My Little Paradise in San Diego

My Little Paradise in San Diego

From another recently satisfied customer: “After returning from our honeymoon in Hawaii, I just couldn’t get enough of the beautiful tropical life, so we contracted SquareRoot Landscape Group to bring a little of Hawaii back to San Diego! I say they did a great...
Beauty Without Water

Beauty Without Water

From another recently satisfied customer: “Upon hearing that mandatory water restrictions were coming to San Diego, CA, I immediately called Brian at SquareRoot Landscape Group in San Diego and told him that I had to have an amazing yard, but I didn’t want artificial turf and I had to conserve water. Brian came up with the incredible design that you see here. I couldn’t be happier with our yard or with Brian and his team at SquareRoot.” A little about the plants in this photo: Little Trudy® is a new dwarf form of catmint with tiny leaves, showy flowers and is sterile! Sea kale is the large white flowering plant (Crambe maritima), and to the right is Purple Mountain® sun daisy (Osteospermum barberiae), another Plant Select®...
Mandatory Water Use Restrictions Now in Effect

Mandatory Water Use Restrictions Now in Effect

REGION-WIDE DROUGHT ALERT DECLARED   After months of record-breaking high temperatures and concerns about statewide water reserves, the San Diego County Water Authority declared a Level 2 Drought Alert in July, triggering mandatory restrictions by local water agencies in the region. As a result, new water use restrictions for Oceanside residents and businesses are currently in effect. Over the years, the Oceanside community has done a commendable job making water conservation a way of life. With drought conditions growing more serious, water saving efforts need to be re-evaluated and may be increased to prepare for a potential fourth consecutive dry year. Together, the Oceanside community can increase water savings and make a difference for a more sustainable...
Amorphous

Amorphous

a·mor·phous –adjective. lacking definite form; having no specific shape; formless: the amorphous clouds of no particular kind or character; indeterminate; having no pattern or structure; unorganized: an amorphous style; an amorphous personality. The Problem In our field, amorphous is a ‘nails on the chalkboard’ kinda word. Just as I explained in an earlier post, anyone can go to Home Depot and buy a bunch plants and dig a few holes. The same applies to the shapes you create around your property. But the ‘have shovel, will create bed-edges’ theory creates more of a mess than one could imagine, and falls far short of satisfactory in the end. Many times, bed edges are arbitrarily created. The end result is a series of curves that have no relationship to existing geometry (such as adjacent buildings, the existing plantings they’ll encompass, property lines, etc.), or to other curving bed edges nearby. The Solution When creating planting beds in the landscape, care should be given to their shape and size. Having a plan that shows the ‘top’ view of your property is where we begin. This allows you to see every element that relates to the bed you’re creating. Some things to keep in mind: Create gentle, sweeping curves. A radius of 5′ or more is sufficient where possible. This allows a lawn mower to easily follow the edge without having to stop and abruptly change directions. Keep bed edges beyond (outside) the canopy of any tree within it. This ensures that the root system remains undamaged, as they usually extend from the trunk as much as the canopy does. Only make a...
Bland

Bland

bland –adjective. 1. lacking in special interest, liveliness, individuality, etc.; insipid. aka: bor·ing (bôr’ĭng, bōr’-) -adj. Uninteresting and tiresome; dull. The Problem Is this how you want your brand new yard to feel to yourself or those you invite over, upon its completion, to show it off? Is this the impression you want after spending thousands of your hard earned dollars and having a substantial portion of your yard torn up and full of machinery for days/weeks (months)? Didn’t think so. I’m not saying to go ‘Vegas’ on your yard. No, that would be WAY over the top (but if that IS your bag, then I’m already preachin’ to the choir). How about somewhere in between? All together now: ‘Ahhhhhhh.’ That’s more like it. Bland means 100 of the same plant. Masses of the same color or texture. Things that bloom during the exact same two week window during early summer, then retreat to that comfortable shade of green that just about disappears until fall, if you’re lucky enough to have picked the right plant to produce a fall color. Usually not, though. It was probably an evergreen, wasn’t it? A yew? An arborvitae, hosta? Thought so. They’re so easy; so conservative. Wouldn’t want the neighbors to think we’re doing anything fun over here. Don’t want them to approach the HOA and report us. God forbid, we may get a WARNING LETTER on our front door for being too creative or too individualistic. Wait, who am I kidding. Nobody goes to the front door anymore (except for me!!). It would be an email, probably Cc’d to everyone on the street....
Cost

Cost

cost –noun 1. the price paid to acquire, produce, accomplish, or maintain anything: the high cost of a good meal. 2. an outlay or expenditure of money, time, labor, trouble, etc.: What will the cost be to me? The Problem Even though this IS the avoidable alphabet, cost isn’t something to necessarily avoid, as much as it is to be careful of. Cost has many variables attached to it, but for now we’ll focus on three of them: value, quality and sacrifice. Cost, in case you didn’t notice, is also a four-letter word. Yup, one of THOSE four-letter words. But it doesn’t have to be, and I’m here to explain the why’s and how’s. Let’s go back to those three words I mentioned above, starting with value. Ask yourself, ‘Am I adding value to my property by implementing my vision?’, or ‘Will the finished product be worth more to me than what I paid for it?’ (you’ll see these questions repeated in a future post that highlights one of my favorite new books about effective business practices. It’s called ‘The Go-Giver’, and I suggest you read it yesterday…)But for now, these first questions will help gauge the level of value you’re about to receive. Next is quality. Out of all the bids and proposals and cost-estimates and concepts and materials and plants and designers and… Out of everything you’ve seen and touched and heard in the process leading up to the point where you sign on the dotted line and fork over that deposit check, are you certain that you’re choosing the option that provides for you the highest...
landscape design: a creative process

landscape design: a creative process

Hello everyone, and welcome back to our world for a few minutes. We just wrapped up the concept plan phase (above) for a family in San Elijo Hills, CA, and produced a video (below) to demonstrate the process. We’ve partnered with John Kennedy, of Nature Designs (no, not THAT John Kennedy, silly. THIS John Kennedy..), and they will be performing all of the construction services on this project. Upon completion, we will have the tangible product here in full for your viewing pleasure, in the form of another video short. Things have been busy-busy here, as you can tell not only by the pace of this video, but also by our extended absence from here. We hope to be more present in this space, and realize we have some unfinished business in our other endeavors here too (i.e. ‘the avoidable alphabet’ and ‘go.give.feel.great.’). So, we promise to tie up those loose ends shortly as well. In the mean time, we present to you: “Landscape Design: A Creative Process”, so sit back, relax, and enjoy. Thanks for your patience and continued support. See you...

Go. Give. Feel. Great.

Hello everyone, Happy President’s Day!! We hope you had a great Forth of July, Labor Day, First day of school,  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/etc…, New Years, Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day!! Wow, has it been that long since our last post?!?! Well, we had a great ‘all-of-the-above’ (except for the Super Bowl), and are now even in a new location, be it only 10-or-so minutes from the last. Now that we’re settled in, it’s time to get back to story telling. Our triumphant return to the blogosphere begins with a five part series based solely on a book that I think everyone one of you should, at the very least, give a quick browse through. Each part outlines, in depth, one of the ‘Five Laws of Stratospheric Success’, as the book calls them. They are, The Laws of Value, Compensation, Influence, Authenticity, and Receptivity. And if these simple principles don’t shape the way you think about things, either you’re already there, or you never will be… It comes on the heels of two very important projects that have come to be exclusively because of this book, in which we put together two fantastic residential landscape concept plans completely free of charge.   Each plan has brought a level of joy to me as a designer that is unmatched. That is, of course, until the day we can photograph the actual built projects, and enjoy a steak from the barbie if we’re fortunate enough to be invited to the ribbon cutting ceremonies!! This book is a very quick read (maybe a week, tops, and that’s if you’re as lazy with books as I tend...

The law of value

“Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”   What? That’s supposed to be a ‘Trade Secret’ for making it in the business world? According to our main character, “…that sounds like a recipe for bankruptcy! It’s almost like you trying to avoid making money.” His mentor, Pindar, should’ve followed this up with, “Well, I’m not a business major, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night”. That would’ve been hilarious. The first Law of Stratospheric Success, The Law of Value, is always the toughest one to grasp. But once you absorb this one, all the rest make perfect sense. However, the man that is at the center of these laws, an uber-successful fella named Pindar, equates this principle to standing in front of a fireplace demanding heat before adding any wood. Not a bad analogy. The main character, Joe, is introduced by Pindar to another man that has become a very wealthy businessman, chef and commercial real estate magnate after starting with a simple sidewalk hot dog cart. How, you ask? It’s all in the attitude. Instead of trying to become the best hot dog stand in the city, he created the best outdoor dining experience in the city through his interactions with his clientele.  He made buying hot dogs an unforgettable experience by remembering as much about each particular person he served as he possibly could. He made his business (and their meal) more about the person serving them than the hot dogs themselves. And what does this have to do with landscape design? Everything. Let...

The law of compensation

Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.   Wow, this seems incredibly simple, yet especially important to comprehend in today’s social media atmosphere. But this principal ends up getting lost in all the other marketing and advertising and networking advice one takes from the ‘learned’ ones that precede him or her. “Add as many followers/fans as you can!!”, one strategist might proclaim. “It’s all in the numbers!!”, another blogger might gloat. But the reality is that most people post minutia that a lot of us could care less about. The rest of them are trying to promote the heck out of themselves to the point of almost being considered spam. One would argue, “..someone out there cares what I have to say, I just haven’t found my niche yet.” And to a certain degree, they may be correct. But the principle above, aka ‘The Law of Compensation’, takes into account the quantity AND quality aspects. This law is applicable to every sector of our economy, from Twitter feeds and Facebook status updates, to the alternative fuel technologies or water conservation strategies. The core lesson here is something I once heard from a wise old soul named John Kennedy. No, not THAT John Kennedy, but a wise one nonetheless. He said that social media is about education rather than promotion. It’s the same reason we all fast forward through commercials on television or skip adverts on web pages. We hate them, except on a certain Sunday in early February. I’m guilty as charged. But if we show a little restrain by limiting our self-promotion to a...