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!

 

 

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

 

 

When sorting through my books a few weeks ago I came across this rather battered little book by Althea.  It has beautiful illustrations and is quite detailed considering that it is a book aimed at children.

 The age of the book is given away by the price - just 20p.  The books were sold in National Trust shops - I suspect the book was probably a reward for behaving during a visit to a stately home.

I remember that I loved this book as a small child and I wonder if it was one of the things that inspired my career as a landscape architect.  Rather precociously I decided on my career at 14, as it combined my love of plants with my love of design.

The topic of books that inspired a life long interest, and a love of history in particular, was covered by the wonderful Lucy Inglis in a blog post on her site Georgian London.  The discussion continues in the comments section and was also taken up by the very entertaining Gentleman Administrator

 

An appropriate song to finish with by the fabulous Miss Dolly Parton dueting with Linda Ronstad

 

 

Yesterday I used Twitter to ask the question "what is your top presenting tip?" as I was finalising the slides for my talk at the River Restoration Conference so presenting skills were very much on my mind. I had some wonderful responses so I thought I would share them with you.

@publicityoxford Catherine Warrilow of PublicityOxford, a great presenter herself, suggested this:

"try and make eye contact with lots of people as you speak, don't single out one person."

@Garry_Hartley Garry Hartley of Out and About Advertising was a huge help with great three tips:

"My best Presenting tip - If you are nervous, simply think you are just telling your best friends a joke in the pub."

"Another presenting tip - Make eye contact with everyone in the room and smile.  Prof Brian Cox never stops smiling."

"Presenting tip 3 - raise and lower your voice to gain interest and pause for a moment.  Its about timing."

 

Matt Johns of Johns Associates inspired the title of this post with this great approach:

" I always think, "right, you're on the rollercoaster, you are strapped in, there's nowhere to run! Hand on for the ride!" and things go OK from there."

I agree with Garry about Professor Brian Cox. He is a great presenter and that smile never breaks!

Thank you to all of you who gave your advice and I'll let you know how the talk goes.

 

To finish I had to include this really, didn't I? (Sorry!)