(PRWEB) October 23, 2014

Winter may be around the corner, but the landscape experts at Southview Design say that this is ideal time to think about the pillars in any landscape design the trees.

The best time to plant trees and shrubs is in the fall, and now is the time to get them in the ground, said Karen Filloon, a landscape designer with Southview Design. The roots just need to get established before the snow flies, Filloon said. Roots can grow in soil as cold as 40 degrees. Even if the air temperature is below 40, the soil is warmer than the air.

The most important consideration in planting a tree is to pick a location that will enable the tree to grow to its full size and offers the requisite conditions sun or shade for that particular plant, Filloon advised. You dont want to have to transplant a tree or a shrub, so plan ahead, she said. Ideally, that tree or shrub is one component of an overall landscape design for your entire yard.

Since its fall, Filloon cautioned against fertilizing trees or shrubs, which can weaken the plant and inhibit root establishment. She also advised against pruning trees and shrubs; pruning promotes new growth which is fine in the spring, but not the fall. However, adding a root hormone, which encourages roots to grow, is definitely a good idea, she said.

A thoughtful landscape design also takes lighting into consideration. Featured trees can set the stage for dramatic nighttime lighting using one of several lighting techniques, such as uplighting, silhouetting and moonlighting. If the tree is big enough at least 15 feet tall it could be a candidate for downlighting or moonlighting, Filloon said. The light fixture is mounted high up in the trunk and branches so it can cast light downward through the branches to create interesting shadows on the ground.

The type of fixture, intensity and color of the bulbs, and spread of the beams can have a huge effect on the character and mood. Lighting is also a great way to brighten the long autumn nights and dress up a home for the holidays.

Since Minnesota has had very little rain this year less than .02 of an inch so far in October its important to thoroughly water your trees and especially the newly-planted ones until the ground freezes, Filloon said. She also suggested hiring an arborist to check the trees for overall health and possible winter/spring pruning.

Southview Design has posted several photos showing moonlighting and other dramatic effects created by lighting trees and landscape features. For outdoor landscaping and lighting ideas, visit http://www.southviewdesign.com.

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Southview Design Offers Hot Landscaping Tips for the Fall

14 hours ago by Paul Schattenberg The second phase of gray water research at the Uvalde center will focus on how gray water affects the performance, growth and aesthetics of landscape plants, as well as the chemical composition of the soil. The trial plot consists of 24 rows of 13 different native, exotic and adaptive landscaping plants.

The second phase of a study on the use of gray water for landscape irrigation will soon be underway and its results may affect how municipalities view gray water as an alternative non-potable water source statewide and beyond, said the Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist leading the study.

Dr. Raul Cabrera, AgriLife Research horticulturist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde, said he is now in the process of starting the second phase of his study on the long-term effects of gray water irrigation on the growth, performance and aesthetics of several ornamental plant species.

"Gray water provides a potential alternative, non-potable water source available in practically every home," Cabrera said. "By definition, gray water is simply wastewater, basically soapy water coming primarily from washing machines, showers and bathtubs.

"The research is particularly useful for application in urban areas where as much as 50 percent of household water is used for landscape irrigation."

He said with many parts of the nation facing water restrictions, competition for water resources and drought, it is becoming more necessary to minimize our dependence on potable water supplies.

"Using native and adaptive plants, applying good management practices such as spreading mulch to retain moisture and the wise use of supplemental irrigation are vital in preserving the state's and nation's potable water resources," Cabrera said.

He said gray water accounts for about half of the wastewater from a typical household.

Cabrera said the use of gray water from washing machines alone has the potential for saving a significant amount of the state's potable water supply. He said if gray water from household laundry in Texas could be used for landscape irrigation, it could save about 400,000 acre feet of potable water annually. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

"It is estimated that the average family of four will produce 90 to 100 gallons of gray water per day. That's a lot of non-potable water that could be going toward supplemental landscape irrigation."

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Gray water trial will help determine feasibility for landscape irrigation

HOUSTON --

Ada Palmer said a sign from the city of Houston appeared in her front yard on Thursday, only to disappear days later. It required her to "cut high grass and weeds" on her property by October 25, or face a fine.

"The main feeling I had is like I was attacked," said Palmer.

The grandmother, who has spent her life running her own lawn service, takes pride in her knowledge of plants and flowers.

"I don't think it's ugly," said Palmer. "Right now, it looks like a weed because it goes to seed in the fall."

The city defines a weed as "a rank and uncultivated growth .. more than 9 inches in height .. or which, regardless of height, is liable to become unwholesome."

Palmer's neighbors don't seem to have any problem with her yard.

"I think it's a natural landscape design, nothing that's uncommon," said neighbor Giovanni Delacruz.

"It's wonderful from my window. It looks nice. I enjoy it," said neighbor Rajesh Garee.

Palmer said she's willing to mow a little for the sake of compromise, but she sure hopes it won't come to that.

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Elderly woman's yard center of neighborhood complaint

HOUSTON --

Ada Palmer said a sign from the city of Houston appeared in her front yard on Thursday, only to disappear days later. It required her to "cut high grass and weeds" on her property by October 25, or face a fine.

"The main feeling I had is like I was attacked," said Palmer.

The grandmother, who has spent her life running her own lawn service, takes pride in her knowledge of plants and flowers.

"I don't think it's ugly," said Palmer. "Right now, it looks like a weed because it goes to seed in the fall."

The city defines a weed as "a rank and uncultivated growth .. more than 9 inches in height .. or which, regardless of height, is liable to become unwholesome."

Palmer's neighbors don't seem to have any problem with her yard.

"I think it's a natural landscape design, nothing that's uncommon," said neighbor Giovanni Delacruz.

"It's wonderful from my window. It looks nice. I enjoy it," said neighbor Rajesh Garee.

Palmer said she's willing to mow a little for the sake of compromise, but she sure hopes it won't come to that.

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Elderly woman's yard center of complaint

Its that magical time of year when brightly colored yard signs dot the landscape of our neighborhoods, confirming our political suspicions about the neighbors we do not like. One particular set of signs caught our eye over the last week or so and theyre for a candidate we vote for every time we make scrambled eggs.

TexJoys adorable election signs have popped up around Old Town with slogans like My vote is at steak and Yes, we cayenne. They dont lobby for one side or the other; theyre just reminding you to, as the sign reads, Vote 4 flavor.

And to, you know, vote in general.

Early voting started today, so heres a little information to guide you on your magical election adventure. Have fun rocking the vote. (Do people still say that?) Local early voting locations Whats on the Nov. 4 ballot Davis, Abbott divided on SE Texas issues

beth@thecat5.com @BeaumontBeth on Facebook & Twitter

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Yes we cayenne: TexJoy's election yard signs are adorable

What Plainfield Central started on Friday night along Harvey Rd., the Oswego East football team was able to finish and return in kind.

Yielding several big plays early and trailing 17-0 in the second quarter, the Wolves solidified and saw big plays of their own on the way to a 34-17 win.

Oswego East improved to 2-5, with a 1-4 mark in Southwest Prairie Conference action, and visiting Plainfield Central fell to 0-7, and 0-5 in the SPC landscape.

Helping the winning effort was the triumphant return of senior quarterback Tyler Kennedy, back from a knee injury sustained in the first week and last previous win for the Wolves over Woodstock.

"This is Tyler's second year in the system and he understands what we're trying to do," Oswego East head coach Tyson LeBlanc said.

Also back was senior tight end Noah Mlsna, who was injured in preseason prep.

"Getting Noah back was big, both Tyler and Noah has good games today. When we have Tyler behind center it gives us a little extra confidence," LeBlanc said.

Things got off to a dubious start in gradually chillier temperatures, as Plainfield Central's Jonathon Perez took the opening kickoff down to the 3-yard line where quarterback Marcus Hayes set up from scrimmage and took it in for the touchdown and 7-0 lead just 18 seconds into the game.

Oswego East was able to get the ball moving in its first drive, and Kennedy completed a pass to freshman target I'Shawn Stewart for a 31-yard pickup. The next play went the other way and then some, as Roger Thigpen picked off a Wolves' pass for a 78-yard interception return for a 14-0 lead with 10:05 to go in the first.

The Wildcats would convert on their last drive of the quarter thanks to a 27-yard field goal with 4:39 to go for a daunting 17-0 lead.

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Snapping the spell

Richmond, VA (PRWEB) October 21, 2014

The Hampton Roads Association for Commercial Real Estate (HRACRE) held its annual Excellence in Development Design Awards ceremony on October 14, 2014 at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Cheatham Annex Cottages and Comfort Station team were presented with the top design award, the Jurors Award, and an Award of Excellence for Best Recreation/Entertainment/Hospitality Project.

An excerpt from the judges comments: Despite the modest program and building type, the simple yet inventive detailing elevated the project. We love how the buildings are nestled into the wooded setting. The vernacular form and scale are very appropriate for the use and context.

The Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) facility is a $6.5 million, 20-acre campground at the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown incorporating 16 cottages with views of Cheatham Pond, 50 RV pads, 20 primitive campsites, and support facilities. Considered a prime spot on the east coast for outdoor recreation for active duty, reserve, and retired military and their dependents, care was taken during design to preserve the natural setting of the mature hardwood forest while restoring areas that had previously been used for a firing range and storage yard. The project was designed to meet LEED Silver certification standards. Timmons Group provided site engineering and planning, landscape architecture, and sustainable design services for the project.

Our design team understands the importance of facilities that develop and encourage biophyllic relationships with nature. We appreciate the judges recognition of this extraordinary project," said LuGay Lanier, Landscape Architecture Principal for Timmons Group.

Project team members included: Owner: National Weapons Station Yorktown/Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation General Contractor: W.M. Jordan Company Architect: PMA Architecture Civil Engineer and Landscape Architect: Timmons Group Mechanical Engineer: Hickman Ambrose, Inc. Structural Engineer: Speight, Marshall & Francis, P.C.

Timmons Group was pleased to be a part of the design-build team and proud to have been a part of such a successful project which provides a place of rest and relaxation for our military families, veterans, surviving spouses, DoD employees, and their guests," said Nicholas Hadiaris, a Site Development Project Manager at Timmons Group. We congratulate all of the team members on receiving this recognition for a truly outstanding project.

HRACRE promotes the commercial real estate industry by educating its members on key issues, monitoring and addressing industry-related legislation, and taking the lead in the industrys evolution within the Hampton Roads region.

About Timmons Group Timmons Group is a multi-disciplined engineering and technology firm recognized for nearly twenty years as one of Engineering News Records (ENR) Top 500 Design Firms in the country. The firm provides economic development, civil engineering, environmental, GIS/geospatial technology, landscape architecture and surveying services to a diverse client base. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Timmons Group has regional offices throughout Virginia and North Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.timmons.com.

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Cheatham Annex Project Wins HRACRE Awards

PRESS RELEASE

Travel around a neighborhood after a storm and you will see tree limbs, large and small, scattered about the ground. Why do some limbs fall in high winds or after ice storms while others merely bend? Should you worry about that large limb overhanging your driveway?

"One reason trees fail is weak branch unions," says Tchukki Andersen, CTSP, BCMA and staff arborist with the Tree Care Industry Association. "Homeowners can educate themselves about tree limbs, but they should call a professional arborist if they are worried about an overhanging branch."

Trees may suffer from naturally formed imperfections that can lead to branch failure at the union of the branch and main stem. There are two types of imperfections that create weak unions: a branch union with included bark and an epicormic branch.

Branch unions can be characterized as strong or weak. Strong branch unions have upturned branch bark ridges at branch junctions. Annual rings of wood from the branch grow together with annual rings of wood from the stem, creating a sound, strong union all the way into the center of the tree.

A weak branch union occurs when a branch and stem (or two or more co-dominant stems) grow so closely together that bark grows between them, inside the tree. The term for bark growing inside the tree is "included bark." As more and more bark is included inside the tree, the weak union is formed that is more likely to fail.

In storm damage surveys conducted by the University of Minnesota's Forest Resources Department, 21 percent of all landscape trees that failed in windstorms failed at weak branch unions of co-dominant stems. Some species are notorious for having included bark: European mountain ash, green ash, hackberry, boxelder, willow, red maple, silver maple, Amur maple, cherry, Bartlett pear and littleleaf linden.

Epicormic branches (also called water sprouts) are formed as a response to poor pruning practices, injury or environmental stress. Epicormic branches are new branches that replaced injured, pruned or declining branches. Commonly, epicormic branches form on the stems and branches of topped trees. When old, large epicormic branches are growing on decaying stems or branches, the epicormics are very likely to fail.

Epicormic branches, by their very nature, form weak unions because they are shallowly attached instead of being attached all the way to the center of the stem. Epicormic branches grow very quickly so they become heavy very quickly. After a time they lose their connection to the main branch and may fall to the ground because the underlying wood cannot support their weight.

"If a weak union is also cracked, cankered or decayed, the union is likely to fail, causing the branch to fall off the tree," says Andersen. "Sometimes, ridges of bark and wood will form on one or both sides of a weakened branch union in order to stabilize the union. The branch is very likely to fail when a crack forms between the ridges."

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Why limbs fall in your yard

Raleigh, N.C. After months of debate and court rulings, neighbors bonded together on Sunday to help with landscaping atcontroversial modern house in Raleigh's historic Oakwood neighborhood.

My idea was something like a barnraising, and we call it a yard raising," said Madonna Phillips, who organized the event. "We wanted to get all the neighbors together and do something positive where we could see some results immediately."

Marsha Gordon and Louis Cherry were granted necessary permits to build the contemporary house at 516 Euclid St., including a certificate of appropriateness from the Raleigh Historic Development Commission.

Construction on the house irked neighbors, who argued that the house didn't fit with the character of Oakwood, and they filed a complaint over it. That led the city's Board of Adjustment to reverse the certificate, which suspended construction on the home until a judge ruled in favor of the homeowners in September.

"It feels amazing. I mean, the reason we wanted to live in Oakwood is largely because of the community and the incredible people that live here," Gordon said Sunday.

Most neighbors were happy that the court battle over the home is mostly over. A neighbor who lives across from the home has appealed the judge's decision.

"Now they're moving forward," said Robin Vuchnich. "They're gonna be in their lovely home very soon, and I think most of the neighborhood wants to see that happen."

Gordon and Cherry plan to move into their new home by Dec. 1.

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Neighbors pitch in to landscape modern Oakwood home

Oil painting was taken by thief who stuffed the frame in a toilet cubicle Landscape At Llanaelhaearn was on show at the Royal Festival Hall, London Artist Sir Kyffin Williams' works often fetch tens of thousands of pounds

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 06:57 EST, 17 October 2014 | Updated: 06:35 EST, 18 October 2014

An oil painting by a famous Welsh artist was stolen from the Royal Festival Hall but nobody noticed for more than a week.

Sir Kyffin Williams' work, Landscape At Llanaelhaearn, vanished from a secure room at the London venue at the end of September.

It was not reported missing until October 6 when a member of staff found its smashed frame in a toilet cubicle.

Stolen: Landscape at Llanaelhaearn by Sir Kyffin Williams, whose works now fetch up to 50,000

Sir Kyffin, pronounced Cuffin, completed the 20in by 24in piece in 1947.

He was renowned for his subtle use of pastel greens and greys to recreate the Welsh countryside. Nowadays many of his works fetch up to 50,000.

The painting, which depicts a figure looking out at a dark and rugged landscape, had been on display since November 2013, and was on loan from the Arts Council Collection.

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Theft of Sir Kyffin Williams's oil painting discovered a week later