I love this little video explaining our profession.

 

Some other great examples on the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) site

 

The professional body for the UK is the Landscape Institute

 

All professionals have myths that they have to regularly counter and in my work as a landscape architect I regularly come across a number that persist.  I've drawn up my top three but there are many more!

Myth #1 - All Trees Have Tap Roots

Truth - Very few trees have any type of tap root.  They are not dandelions!  Of the 4511 trees surveyed after the October 1987 storm by the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew only 2.4 % had taproots.  Most people don't realise that between 90 and 99% of a tree's roots are in the top 1m of soil.  With their roots so close to the surface they are very susceptible to damage so that large truck trundling close to a tree won't just break overhanging branches but could also be causing severe damage to the roots.  As mature trees can take many years to die the damage may take a long time to come to light. 

To ensure that you protect the full root protection zone (RPA) for each tree that you want to retain you need to commission a report by a qualified arboriculturist early in your project.  They will also help you assess the health of each tree as well as the amenity value.

Once you have the RPA for each tree your landscape architect can work out the line of the tree protection fencing which should be done to British Standard “Trees in relation to Construction - Recommendation ” (B.S. 5837 2005)  And no, the area inside the tree protection fencing is not somewhere to store that pallet of slabs.

You can find out more in this useful Forestry Commission document (PDF download)

Myth #2 - Soil Is Just Soil

Truth - soil is full of micro-organisms that need air and water to survive.  There can be up to 5 billion bacteria in just a teaspoon of soil and most of these need light and air to function.  The numerous micro-organisms in soil are vital to soil health, and healthy soil means healthy plants.

 It can take up to 500 years to produce just 2cm of topsoil so it is essentially a non-renewable resource.  It is quite easy to degrade or even kill soil by mistreatment.  I'm always amazed how few contractors know that that when they store their topsoil in a 5 metre high mound in just a few weeks much of that soil will be too degraded to use. The soil in the centre of the mound becomes anaerobic, or free of oxygen.  Soil weighs about 2 tonnes per cubic metres so at the base of a large soil mound the pressure will be substantial and the loose, crumbly rich fruit cake texture that is typical of healthy topsoil will be lost .  Part of the myth is that adding some compost to the soil will improve it enough to be used for landscape works .  The soil might hold up the plants long enough to sell the house but long term the chances of plant survival are slim. 

For more information see the Construction Code of Practice for the Sustainable Use of Soils on Construction Sites produced by Defra (PDF download)

 

 

Myth #3 - A Few Weeds Won't Do Any Harm 

Truth - in private gardens I'm a fan of letting some weeds grow as they are a wonderful resource for wildlife.  However on large scale planting schemes where establishing the planting can be part of the planning conditions control of weed growth between plants is vital.  The facts are staggering - effective weed control can increase survival rates by 50% and growth rates by 80%.  Weeds compete for water, nutrients and light and can choke out your planting scheme. How weeds are be controlled should be detailed in your landscape specification and a maintenance schedule agreed with your landscape contractor.

 

What are the myths in your profession?  I'd love to know!

 

 

 

Today is a bit of a milestone for me as it marks the fifteenth anniversary of my business.

Cast your mind back to the summer of 1996 - the Summer Olympic Games had just started in Atlanta, Wannabee by the Spice Girls was on the radio and the X Files were on TV.  And I left a perfectly good salaried job to set up on my own.

Fifteen years, four computers, five mobile phones, three offices, one recession, two banks, 5,319 tweets and who knows how many emails later Thirlwall Associates is still here.

When I set up in business the internet was still a novelty but being a bit of a geek I had a £10 a month dial up account with Demon.  My dad made my business possible by buying me a computer that cost an unbelievable £1,500, complete with a 3.5" floppy drive. As browsing the internet tidied up the phone line and also cost money, it was a good job that websites were basic and not that engaging.

Demon Internet website in 1996 from the Internet Archive

I also have the business plan I wrote when I started, and I think that my views then still hold true.  Thank you to everyone I've met along the way for making those fifteen years immense fun!

 

 

I recently watched this fascinating film from The Guardian about the flower producing industry in Kenya and the impact on the local environment and community.  It shocked me that that the local community has to compete with the flower industry for such a vital resource as water.

 

 

It is easy to overlook the hidden or virtual water use needed to produce many of the products we buy.  IBM's Smarter Planet website includes a great summary of water use for common products, some of which are startling. 

And if you have ever wondered where those flowers in that Mother's Day bouquet come from the Flowers and Plant Association publishes a list of the main countries supplying each flower variety.

Belgium – pot plants
Canary Islands – chrysanthemums, roses
Caribbean – tropicals, foliage
Chile – carnations, roses
Colombia – standard & spray carnations, roses
Denmark – pot plants
Ecuador – carnations, roses
Holland – all flowers and pot plants
India – roses
Israel – roses, gypsophila, waxflower, anigozanthos, all summer flowers
Italy – carnations, chrysanthemums, foliage, foliage plants
Kenya – roses, carnations, spray carnations, statice
Malta – chrysanthemums, `Paper White' narcissi
Morocco – spray carnations
South Africa – proteas, strelitzia, roses, exotics
Spain – carnations, chrysanthemums
Thailand – orchids
Turkey – spray carnations
Venezuela – carnations, roses

 

 

In this climate of cuts and cost savings it is great to have some positive news. Perhaps as a reaction to economic uncertainty the number of lottery tickets sold has greatly increased. This increase is part of the reason that the Heritage Lottery Fund's (HLF) annual budget has risen from £180 million in 2007 to an amazing £300 million in 2012.

So why am I telling you all this? As part of the review of the direction of HLF's work they are running an online consultation until 26 April. If you have any interest in heritage please take the time to respond.

Heritage is a very broad term and ranges from museums and collections to landscape scale projects protecting our natural heritage. A new potential area of funding is digital only work, such as putting archives online. As an innovative and tech savvy crowd I would love your views to be added to the debate. Don't worry if you don't feel you know much about heritage as it isn't a test of your knowledge. The wider the range of responses the better.

You can find details of the consultation at www.hlf.org.uk/consultation2011 Thank you!

It was a gorgeous sunny day in London with clear blue skies and even a hint of spring in the air. So why on earth were so many built environment types sitting in a darkened room busily tweeting, blogging and avoiding daylight?

The explaination was another great Be2camp event at the Building Centre in London.  The event included the Be2awards, the world's first awards for social media in the built environment.  The result should be online later this week at the Be2awards website for those who missed the day!

Congratulations to all the winners and commiserations to those who didn't win, some by the tightest of margins.

As on previous occasions there was a Be2cake.  This time it was a Wordle cake generated from the Be2awards website.  Thank you to the staff at the Building Centre for taking delivery of it for me and saving it from the risky journey by public transport.

And I promise Andy's award will be passed on soon!

The recent news that the Governement is considering moving woodland in England out of state ownership has attracted a great deal of interest in the media.  Concerns range from the possible risks of reducing public access to threats to biodiversity.

However none of the news stories I've seen to date relate to the original purpose of the Forestry Commission, that of "rebuilding and maintaining a strategic timber reserve."  Timber resources had been in decline since the Middles Ages and the First World War highlighted how precarious the situation had become.  Timber imports could not be relied on and so on 1st September 1919 the Forestry Act came into force and the Forestry Commission began the task of reforestation.

So why is our timber reserve relevant in 2011?  We no longer use timber props in trench warfare and there is less demand for timber as fuel for heavy industry.  However, we consume huge amounts of timber products such as paper, card and board.  In 2010 we imported 82% of our wood and with our existing level of land under forest we are unlikely to ever even achieve 25% self-sufficiency. 

I have wondered for some time how we will deal with the inevitable rise in price of plastic and other petroleum derived products and what materials will be used in place of the ubiquitous uPVC.  We already use waste newsprint as insulation material and timber windows and doors are far from new as a concept so timber seems the main possibility.

Perhaps the original motive for the creation of the Forestry Commission still holds true and that as well as considering peak oil and our fuel security we out to be considering the risk of peak timber and planting new forests now to ensure that once again we have a sustainable timber reserve.

Whatever your views please take part in the consultation on the future of the public forest estate.  You have until 24th April 2011 to take part.

To finish a wonderful clip of the poet Robert Frost reading the poem that inspired the title of this post.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/poetryeverywhere/frost.html

 

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" from THE POETRY OF ROBERT FROST edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1923 1969 by Henry Holt and Company. Copyright © 1951 by Robert Frost

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/statistics

 

When I travelled by train during the recent cold weather I was surprised to see that some smaller streams and rivers had partially frozen.  I don't ever remember seeing this before in the UK.

Most people have heard of the Frost Fairs that were held on the River Thames in London with the last fair being held in 1814.  You can read more about these in Lucy Inglis' excellent blog Georgian London.

I'm not sure why but I'd not heard of the other fairs that were held in the rest of the country. Fairs were held on the rivers Severn and Wye in Worecestershire and the River Tyne in Newcastle into the Victorian era.  Rivers froze over in other major cities, as shown in this wonderful photograph.

The River Thames in Oxford in the 1890s

It is unlikely that any of these rivers will freeze solid again as they have been changed significantly over the last century.  Most rivers in urban areas are far narrower than their natural width as land along the banks has been claimed for development.  Narrowing a river makes it flow faster, which in turn means it is less likely to freeze.

I wasn't quite clear on the exact science behind this so my favourite Twitter scientist @SmallCasserole has helped me here.  Still water settles into layers, so in a pond the top layer can be significantly colder than the bed.  That is how your goldfish can survive underneath the ice in your garden pond.  With no flow there is no mixing of these layers so the top layer can freeze even if the average temperature of the water is above zero.  In a fast flowing river all the layers of water mix together (in river terminology it is "delaminated") so the river is the same temperature throughout.  If the temperature is cold enough any river will freeze however fast it is flowing. 

This wonderful Pathe clip shows that it can get cold enough for Niagra Falls to freeze (short advert at the start)

NIAGARA FALLS FROZEN SOLID

 

 

As most of you know much of my work involves river restoration, so it is with huge pleasure that I can finally announce that I have been appointed onto the Board of Directors of the River Restoration Centre.

I've been keen for the Centre to explore the landscape context of schemes so it is wonderful to get the chance to work more closely with them.  I also have 14 years experience running my own landscape practice so I will be helping with the business side of the Centre. 

The Centre provides guidance and advice as well as holding a huge database of previous river restoration projects. 

This song seems strangely appropriate - enjoy!

 

 

 

Having spent much of last week talking to people whose homes have been damaged by flooding I have been reminded of the awful devastation caused by floods.  Even the smallest trickle of water can destroy treasured personal possessions.  Many people don't realise that the water that flows into your airbricks and under your front door often contains raw, untreated sewage. 

During heavy rain the sewerage system backs up causing polluted water to mix with the rain water.  News footage often shows children playing in the flood waters - I'd urge you never to walk through flood water unless it is to escape.  As well as being polluted you have no idea what could be hidden underneath the water.  The force of water in the drainage network can be so strong that manhole covers are lifted leaving an uncovered drain already full of fast flowing water.

Next week is National Flood Risk Awareness Week which encourages people to consider their flood risk and to raise awareness of the impact of flooding on homes and businesses.  You may assume that as you don't live close to a river you are not at risk of flooding but that is a common mistake.  Surface water flooding, where rain water can't drain away fast enough during heavy rainstorms, is often unlinked to river flooding.  The Environment Agency website can identify if your home is at risk from river or coastal flooding but surface water flooding is harder to check.  If anyone knows of a free website that records surface water flooding I'd be very interested to hear.

The National Flood Forum website provides useful information for those at risk of flooding as well as supporting communities dealing with the impact of floods.

To finish