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VERTICAL GARDENS
A NEW TREND IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
(by Mike Bianchi)
In August Teufel Landscape of Washington installed one of the first “vertical gardens” in the United States. The garden was installed for Tacoma Goodwill-Milgard Work Opportunity Center in downtown Tacoma, Washington. Goodwill commissioned French artist Patrick Blanc to design and oversee the construction of the garden. Mr. Blanc has a 25 year history in designing and installing such gardens throughout Europe and Asia but he has worked on only a handful of such gardens in the United States.
Edible Landscaping
Edible landscaping is the incorporation of food producing plants into the landscape.
Designing a Water-Efficient Landscape
Can you redesign a thirsty Portland garden to use less water? Yes. Attack the Lawn First. Watering your thirsty lawn and garden typically consumes half of the total amount of water your family uses each summer. That’s a lot of water. If only you could wave a magic wand and cut your outdoor water use in half, you could do your part to help avoid future water shortages and keep your own water bill from becoming a financial burden as water rates rise.
Green Roofs - On Top of the Eco Movement
Originally sod roofs were found in picturesque alpine settings or on cabins in the Mid-west during pioneer days. But starting around fifty years ago Europeans realized that a vegetative roof cover had far more to offer than just aesthetics. The ability to retain and cleanse a large percentage of water run-off from rain events while moderating temperature extremes for the building they are covering, protecting the water proofing from harmful UV, thus dramatically extending the life of a roof, and providing a habitat for wildlife within our very urban environments.
Philosophy on Sustainability
The Teufel Philosophy on Sustainability
There are many accepted definitions of the word “sustainability,” but perhaps the most concise one is “Intelligent Resource Planning.” Here at Teufel Landscape and Teufel Nursery we don’t pretend to have all the answers to the many challenges we are facing today, but we can share some great ideas and insights that can only come from working with the land for over one hundred years. Sometimes the best solutions come from a well thought out practical approach that has been tried and proven over the years. Other times we need to utilize the latest scientific discoveries, figuring out how to put them to immediate use.
