This holiday season, Landsystems has a lot to be thankful for. We have had a great year professionally, wonderful clients and to top it all off, we have a new team member on board in our design department. We are so proud to introduce Deepali Kulkarni, who joins us with exemplary skills in construction plans and details. With Deepali on our team, we will now be able to delve into more intricate, customized designs for our clients. Please join us in welcoming Deepali to our design team and learn more about Deepali’s background below:
Background:
I obtained my Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from University of Minnesotta, MN. My research studies include the Design of Eco-museum for the Arsenale of Venice, published in Venice lagoon foundation publication of Italy. I enjoyed learning plant phenology and curation at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden. My previous Degree in Architecture allows me to combine the technical aspect of Design with the creative element.
Landscape Architect “Hero”: George Hargreaves
Interests: I like growing my favorite plants in a hobby green-house. I help one NPO in conducting Landscape / Environmental stewardship programs. I served as a founder member of a cultural organization managing events in South and East Bay area.
Favorite plant: Bird Of Paradise - Strelitzia Reginae
Landsystems is very excited to introduce Adam Coholan, an active blogger who writes about exterior design and landscaping based on his experience working with Queens luxury homes around the New York area. You can follow him on Twitter @Coho22! Just in time for the season, he has contributed a great blog on how to enhance the look of your home!
Highlight the Fall Colors in Your Landscape
Fall is a wonderful time of year, when the air is crisp and there is a welcome break from the summer heat. Many will choose to decorate their homes with Halloween or Thanksgiving decorations, adding skeletons or scarecrows to their front yards. Yet many don’t realize one of the best ways to enhance the look of your home for fall is to focus on the landscaping.
One of the first fall flowers that comes to mind for many are mums. Mums come in a beautiful assortment of bright colors including red, yellow, orange, purple and pink that are sure to look beautiful in any fall landscaping display. They can be planted into the ground, or many choose to simply place them in pots for display along the sidewalk or on the porch of a home to welcome guests.
Another popular fall option is the Japanese maple tree, as they display brilliantly bright leaves of yellow, red and orange. They catch the eye of anyone that passes by the home because of the radiant fall colors. Similar to the Japanese maple burning bush, sumac, and viburnum, all produce vibrant colors and are also commonly used to enhance the fall landscape.
Finally, there are a number of accessories, centered around the season and not a holiday, that can further improve your fall look. Adding bales of hay and cornstalks to the landscaping are a great first step, and can often be picked up at local farms or even craft stores. Pumpkins and gourds also make wonderful additions to the bright colors of the fall landscaping. These can be added to a porch or front entrance, or can even be placed on the ground among your other plants. Last, a fall wreath on the door adds the final touch to the fall landscaping outside of any home.
With the proper preparation, any yard can easily be transformed for the season of fall. Any local nursery or home improvement store will have a large selection of items available to purchase so that the added touches of shrubs, fall flowers and trees can give your home an elegant and seasonal look with little effort.
As most of you are aware, we have been working with Redwood City to rejuvenate the border areas of Spinas Park. Since we have been working on this recreational park as well as other play equipment for our clients, Landsystems has become very interested in the elements that make a park an effective, fun and safe environment for visitors. We thought this month would be a great opportunity to discuss the positive benefits of rubber mulch!
Unlike wood, bark, gravel, sand, asphalt and dirt, rubber mulch is long-lasting, aesthetically pleasing and doesn’t leave an odor or stain clothes. In addition, rubber mulch is also environmentally friendly, made from 100% recycled rubber. In terms of safety, rubber mulch beats out its competitors in creating a shock absorbent layer which keeps children from injuring themselves while playing on structures. Rubber mulch also requires little maintenance and reduces mud and dust to play areas.
For those of you interested in installing rubber mulch, don’t hesitate to give us a call today to further discuss the benefits of rubber mulch. Think how great it’ll be to know your children are safe and having the time of their lives outdoors!
We are very excited to announce that we are in the process of redesigning the entrance and surrounding perimeters of Spinas Park in Redwood City. As most of you undoubtedly know, our company is based in Redwood City, so this particular project hits close to home and provides us with a great way to give back to the community that we consider part of our Landsystems family.
Andrew Spinas Park rests on 1.46 acres of land at the corner of 2nd avenue and Bay Road. The park includes play equipment and areas for children, a picnic area and expansive lawn for recreational play. Many local residents in Redwood City use this park as a weekend getaway to enjoy with their families and friends. However, due to past construction dilemmas and continued use, the edge of the park adjacent to Bay Road has been left a little worse for wear.
Of course, this is where Landsystems comes in. We are currently working with the City of Redwood City Parks and Recreation Department to revamp the park borders. We envision new sustainable, native vegetation to frame the park area and create an aesthetic means of supporting the local wildlife of the city. This will also serve to create an appealing effect and invite passerby’s into the park itself.
Please join us as we continue to document our upcoming measures towards fulfilling this new project. More to come in the coming months!
#3 Plant Native Species
Growing plants in your garden that are native to your region is one of the best ways of having a great garden with little to no maintenance. There are so many different types of native species in California alone that creating a beautiful landscape should be easy. Many times I hear that native species don’t have the colorful foliage and flowers as the non natives do, but this is completely wrong. There are multiple species that can carry color year around and also be carefree.
For many the hardest part involving native species is finding which plants are native and also where to find them? Nurseries are starting to carry more and more native species and by just asking any trained personal at a nursery or home improvement store you can find out which plants are native. There are also many resources that categorize many of the California native species into a book or internet site. One great book is “California Native Plants for the Garden” by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O’Brian. Another beneficial resource would be the California Native Plant Society at http://www.cnps.org/.
If there are any more ways we at Landsystems Landscapes can help out, let me know at paulp@lsls.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also view our other sites on Flicker or Facebook with the links directly on the site.
Paul Peguero
