California Landscape Design

Photo courtesy of Jude Parkinson Morgan.

News and Events from the APLD Bay Area District

So, there are three recent APLD Bay Area District events that I think deserve a little bragging about.

First, our 3rd Annual APLD Bay Area Designer Plant Fair on August 13 was, once again, off the charts. With over 130 attendees and 14 vendors, we really had a fun day. We’d like to share our handout with all the new/special plants that were featured: click here.

Second, for a little change of pace from our usual Summer Celebration at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, we decided to have an Autumn Celebration at the UC Botantical Garden at Berkeley on September 10th. This event was lovingly organized by Patricia St John and was truly a magical evening. For many of us, this was the first glimpse of the newly renovated Julia Morgan Hall and of the new Garden Director, Lew Feldman. Long-time Garden Manager (and APLD friend) Anthony Garza walked us through the new native landscaping surround the Hall. Food, music, plants, friends!

Third, if you’ve ever considered making the trip to Village Nurseries’ Horticultural Encounter events, you should! On September 19, Suzie Wiest herself picked up a group of APLD Bay Area District Members and drove us out to their newly acquired 1,600 acre nursery in Winters, California. Tree Town/Village Nurseries recently acquired this amazing and huge Hines Growers site and were able to transform it into a showcase of plants grouped by different landscape situations: Healthy Hydrozones, Proven Pollinators, Canopy Cove, Wild & Wonderful, etc.  

Suzie fed us copious amounts of food and drink and gave us a private tour of the plant displays and a fascinating driving tour of the nursery. Such a wonderful day. 

So next September, when you get that invite to Horticultural Encounter, you best make time to attend!

—Mary Fisher, APLD Bay Area District Programs Chair

There are five more APLD Bay Area District Events this year. Please join us.

Upcoming Events:

APLD Bay Area PANEL DISCUSSION:
Designing Custom Water Features

Good quality custom water features can be a design challenge for any landscape professional. We will gather a panel of experienced designers & contractors to share their tips and tricks for designing successful custom fountains, ponds and other water features.

APLD CEUs = 1.0
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 from 4-6pm
at the Lafayette Veteran’s Memorial Building
More Info Here

Events from the APLD Greater Los Angeles District

Landfill to Landscape: A Hugelkultur Workshop

Join Regenerative Garden Designers Leigh Adams and Shawn Maestretti for a hands-on opportunity to learn how to build a Hugelkultur berm to retain moisture, build healthy soil and grow a healthy garden. We will also be presenting on other beneficial, regenerative practices like harvesting water, lasagna mulching, eco-bricks, soil regeneration and much more.

Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 8am-1pm
More Info Here

News and Events from the Sacramento District

Coming This Fall:

Watershed Wise Landscape Professional Training
November 7 & 8 in Sacramento
Open to ALL APLD CA Members & Landscape Professionals!

Today’s landscape professionals need to be more than water-wise, we need to become Watershed Wise Landscape Professionals (WWLP) to manage our limited resources without sacrificing the beauty and functionality of our landscapes. In this unique training, you will:

• Learn watershed-based principles and how to apply them through hands-on applications.

• Understand how to integrate and take to the next level the fundamentals of sustainable, water-efficient landscaping.

• Increase skills necessary to create landscapes that restore and support the environment, increase biodiversity, and conserve fresh water resources.

• Acquire strategies for communicating the benefits of Watershed Wise and sustainable landscaping practices to clients.

• Build climate-resiliency into your landscapes to withstand our rapidly changing climate.

• Become empowered to be a WWLP Champion of Change.

WHO is this training for? This educational opportunity is for YOU – APLD Members; QWEL Certified Professionals; Landscape Contractors; Water Efficiency and Quality Professionals – anyone and everyone who designs, installs, maintains, and manages landscapes. This training is being offered in northern California, but it is open to all landscape professionals throughout the state!

WHEN
Day 1 November 7th, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Day 2 November 8th, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Day 2 Certification Exam from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

WHERE
City of West Sacramento
City Hall, Rooms 157 and 160
1110 West Capitol Avenue
West Sacramento, CA 95692

Green Garden Group’s (G3’s) Watershed Wise Landscape Professional (WWLP) training is a US EPA WaterSense labeled Professional Certification Program. Through its holistic, watershed approach, WWLP provides landscape professionals with a deeper understanding of the plant/soil/water relationship, plant water requirements, landscape water budgeting, and irrigation management. The training teaches you how to assess site conditions to use rainwater as a resource and factor rainwater into outdoor water efficiency analyses to reduce supplemental landscape water use and runoff, regardless of the climate in which the landscape is situated.

Build upon your current experience, training, and certifications. The curriculum includes how to:

• Utilize on-site water management strategies

• Conduct an irrigation water audit and site evaluation

• Design projects within water budgets using plant factors

• Calculate irrigation run times and precipitation rates to eliminate dry-weather runoff

• Design and locate rain gardens

• Remove lawn and build healthy living soil

• Identify new water efficiency techniques and technologies

This training is valued at $400, BUT thanks to the generous support of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers California Chapter (APLD CA), and our sponsors the Regional Water Authority’s Water Efficiency Program, City of Roseville Environmental Utilities, City of West Sacramento, and California Water Efficiency Partnership (CalWEP). APLD CA is pleased to offer the Watershed Wise Landscape Professional (WWLP) training for a reduced cost:

APLD CA members who are NOT already WWLP certified $143
APLD members who ARE WWLP certified and want a refresher $ 68
QWEL certified professionals who are NOT WWLP certified $143
Non-APLD members or Non-QWEL certified professionals $175

Note: The registration fee includes the cost of the certification exam (held on Day 2), a light breakfast and lunch on both days, and free parking. A modest transaction fee applies for each ticket type. Participants are required to attend both days. We are currently seeking continuing education units.

Space is limited. To register and for more information, visit:  https://greengardensgroup.com/events/watershed-wise-professional-certification-apldca-sacramento/

Questions? Contact: Cheryl Buckwalter landscapeliaisons@gmail.com or Robin Salsburg at robin@visiongardendesign.com

We are still working with the San Diego and Greater Los Angeles Districts to plan abbreviated Watershed Wise refresher workshops in early 2020. In the meantime, we hope to see you in November in Sacramento!

— Robin Salsburg and Cheryl Buckwalter, your APLD CA Advocacy/Sustainability Co-Chairs

News & Events from the San Diego District

Fall is upon us and the San Diego District is looking forward to cooler weather! The first half of the year has seen good membership growth in our District and we are on-budget for the year as well. Our newest Allied Member (JW Lumber) will be a great fit for our District as they bring expertise in lumber and building materials. We are hoping to set up member seminars for learning with them in the near future.

Our outreach efforts have been well-received, and we are getting the word out through garden tour participation (i.e. booth at the San Diego Horticultural Society Garden Tour), social media updates (check us out on Instagram, Facebook, etc.), and event judging (I helped judge the 2019 Del Mar Fair garden entries this past June). Also, I recently joined Chapter President Francesca Corra and GLA President Marilee Kuhlman at the offices of the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles for a meeting on combining synergies to help the homeowner public understand quality landscape design. I feel that public and industry awareness of APLD is continuously increasing, and we continue our efforts to position APLD-CA as a key resource for this important industry. 

So what’s going on down here? June’s San Diego District member events included our popular Common Grounds meetup (June 20th at Panama 66 bistro in Balboa Park with “Creativity in Your Studio” as the topic), and the 27th was our June Member Forum (Measure-ups and Slopes) at a local designer’s home (yes, with slopes). July was our month off, with the National Conference taking center stage and some of our District members attending. August included our annual Summer Social mixer for members, guests, and Sponsors and for many of us was a time to pause and relax during the hottest part of the year. 

In October (4th, 5th, and 6th) APLD-SD is once again hosting the main entrance of the San Diego Home/Garden Show. We are doing our popular “30 for 30” landscape design consultations on Sat. the 5th and look forward to a good turnout! Oct. 24th is our first “Rough Drafts” meetup and happy hour at Second Chance Beer Co. starting at 5pm.  

Our Sponsors continue to reach out to District leadership to set up events, and we always ask Sponsors to attend our scheduled events. Bamboo Pipeline recently joined us for a Healing Garden Tour, and we are looking forward to the upcoming event with Direct Lighting Outdoor Lifestyle in September.

On a special note, APLD-SD presented its first scholarship award at the annual Cuyamaca College Botanical Society Scholarship Awards Banquet (please see photo). The CCBS awards thousands of dollars in scholarship funds every year to deserving students in the Ornamental Horticulture program. APLD-SD is honored to support this program, and we look forward to contributing in the future for the next generation of landscape designers.

Welcome New Members

Please give a warm welcome to these new members of the APLD California Chapter.