Ornamental Grasses and Perennials can bring projects to life! In this article we and two other leading landscape design firms speak about how we use perennials and ornamental grasses in the Front Range Area. We welcome you to review this article, which can be found here, and also encourage you to browse through the latest edition of Colorado Urban Home, which can be found at this link.
As you can see from the lead image of this story, we love using stone, and other forms of hardscape elements to give emphasis and spacial definition to our gardens and landscapes.
This article features the various creative approaches of four leading firms to the creative use of hardscape elements in four distinctly different fields of design and construction. We have had the privelige of working together with each of the other three firms, whose exemplary work is also shown.
We welcome you to view his article, which appeared in early June, at the following link
Last week, I was breathing smoke and watching ash falling on my yard from a major fire in Four Mile Canyon near Boulder. This fire was particularly devastating, with at least 169 homes lost, last I heard. Of course, any time there is a fire, it brings to mind fire mitigation. Bonnie Driscol asked me for some of my thoughts on that….
Fire-Safe Landscape Design: Boulder Fire Underscores Necessity Of Fire Mitigation
by Bonnie Driscol
As I write this, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes due to the four Mile Canyon wildfire outside of Boulder, Colorado. For some of these evacuees, the survival of their home could ultimately come down to how well their home was protected from fire in advance. Homeowners who are considering a landscape design project would do well to pay attention to fire mitigation at the same time. In the words of Tom Altgelt, a landscape designer in Boulder, “It’s fortunate that fire mitigation is easily combined with designing exceptionally beautiful gardens.”
At first, fire mitigation can seem like a loss because it is often necessary to take out trees or other plants around the home. However, by focusing on the wide range of fire-wise features and open areas that can be artfully designed around the home, a new landscape design can be both safer and also more beautiful. Tom Altgelt notes, “Rock or paving features, water features, low-flammability perennial gardens, and certain shrubs can be used to create a wonderful ambiance while simultaneously protecting the house from fire.”
The first priority is to reduce fuel sources close to the house and other structures. This can be accomplished by designing beautiful landscape features from noncombustible materials such as rocks, paving, bricks, concrete and water. Next, fire-resistant plants can be chosen, that are generally low in resins or saps, grow near the ground, and produce minimal debris (leaves, needles, etc.) Tom continues, “Fire-resistant materials should also be considered for outdoor furniture, decking, and play structures near the home.” Maintenance such as mowing, raking, and watering is also important, of course, to keep the fire risk minimized. The amount of necessary fire mitigation can vary tremendously depending on the fire risk for individual homes.
Here is one example Tom relates: “In our Boulder Shangrilah landscape design project in the Boulder foothills there was a massive stand of ponderosa pine, going up a steep slope toward the house, creating the potential for a fire to sweep quickly up the slope toward the house. The extra danger here was that if a fire burned the large structure down, it could never be rebuilt because such a huge house would not meet the new building requirements. So we took exceptionally great pains to mitigate the fire danger, removing most of the conifers and making sure that the conifers we left in place had the lower limbs removed so the fire could not easily climb up the tree.”
Tom also recalls a Mountain Living Dream Home landscape design project: “We made sure not to plant more than three conifers together without at least a 20 foot jump to the next group of conifers. This was to be sure we did not build a ladder to bring a fire toward the house.”
And here’s another interesting example Tom gives: “When I was working on a big resort in Keystone with OZ Architecture, we marked many of the conifers to be cut down. Conifers contain pitch which turns them into a roaring torch, making them a serious fire hazard. In their place we planted aspen trees, which actually dampen a fire rather than helping the fire spread. One can even put in groves of aspen trees as fire protection. Aspens are not as useful at a lower elevation, but there are certain other deciduous trees which will work as well to buffer a home from fire.”
From Tom’s experience, he says, “Ideally, of course, fire mitigation is a part of the initial landscape design planning stages, so the master plan will already encompass fire mitigation basics.” If a landscape design is already completed without good fire mitigation, it can be more difficult to create an optimal design with only minor modifications. However, even in such cases, quite often there are many attractive possibilities for enhancing the beauty of the garden while simultaneously making it more fire-resistant.
It is wonderful that the practical goal of fire mitigation can actually support the highest aesthetic goals, also. In Tom’s words, “Fortunately, with careful planning, a firewise garden can also be the beautiful garden of your dreams!”
Here’s another article by Bonnie Driscol which includes an interview with me. She asked me what the most common mistakes are that I see in landscape designs around the Denver area. This was a different way of thinking than I normally use in my day-to-day work; I generally am focused on what we’re creating, rather than what we’re avoiding. However, it is true that certain types of mistakes cause big problems for people–including very expensive problems, and ones that limit the potential for a beautiful, deeply satisfying garden design. Those problems are certainly worth avoiding by applying the “best practices” of landscape design work.
Although we started out thinking in terms of mistakes made in the Denver/Boulder area, these turned out to be universal errors, in that I’ve seen these same mistakes made all over. Anyway, here’s the article:
Denver Landscape Design: Which Of These Three “Universal Errors” Is Most Important For You To Avoid?
by Bonnie Driscol
There are few large investments that can yield great joy which endures and grows through time, and one of these is a beautiful garden. Because it is such an important investment, it is essential to avoid common mistakes that can be expensive and can reduce the “return” on that investment, which is the joy and delight that can result from a truly inspired landscape. According to acclaimed landscape designer Tom Altgelt, “In my sixteen years as a landscape architect and designer in the Denver/Boulder area, there are certain errors that I have seen over and over, which can easily be avoided with good planning. I’ve seen these universal mistakes made in New England and Europe as well, during my many years of practice there.” These mistakes include designing for the warm seasons while neglecting fall and winter, beginning a small project without having a master plan, and assembling a group of professionals which lacks good teamwork.
First, even many seasoned designers make the misstep of designing only for the warm seasons. It’s an easy error to make, because people typically pay most attention to the flowers in a landscape. However, if the fall and winter|winter and autumn seasons are overlooked in the design process, the garden may appear bleak and desolate through those cold months, which may be just when we need beauty and joy the most. Altgelt explains, “This is especially problematic in our climate here in Denver, Boulder, and throughout Colorado, with harsh weather off and on for almost half the year. Many of these winter days we could actually derive great joy from a beautifully designed garden, not only by viewing it from indoors but by being in it.”
Altgelt lists four elements for creating a beautiful four-season landscape: sculpting the earth itself; creating rock formations as though they are emerging naturally from that sculpted earth; utilizing evergreen plants; and also including deciduous plants which show interesting colors and shapes after they’ve lost their leaves. Altgelt says, “Combining these four elements artistically will create a beautiful fall and winter garden, while synergistically adding to the spring and summer interest!”
“The second mistake I often encounter is that people typically design in a small-scale, fragmentary way, rather than creating a master plan first.” If a homeowner only has a budget to do one part of the landscaping right now, that one piece needs to fit with the long-term vision. Otherwise, it could end up being very expensive.
“A good design can be executed initially with very inexpensive materials if the master plan is thought through in detail,” says Altgelt. For example, a patio or walkway can be put in using crushed rock and later changed to brick, sandstone, or precast concrete pavers. If you want to add a different surface later, then initially you would be wise to take into account that you’ll be adding three or four inches in height down the road. So, you initially set the patio lower so that later you can raise it up without creating an issue of the patio being at a higher level than the doorway. However, if you didn’t think it through in advance, when you are ready to upgrade your patio you would have to first remove a bunch of work, making the end result more costly. Tom points out, “With good planning, you can save money by starting with a cheap solution, and then later you can still do a beautiful expensive patio without paying extra to remove the first solution.”
The third most common mistake Tom sees, for those who hire a team to help them, is assembling the wrong team. “To assemble a good team, of course you need to see samples of each individuals’ work and get references, but it doesn’t end there. The key ingredient, which is often missing, is teamwork.” How they communicate and work together, how they inspire each other – their “chemistry” – is crucial.
How do you know whether a team has good teamwork? “One key to good teamwork is: do the professionals truly listen to their client?” The design professionals may need to help the client express his desires for his garden, in a spirit of co-creation. “Without that co-creative relationship with the client, the landscape designer is more likely to fall back on standard solutions that he has done multiple times in the past, rather than designing a truly inspired work of art that is specific to the people and place the landscape is being created for.” For the best outcome, the landscape contractor and the architect (for new construction and major remodeling) also need to be involved with the landscape design process. Ideally, this team is put together at the very beginning – even before the house is designed.
Altgelt sums it up: “By avoiding these three common mistakes, not only can the homeowner save money, but the end result can be an artistic expression of the homeowner’s deepest dreams for his or her garden.” What a great way for an investment to pay off!
I recently was interviewed for an online article about the challenges and opportunities of designing a landscape for the Denver area, which is also applicable to the whole Colorado front range. This fits nicely with the video I recently posted on the same theme.
Denver Garden Design: How To Design A Landscape Uniquely Suited For The Colorado Front Range
by Bonnie Driscol
Here in the Denver/Boulder area, at the base of the Rocky Mountains, we have unique challenges for landscaping, starting with our unusual climate. According to Tom Altgelt, an award-winning landscape architect who designs landscapes and gardens in the Boulder/Denver area, “We have to contend with everything from high wind to hail. It is very dry and high up, with winter November through March.” We love those sunny winter days, but off and on, we have harsh weather for many months.
With our long Colorado winters, wouldn’t it be best if our landscapes were interesting and beautiful even during the cold months? As Altgelt remarks, “We may walk out into the garden on some mild days, and even on harsh days we can see the garden through the window.” This year-round interest does not happen by accident, and it is often missing, even from otherwise well-crafted landscapes. Tom offers three ways to create a beauty that flows and changes through all the seasons.
For Tom Altgelt, the first step is to sculpt the forms and shapes of the earth itself. “Ideally, the bare landscape will feel as though it has been sculpted by wind and water. We want the energetics of this sculpture to have a pleasing and dynamic flow and movement, so the eye will perceive forms that are beautiful, animated, moving, uplifting as it is animating us.” By artistically forming the bare land and rock formations, a beauty can be created that will last through the seasons.
Looking at photos showing examples of Tom’s landscapes, it is remarkable how similar a designed and created landscape can be to a dry creek bed with rock outcroppings found in nature. “In some ways we will work with what is naturally occurring here in our local environment and recreate some of that in the garden.”
Once the landscape is sculpted artistically, the next step is to include some evergreen plants into the larger sculpture, for color during the cold months. Both dwarf and larger evergreens are available to accentuate rock formations. “There are also various native drought tolerant broadleaf and blooming evergreen plants like the creeping mahonia that relate beautifully to boulders.”
The third step is to include deciduous plants that keep our interest in winter even after they lose their leaves. “For example, there’s the service berry, with a multiform windswept display of trunks and branching twigs. There are incredibly beautiful plants that are sometimes even more beautiful without their leaves or flowers.” The red and yellow twig dogwoods show off their colored branches in winter. There’s the Canadian redbud with the sculptural form of its bare branches. And, of course, the list goes on and on.
Altgelt comments that there are fewer trees and shrubs that will grow here, with our harsh climate, compared to New England or Germany where Tom began his landscape architecture career. “At the same time, It is remarkable what we can do here with perennials. After the long winter, they will come back up again in the spring, and this is an important component of beautiful gardens here.” When Tom first came to the Denver/Boulder area from Germany, he was surprised at how little attention is often paid to perennials in this region. When incorporated artistically into a landscape, perennials can really bring a garden to life!
The one element that is missing here is water. Because our climate is so dry, according to Altgelt, water in a Colorado garden can be especially appreciated. “A large and dramatic water garden in Florida may not be as special and appreciated as a far more subtle water garden here in Colorado.”
Although many of Altgelt’s designs are naturalistic, inspired by native forms and plants, he often expands beyond what is found naturally. “We start with what is unique to this area, and depending on the land and the desires of the client, we may also blend a foreign theme with a native theme, so the garden appears or feels as if it were almost transported from a different place.” For instance, a Colorado garden could, ultimately, have the look and feel of a Japanese garden, an Italian courtyard garden, an English cottage garden, a Moorish garden or a French formal garden. These foreign design modalities can be modified and adapted to suit Colorado conditions.
Altgelt then adds various man-made artistic elements-sculpture, a bench, a gazebo, a fence-which can add the human touch to the beauty of nature. Just as the house was added to the natural setting, these other man-made elements can harmonize with the sculpted earth, rocks and plants, as well as the architecture. “We can accept and respond to and elaborate on the beauty that was here to begin with, and the result is a uniquely Colorado garden.”
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