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One of the newest exciting trends in landscape design is bringing nature and natural landscaping into the interior design space. In this case it’s at Garden State Koi’s Warwick, New York facility. Over the course of last winter they constructed this beautiful display garden featuring ponds, streams, waterfalls as well as landscape planting and even artificial turf. A most inspiring and impressive display. We are in the design development phase of a project which includes an indoor water feature as well as terrarium and aquarium. It promises to be a one of a kind, awesome, exciting, challenging and fun project.

Originally we made the trip to Garden State Koi to buy plants for our ‘Secret Garden of Celestial Happiness’, which is finished now (recently featured in the Great Outdoors column by Bill Lawyer in The Rye Record newspaper) and is a great success and model of ecological landscape design/build, organics and sustainable horticulture. We set out to visit Waterford Gardens but were very disappointed by the selection and quality of plant material available. They are better for fish apparently. GSK, however, was great! In September the selection of plants, still flowering, was excellent. They even had hard to get lava rock and biologicals. Their staff was knowledgable and helpful. The experience could not have been better, the plants and fish we purchased are doing great.

The power and dynamics of water never cease to amaze me! Our world is mostly water as are our bodies yet the percentage of fresh water on planet Earth is only somewhere around 0.03 percent! Drinking or potable water is our most essential, precious natural resource for terrestrial life on earth. You can live a month, some of us fatty’s even longer, without food, three days at best without clean water and three minutes without fresh air. Remember, aside from the benefit to your senses, sight sound etc., there are real potential health benefits. Water and plant systems clean the air and produce oxygen. If you need to be reminded go see Robert Redford in ‘All is Lost’.

The possibilities to create beautiful art with water as endless! Check out the National Aquarium in Baltimore or of special interest for fans of fresh water aquariums, Takashi Amano’s Nature Aquarium World. It’s a wonderful experience to study and enjoy life and nature in the comforts of your home or business setting. Peaceful, soothing and wonderful to behold, the visual as well as the sound of falling water infuses energy, beauty and harmony to your space.

Let us help you realize your dream. We live and breathe to make it real!

Jay Archer, President

914-560-6570

jay@greenjaylandscapedesign.com

We are blessed with such a wealth of wonderful natural resources and material in Westchester. There is a rich diversity of geology which creates opportunities to craft unique individual design features in the landscape. Depending on access and availability natural stone can be easily incorporated into a landscape. Whether for retaining walls, paths, steps, patios or just for effect, stone lends itself to organic, naturalistic forms and shapes. So instead of burying or discarding natural stone (which also meets sustainability standards as opposed to trucking or importing stone from other geographical regions where it does not conform to local geology in appearance), I say, let it speak! Let it sing with its own voice. Working with natural elements has many advantages and rewards. Not just the catch phrases or keywords of sustainability but real tangible savings in time and money. Aren’t things complicated enough without our going out of our way to make things appear exotic and expensive (not that I don”t like those solutions where appropriate as well)?

In my considerable experience working with the land, if we are open to allowing the contours and natural elements present in our beautiful world to participate in our design process we are more likely to accidentally invite good fortune to accompany our work. I look forward to the light of each new day shining on our ever changing and evolving life and landscape experience.

Oh by the way did I forget to mention some of the awesome attributes of natural stone. For instance, the deer don’t eat it. It doesn’t need water, light or pruning… well you get the idea.. no maintenance. So have fun and let us Design with Stone! Oh and don’t forget about Earth, Sky and Water! Actually that’s the project on the lake that we’re presently working on.

Wouldn’t you like to know… Stay Tuned and… Enjoy Life!

Jay Archer, President

914-560-6570

jay@greenjaylandscapedesign.com

Many homeowners, businesses and institutions (both public and private) spend a considerable amount of time, money and resources in an effort to present an attractive appearance by investing in landscape services.

This may be by hiring a professional Landscape Architect, Landscape Designer, Contractor or Nursery to improve the appearance of the landscape. The intention and motivation is to make the property or site more appealing to the eye of the beholder. Whether this is to increase property value (which it should), curb appeal, encourage traffic and interest in the business or place or simply to enjoy the view, there is a qualitative difference between a professional premium service provider and a sub-par amateur result or performance.

I have often said: “good design is not priceless, bad design is… priceless”. That said, once the landscape is installed, renovated, rehabilitated or enhanced, the next most important part is maintaining it. Who’s going to do it? Do they have the necessary skills, knowledge, education and resources to provide the level of service required to maintain the landscape to reach maturity and beyond? Will your expectations be met? Will communication be necessary or will work be performed on a regularly scheduled basis according to what is truly required (i.e. proper pruning of plants when they should be pruned according to horticultural principals)?

There are great resources at your disposal. When it comes to landscaping and gardening services there are many local, national and international organizations, that serve designers, contractors as well as the public and private consumers. Organizations, I like are; Ecological Landscape Association, Association of Professional Landscape Designers, Grassroots Healthy Lawn Program(they are an independent non-profit). I am also a member of The New York State Turf and Landscape Association. To be honest, I have an issue with that organization because they refuse to list members on their web site, which makes me question what do they actually do for contractors, homeowners or their communities.

For horticulture you can’t beat the Cornell Cooperative Extension. This is your tax money at work. In addition to community and education programs they offer services such soil testing, plant disease and insect problem diagnosis etc. There is actually a human being you can speak to if you call your local office and ask for the horticultural agent. I particularly like their Master Gardeners program. If you want to know what to prune and when, the bible is Michael Dirr’s Manual of Woody Plants.

As always, I highly recommend hiring a qualified professional to maintain your beautiful and valuable landscape.

May your landscape bring you peace and joy…always.

Jay Archer, President

914-560-6570

jay@greenjaylandscapedesign.com

Professional landscape design is both a scientific and artistic endeavor. I find this process of developing a vision for a property, site or client exhilarating! What can be more exciting than looking at an ugly, non-functional landscape environment and creating a plan to make it better both visually as well as physically. In the design chair we consider how the spacial elements work or don’t work, while in the construction chair we consider the components and cost required to execute a plan to produce a vision. In a perfect marriage of skillsets we engage our intuition to inform us which direction naturally feels right. Trusting oneself can certainly make a difference in the results.

This project is a perfect example. On a moderate slope the obvious solution to beautification while controlling and stabilizing soil etc. would be terracing or retaining. In form this suggests a linear construction of retaining walls etc. How boring… been there… done that! Instead we start by amending the soil along the lines of structural soil ( see Cornell Structural Soil). By incorporating different grades/sizes of stone and gravel with native (on site existing soil) we produced a medium which would enable optimum root to shoot bio-mass for plant growth while acting as a subgrade stabilizing/retaining feature. This enabled us to build a more natural surface contour (see terraforming or Earth-shaping) for appearance, while serving double duty as a storm water controlor BMP (Best Management Practices). With an uneven grade and excellent porosity and infiltration we eliminated the need for a complicated and expensive conventional drainage system.

Implementing and adapting bio-engineering techniques to residential landscape projects we are able to increase our creative possibilities for design. Strategically placing boulders in a seeming random pattern, we construct bio-cells (basically vertical infiltration voids filled with stone and gravel), which add depth of field as well as stabilization and drainage. Biology is King! Just as in construction of water features, use of stone to provide a surface for culturing and colonizing bacteria in biofilm (see Center for Biofilm Engineering) is helpful if not essential to optimizing establishment of planting.

It really doesn’t hurt to select plant material particularly adapted to hot dry conditions. These plants i.e. juniper, warm season grasses, prairie perennial (natives) all produce extensive deep root systems to help form a underground network of soil stabilizers, plus they are gorgeous! Visit our Facebook page and YouTube channel for more interesting ideas. Creative landscape design benefits our human, plant and animal communities while improving our health and well-being.

Live long and prosper! Oh and…holler for help before you really need it.

Jay Archer, President

914-560-6570

jay@greenjaylandscapedesign.com

We constructed this patio terrace with full color bluestone in Irvington, New York.

This outdoor space includes a retaining wall, double level patio and vegetative screen. In this case a combination of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs were planted on a elevated berm retained with site appropriate natural boulders.

This design and construction is a wonderful complement and addition to the architectural style of the home. This inviting outdoor room adds much to to the enjoyment of the outdoor experience. Nestled into an otherwise useless space, its proximity to the kitchen, backyard and driveway(which it is screened from) is a quality of life home improvement . It’s all about entertaining and lifestyle. The black railing, which is required by code, actually adds to the strength of this sharp and linear design.

Selecting materials should be just as important as picking the right design professional and contractor. Once again the advantages of Design to Build cannot be overestimated. Hardscape construction does not leave a lot of room for error. Once again the visual aesthetic and construction practices/principals are equally valuable and should be treated as such.

Jay Archer, President

914-560-6570

greenjaylandscaping@gmail.com

Thinking about getting the most enjoyment out of your landscape? Great, where do we start? How about your desires and expectations? What do you love (or hate) about your home and your property?

Usually we select and purchase our home/property because of the things we like about it. Often we are also thinking about improvements or changes we may intend to make to suit our taste and lifestyles. Remember, inside or out, whether your redoing a kitchen or bathroom or putting in an outdoor patio, fixing your driveway or planting, it’s all home improvement! As such, you should think first about designing to create a healthy, more beautiful environment. What are your priorities or interest? Do you want more entertainment space for your friends and family or to improve the health and appearance of your property (hopefully both)? We usually consider, (but not always) working from the inside to the outdoor spaces.

Speak to a couple of design professionals. Decide if you need an interior designer, architect or landscape architect/designer. Identify the scope of work and maybe your budget as well as timeline. If you know where you want to be, it will be easier to figure out how to get there. Next match the contractor to the job. Licensing and insurance are important. Memberships in professional organizations are helpful as indicators. Referrals are good. References are okay, although perspective clients have told me, ” you only have people who love you on a reference list”, duh! In todays world, the information highway of the internet offers much critical info. A good web site with links and current social media, in most cases, says a lot about the status of the company.

In the end, personal choice has a lot to do with selecting a designer or contractor. In my experience no two landscapes or clients share more than a couple of similarities. The wonderful, artistic creativity we are able to engage in daily is a result of the unique elements and aspects of a property or site as well as the individual taste, style and culture of the client. One thing to think about is a consideration of how your landscape will be enjoyed throughout the seasons. The beauty of a stream or water feature, as shown below may be just as attractive in winter as in summer. Even when the landscape is not actively in use it provides a serene satisfaction each day of the year with ever changing interest stimulating our senses and fulfilling our expectations of wonder.

Keep in mind, your living landscape is alive, growing, changing and evolving. Treat the body and soul of your landscape with love and care and your rewards will be bountiful! To me the process consists of at least three distinct stages. Design & development (including proposals, budgets and estimates), Construction & installation and finally, Ongoing management & maintenance. Attention and energy should be give to each equally for the best results.

Enjoy and love your life and your new landscape!

Jay Archer, President

914-560-6570

jay@greenjaylandscapedesign.com

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