3-D Renderings are exciting....

Hey everyone...I've been playing around with 3-dimensional renderings programs and fall in love with design all over again. Design just transforms all things to be lovely. The 3-d photo below is a before and after of a residential property that I designed. I love to add color, texture and height to landscape design. In the project below, color and height was added in the front as well as near the wall. Texture and height were added on the side landscape strip by the garage. The landscape lights are an added feature to add some pop. A simple design can give your home the curb appeal it needs. Hope you like...stay tuned for more designs.

Before

After

Cities with the best parks

If you can't tell by now, I love parks. The main reason that I love parks are because they provide physical activity, which allows individuals to stay and to start becoming healthy. Parks provide economic benefits by improving property values. They provide social interaction that help maintain community cohesion. The leisure activities in parks improve moods, reduce stress and enhance a sense of wellness. More people have come to realize that they achieve the feeling of relaxation and peacefulness when in contact with nature, recreation and exposure to natural open spaces. It's proven that people go to the park to get in a better mood and to decrease the anxieties of daily life. Parks also promote recreational programs which provide organized, structured, enjoyable activities for all ages. One of the goals for public parks is therapeutic recreation. Therapeutic recreation is an outlet that individuals have to be physically active and socially engaged. Overall, parks improve physical and emotional mind sets for people. Americans love their parks, historical sites, national monuments, recreation areas and public open spaces because they bring joy and pleasure. Even if your park isn't on this list or whether it's big or small... go be active and visit a park close by you. Test the theory and see.

The Cities with the BEST parks:

 

 

 

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

 

Minneapolis' parks ranked number one thanks to the services it offers, like its management of community sports leagues, and ease of access for residents. No matter where a person lives in the city, they are no more than six blocks away from one of the city's 197 parks.

 

 

 

New York's Central Park

 

New York's green spaces receive well over 100 million visitors a year, Central Park is the showstopper, hosting 40 million park goers annually. New York devotes nearly 20% -- more than 38,000 acres -- of its land to green use.

 

 

 

San Francisco Golden Gate Park

 

San Francisco's moderate climate and seaside location help make it an exceptional place for recreational activities. The city offers plenty of space for them, too: Nearly 18% of all land in town is park land. Golden Gate Park, which stretches for three miles

 

 

 

Sacramento California State Capitol Park Rose Garden

 

Sacramento's parks made this year's "best city parks" list thanks to the area's strong culture of volunteerism,the city's parks have one of the highest utilization rates in the country.

 

 

 

 

Boston Public Garden

 

Established in 1634, historic Boston Common is the oldest park in the U.S. But it's just one bead in an "Emerald Necklace" of parks, that hopscotches south through the city neighborhoods to Franklin Park.

 

 

My favorite Atlanta Park

Hey everyone! I hope that you guys are enjoying the sunshine as much as I have these days. The best thing about living in Downtown Atlanta is the ability to walk to various things. Such as, restaurants, work, and of course the wonderful parks. One of the closest parks is Centennial Park and it's one of my favorite parks in Atlanta.
 
Here are a few facts about Centennial Olympic Park. Centennial Olympic Park was created in 1996 and is 21 acres. The park was built as part of the infrastructure improvements for the Centennial 1996 summer Olympics. The park has hosted several events, such as popular music concerts and Independence day fireworks display. The park is surrounded by many major Atlanta landmarks, the Georgia World Congress Center, CNN Center, Georgia Dome, World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. One of the key features and my favorite are the interactive fountain rings.The fountain rings are computer controlled lights and jets of water that are synchronized with music. the fountain splash pads are designed for children and some adults to play in on a hot summer day.
 

 

Centennial Olympic Park is absolutely beautiful with the open greenspace to play or to just sit and relax. There are smaller space to sit and just enjoy a nice ice cream with children or a significant other. As a landscape Architect, it makes me proud and excited to know that our designs have a positive affect on people. Being outside and being active can change your mood for the whole day. I sat down and watched children and adults play in the fountain rings and thought how the small things can put a smile on people's faces. If you haven't been to Centennial Olympic Park then this should be on your to do list when you come to Atlanta or if you already live here. You won't be disappointed. Don't take my word for it... just watch.

 

 

Kids enjoying fountain rings

 

 

Centennial Park entrance

 

Centennial Park Art

 Centennial Park Christmas lights

Fountain ring lights at night

Centennial Park Art

 Centennial Park Art

 



Overview of the park

Independence day celebration

 

Guess what's one of my favorite trees...

On a side note from the design process, let's talk about one of my favorite trees. The pretty Japanese Maple also known as Acer Palmatum. The Japanese Maple is a woody plant native from Japan, China, North and South Korea. It can be used in the landscape as a small tree or a deciduous shrub. It can reach a height of up to 20 feet, but grows as an understory tree. I love this tree to be planted as a single ornamental tree that stands out in the landscape.

There are many different cultivars or varieties of this maple which attract people with its leaf shape and colors. My favorite cultivar is called "Bloodgood" because of it's bright red leaves that stay red for most of the summer and the grey picturesque muscular-looking trunk. This may not be your favorite tree, but the pictures below may change your mind. Until next time....

Bloodgood cultivar leaf

Various leaf pattern

 

 

Multi-trunk Japanese Maple

It's time to design! up first Concept Sketches.

 Good morning my creative people. Now that you have a better understanding of what landscape architecture is, then it's time to learn about the design process. I love the design process, but first you have to make sure you satisfy all your clients needs and wants. First things first.. a meeting with the client on site. This will allow you to look over the project scope and see if your professional expertise can be useful. Once, you understand the scope of the project and the budget is agreed upon then comes the really fun part..concept sketches. Whoohooo!! let your creativity show. Now, some of you are probably wondering what is a concept sketch? Great question...A concept sketch is ideas that are drawn out very loosely. These ideas will turn into an actually detailed design later in the process, but for now just use your imagination. Most landscape designers use trace paper, which is a translucent paper that enables designer to free hand sketch ideas or trace over ideas. You can use color pencils, markers and pens on this trace paper to get all your ideas out. Below I've included examples of bubble diagram concept sketch and other concept sketches. These aren't my personal concept sketches, but these are ideas from other unknown designers. Enjoy! 

Bubble diagram concept sketch

designer unknown

 

 

Concept sketch

What is landscape Architecture?

Hmmmm.. what a great question. When I tell people that I'm a landscape architect, they look a little confused then they ask what is that? Or do I mow people lawns..no, that's a landscaper. Well, let me explain. The simple definition would be.

land·scape ar·chi·tec·ture (noun): The art and practice of designing the outdoor environment.

If you still need a little bit more definition, then let me explain further.

"Landscape architecture is the profession which applies artistic and scientific principles to the research, planning, design and management of both natural and built environments. Practitioners of this profession apply creative and technical skills and scientific, cultural and political knowledge in the planned arrangement of natural and constructed elements on the land with a concern for the stewardship and conservation of natural, constructed and human resources. The resulting environments shall serve useful, aesthetic, safe and enjoyable purposes."

Bottom line, all the great outdoor spaces that you enjoy in your back yard (pool, deck, water features, garden, ponds, e.t.c), parks, golf courses, streetscapes, landscape around commercial buildings, residential buildings with all the pretty flowers and trees are being designed and created by a landscape architect or landscape designer. This type of profession has so creative and fantastic that it would take me days to explain. Being able to transform a space into an outdoor environment that allows people to enjoy and be happy is so satisfying to me. It's also satisfying to educate people on something that's different, interesting and forever changing. I can honestly say that I absolutely LOVE what I do!



 

 

 

 

 

                                          Centennial Park-Atlanta, GA

                                          Admiral Baker Golf Course-San Diego, CA

                                         Residential Design-Place not known

                                          Commercial Design-Place not known

Look what's starting to bloom?!

Well, spring is in the air. Yes, it's chilly outside but in due time the pollen will be here. If you look around you will see the red peeking out from the other trees. Red Maples (Acer Rubrum) and Redbud trees (Cercis Chinensis) are in bloom. I can't wait for the 70 degree weather to get here so I can hang out at the pool, enjoy the cook outs / bbq's and the beautiful trees and flowers. If you aren't into spring because of allergies then start taking that medicine now because when March is officially here. Cheers to Spring time and face mask!

Red Maple Blooms

Redbud Blooms

Welcome to the world of landscape design

Hello plant lovers. I'm excited that you have joined me and my creative side. I never thought I would be a blogger, but the more I learn about my profession as a landscape architect the more I want to share. The percentage of women of color in this profession is very slim. I'm very blessed to be in an "uncommon" profession and I can truly say I love it. This blog is to educate, inform, promote and spark your interest toward landscape design. It's way more interesting and creative than you may think. Feel free to contact me with any questions and/ or concerns. I will do my best to help you along our journey. Enjoy....