Landscaping discussions

 

From: Dan Chiles [mailto:danchiles@me.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 2:54 PM
To: Travis Tindall; James Ouellette; Jennifer Wilson; Ryan Evitts; Jerany Jackson
Cc: Margy CHILES
Subject: Landscaping notes from our last meeting

 

Sorry for the delay, but I just got back from St. Charles.  This memo is focused on landscaping.

 

 I hope we can channel our inner Olmsted on this project.  

 

The landscaping, in my opinion should be subtle, sustainable and beautiful with only minimal maintenance.  It should be free from fads and bric-a-brac.  

 

Our overall idea is let the area grow into something that will be beautiful now but even better in 50 years.  Furthermore, we don’t have people on staff to keep the landscaping beautiful… it’s just me and Margy, so any feature that requires a lot of maintenance is suspect.   Is a water feature necessary when we have a lake nearby?  Dunno, but it might just fail the fad/maintenance test. 

 

Specifically:

 

a.  I recommend we keep in mind how beautiful the rounded field is and how we should respect the view and heritage as a village for 9,000 years of native habitation.  This area should not be treated casually.  Planning for cars, as I think about it, is less important than fitting into the site with all these other priorities:

 

b.  We should think about how water moves across the property and how it needs to end up in the proper place through clever engineering and landscaping.  Where does it go and what does it do under all circumstances?

 

c.  Chickens and other beneficial critters should be integrated into our plan to keep the area free from bugs and pests and that probably means getting their habitation closer to the house but at the same time, not right next to the house.    What is a proper habitation for guineas and how can their habitat be integrated into the landscape plan?

 

d.  In all cases, we should think like process engineers in a factory:  how does every element of the design support practical activity like composting, wheelbarrows, potting, recycling, trash staging, vehicular transportation and and the practical storage of all supplies:  wild bird seed, chicken food, fertilizer, fuel, garden tractors, mowers, tillers, tools and etc.  How are these supplies/materials to be moved, stored and presented in a landscaping plan?

 

e.  The property is rich in trails so we need to think in terms of connectivity with the other walkable areas that surround the house.  Because we will be walking at night, we need safe, photovoltaic lighted access to all trails. 

 

f.  We will need to specifically identify the areas for growing stuff: grapes, native apples, gourds, watermelons and flowers.

 

g.  The interface between outside and the inside is really critical.  At each entrance to the house, how do we transition to the outside world?  What statement do we make with our connections between the two worlds?

 

h.  If we wanted very small gardens near the house for herbs where would they be and how would they be supported (see item d)?

 

i.  Can small meadows be created among the trees for future activities like swingsets, receptions, croquet and etc?

 

k.  As discussed, the entrance to the site should be celebrated (see Pattern Language) and the visual motif that presents itself there should be repeated throughout the project.

 

l.  We want to run trickle irrigation on a long term plan (to include future expansion of growing areas), because a warmer planet will require judicious trickle watering.  That makes locating the well a priority. 

 

m.  We want communion with the local critters and that also requires planning:  what can we plant the deer won’t eat and how can we both feed and enjoy the presence of wild birds?

 

n.  Someday, if finances allow, we will want to site a swimming pool.  We need to think about the best place.

 

o.  We have talked about keeping bees.  Where is a good place for this activity?

 

p.  Likewise, we should see a plan to integrate a clothes line. 

 

Summary:  As we have discussed, we intend to publicize this project as a model LEED sustainable project.  The landscaping plan will have to go way beyond normal to get anyone’s attention in New York or San Francisco and yet that is our responsibility.  Much of what I’ve listed here are not extravagant features… they are thoughtful features.

Hello everyone,


Below please find our comments and feel free to carry on this interesting discussion.


thanks!


dan & margy



Dan & Margy,

 

Jerany, Ryan and I met yesterday to go over your notes below. We had a good discussion and came up with some questions:

1.       How does Dick & Ellen deal with trash removal?


They have a pit where they burn it.  I think we will go for a more progressive approach, like a regular trash service.


2.       How many chickens and guineas should we plan for? This will be important when locating the fowl. Also, I’ve read that guineas love eating bees so we may want to decide which is the priority.


I’m open to suggestions about the number of birds.  Maybe a dozen of each.  Yes, we need to somehow isolate the guineas from the bees.  Where these activities go and how we stage supplies and resources for them is my concern.  


3.       We discussed locating the composting area by the barn due to smell and required maintenance. Is there resistance to this for any reason? A staging area would be provided on the exterior of the house for composting items.


That’s fine with us.  Of course, that requires careful planning for paths and general connectivity to other parts of the farm, as we have discussed.  I’m open to ideas about composting as well including how to keep it turned and aerated to produce better results.


4.       We had some questions on the photovoltaic site lighting for the trails. Can this lighting be attached to the house or do you want it to extend to the trail entrances some distance?


I don’t think its a big deal.  Do lights need to be attached to the house or can each light be installed with a small PV panel?


5.       Are there any specific types of native or adapted plants that are important to you and should be included in the landscape design?


I wish I knew more about that subject.  I think in general, this will be a dynamic environment:  subject to temperature extremes, chickens scratching, deer munching, japanese beetle invasions, hail storms and etc.  In the midst of all this, we’d like to have raised bed gardens, some fruit trees, modest animal husbandry and etc.  So, the native plants would seem to be a lower maintenance, more sustainable way to organize all these activities in a esthetic manner. 


Margy likes flowers:  in particular lilacs, iris and lilies.   She likes climbing flowers too.  


6.       Is the purpose of the pool to support grandkids or the wolfing component?


Really, the pool is a long shot.  Our goal is to simply think ahead.  I would say that it will get used by everyone who is there or who visits.  There seems to be programming space just north of the house, so that might be a logical place for future activities:  swingsets, pools, goat enclosures and etc.  


http://www.wwoof.org/


7.       Could you go into more detail on the trickle irrigation? Is this for establishing planting around the house or are you describing watering needs for the gardens in the adjacent field?


Right now I’m only concerned with the house project.  But the location of the well needs to be identified with the thought that future buildings and growing areas are likely.  So, that would argue that we locate our current water/waste infrastructure to keep our options open.  I’ve watched my parents drag garden hoses for the last 30 years and we don’t want to do that.  I think our future will be hotter and dryer so that trees, native plants and gardens will have to survive longer seasons of 90 degree average days... and they will need access to trickle irrigation.  The great big rainwater storage tank we've discussed is an interesting approach to the irrigation issue.  I like it and I hope we can find a solution to the freezing question.


Also, we are a little concerned that the impact area of the house is growing larger than original thinking. GRA is going to put together an extents plan that shows the impact area of the construction area. Let me know if you have any questions.


We don’t want to go beyond our agreement, but we’ve always envisioned this as Rockspan Farm.  Not just another suburban desecration of farmland, but a sustainable and green alternative to sprawl.  That’s why finding an inexpensive way to get green on our horizontal roof surfaces is important.  Why permeable surfaces, native plants, food sufficiency, water resource management, energy production, energy efficiency are all priorities even on this small project.  


As we've discussed, I hope we can talk about this project at a future GreenBuild convention.

 

As a factory guy, I’m preoccupied with planning.  In manufacturing, we look at raw materials, work flow, inventories and processes.  We lay out assembly lines carefully and then we make adjustments over time.  In the case of our house/barn/farm, we have similar interests that go beyond suburban boxes.  We will have processes in place and flows of cars, vehicles, domesticated birds, walkers, energy, wild animals, water, trash, food, supplies, recycling and visitors.  Our building/landscaping plans have to recognize the critical activities and build an esthetic structure to support them. 


The first overnight visitors are likely to be kids camping, WWOOF'ers and transcontinental bicyclists, so our landscaping plan should take that into account. 


The house plan and landscaping plan are all about these processes and how we can facilitate them.   We all gotta agree, what is there now is beautiful.  We can’t improve on nature, but we can all stretch professionally to make sure this place will be recognized nationally and internationally as a sustainable, practical and future-looking project that is also beautiful when we move in.



Thanks,

 

Travis


also residential green roof.










On Sep 23, 2010, at 9:29 AM, Travis Tindall wrote:

Dan & Margy,

 

Jerany, Ryan and I met yesterday to go over your notes below. We had a good discussion and came up with some questions:

1.       How does Dick & Ellen deal with trash removal?

2.       How many chickens and guineas should we plan for? This will be important when locating the fowl. Also, I’ve read that guineas love eating bees so we may want to decide which is the priority.

3.       We discussed locating the composting area by the barn due to smell and required maintenance. Is there resistance to this for any reason? A staging area would be provided on the exterior of the house for composting items.

4.       We had some questions on the photovoltaic site lighting for the trails. Can this lighting be attached to the house or do you want it to extend to the trail entrances some distance?

5.       Are there any specific types of native or adapted plants that are important to you and should be included in the landscape design?

6.       Is the purpose of the pool to support grandkids or the wolfing component?

7.       Could you go into more detail on the trickle irrigation? Is this for establishing planting around the house or are you describing watering needs for the gardens in the adjacent field?

Also, we are a little concerned that the impact area of the house is growing larger than original thinking. GRA is going to put together an extents plan that shows the impact area of the construction area. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks,

 

Travis

 
September 15, 2010 “channel our inner Olmsted”
September 24, 2010 “Answers to landscaping questions”