storm water solutions I am seeing in Walnut Creek parking lots. :D I wish there were some regulations in Texas for this kind of thing. Every time I go back there I am so offing appalled by the infrastructure. Or lack thereof, I guess. Have fun with building a whole city in a swamp and then refusing to acknowledge that and have some regulations for infrastructure. Jerks. I hate Texas.
I stopped by Moose Metal to inquire about a metal project for a client. How cute is this metal moose logo?!
It was a wealth of fun metal detritus for me to snap pics of.
Many shapes and colors!! I really, really want to include colorful metal elements in my landscape designs. My pinnacle of silly landscape color you ask? I bright pink arbor. I want one myself so surely everyone else will, right?!
More cute moose themed items :)
This is a handy tree guide made up for PGE by California Polytechnic State University for the Bay Area, Northern and Central California. If you're working on a site with power line issues this tool can be quite useful.This page has some handy guides for selecting the right tree for the right place based on some other guidelines like allergy and toxicity or fire safety.
You can order a Right Tree, Right Place poster from PGE here and download a cute poster for Palm trees appropriate for use near power lines.
The people who planted redwoods right next to the power lines at a recent client's property could have used this guide 15 years ago...
Settling in to my new office in Emeryville. The construction at my house is… very disruptive. I was working upstairs the other day and they LIFTED and DROPPED the entire house. LOL. I was def. startled. I’ll be excited to have a basement, for sure.
This is such a pretty grass! I have one that I got from Annies Annuals. Devil Mountain has it listed as Rhynchelytrum nerviglumis but I have only seen it as Melinus nerviglumis. It’s not exactly low water but I really love the soft pink plumes.
From San Marcos Growers site:
Melinis nerviglumis (Ruby Grass) - A small semi-evergreen cool-season grass from S. Africa that forms a tidy 1 foot tall clump. It has blue-green foliage that turns purplish-red in the fall and showy pink flowers that rise a foot above the foliage in the spring and summer with spent flowers still attractive into winter. Best in full sun with regular water in a well-drained soil but tolerates considerable periods without irrigation and near seaside conditions. Is hardy to around 20° F and perennial in gardens in USDA Zones 8 and above but useful as an annual in colder climates. Cut back in fall to midwinter to allow fresh new foliage to emerge in early spring. A very attractive grass massed or scattered in a border planting or as a container specimen. This grass is called "one of the showiest of the small flowering grasses" by John Greenlee in his "Encyclopedia of Flowering Grasses". Ruby Grass is native to large areas of Africa south of the Sahara and also in Madagascar. There are several interpretations for the entomology of the genus name. One thought is that it is derived from the Greek 'melas' meaning "black" for its black seeds but another thought is that it is from the Latin 'mel' meaning honey for the sweet aroma some species have. The specific epithet is in reference to the veins on the glume (flower bracts). We have grown this plant since 1997 and early on used its older name Rhynchelytrum neriglume. This same plant is marketed under the names 'Pink Crystals' and 'Savannah' and besides Ruby Grass is commonly called Bristle-leaved Red Top. It should not be confused with the related Melinis repens that has naturalized in disturbed sites along the California coast.
I had a fantastic time at my second APLD Conference. It was wonderful to reconnect with friends from last year and see familiar faces from the Bay Area.
Just outside the hotel was the Santa Fe Railyard Park. The park featured beautiful hardscape and plant designs, a children's play area, and lovely gardens. I particularly admired how the designers incorporated the railroad tracks and other historical railroad elements into the park's design.
Right from the start, I was so excited that the keynote speaker was W. Gary Smith, the author of From Art to Landscape: Unleashing Creativity in Garden Design. I totally fangirled a bit and brought my copy of his book for him to sign. He was super nice and signed my book for me. Gary is an accomplished landscape designer, having won APLD Garden Awards and worked on many renowned gardens. Coming from an art and design background myself, his book really attracted me and I often refer to it.
These are in no particular order. I’m just dumping photos.
Check out these interesting gabions. They are partially filled with glass slag chunks! Neat!
This garden just had a TON of amazing architectural details. I love to fun round pavers, the colors! The whole thing!
I'm just starting to drive around the far East Bay (i.e. Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, etc). I drove buy this Rasputin Records Shop the other day and was kind of surprised to see the nice landscaping and green roof! I stopped to snap a few pics and I probably should have run in to ask who did their landscaping. Next time!
Anywho, how cute is this?! Do I see some invasive grasses? Yes. I am trying to ignore them though. :)
During our trip, we had a totally unexpected but amazing moment. We stumbled upon The Boston Society for Architecture's Extraordinary Playscapes exhibit while walking around Boston. As someone obsessed with playscapes, I was thrilled by this discovery!
The Science of Play
The exhibit was extensive, filled with information mostly about commercial play spaces but also delving into the reasons for play and how play spaces influence child development. There were interactive exhibits, outdoor installations that I couldn’t visit, and plenty of beautiful drawings, plans, and models.
We spent a lot of time at the "Imagination Playground" exhibit by David Rockwell. This featured large blue foam blocks that you could manipulate. Much like small-scale building blocks, these large ones allowed you to create your own world and build your space. I loved how these blocks enabled people (kids and adults) to interact in various ways. Whether you’re a builder, a zoomer, or a quiet hider, you could use these blocks to play for hours.
I just love plan view drawings. They are one of the reasons I was attracted to the career. :D.
Nature play is near and dear to my heart. Not only did I create a forest pre school for my kid but I also worked on the play environment at his k-8 school. I also have a whole workshop I have taught at the Mothership Hackermoms in Berkeley.
Here is a link with exhibit info:
https://www.architects.org/exhibitions/extraordinary-playscapes
https://www.architects.org/about/bsa-space/visit
I'm working on lists for various landscape resources. Online and local to the Bay Area, CA.Here we have some fountain and pot resources.
Sadly, I didn't manage to take enough photos during the APLD Bay Area District Plant Fair. Next time, I must remember to capture some overview and crowd shots!
The APLD Bay Area Plant Fair is a fantastic event where growers and nurseries come together to showcase their latest and most popular plants. It's a great opportunity for landscape designers and plant enthusiasts to learn about new varieties and get expert advice on plant care and cultivation. I always enjoy attending and hearing the detailed stories and tips from the growers. It’s a fun and informative event that highlights the best of what our local nurseries have to offer.
I won this in the raffle. Now I need to figure out what to do with it!
I would also like to send a shout out to the amazing APLD Bay Area Board Members and Volunteers who pout this event on. Thank you so much for all your work!