Phase one of the Field Elementary school playground is set to open Sunday, April 7th. Please join the Friends of Field, the kids, and the Houston Dynamo street team for a fundraising auction and soccer event from 2-4pm. The first phase of the playground design includes a new soccer field and walking track. Phase two includes natural areas, a frogland with rainwater harvesting, native plantings, and a stump jump…..
Designer's Sketchbook: Courtyard Studies
I carry my sketchbook with me everywhere. It helps me quickly jot down visual ideas about design and I find that I learn and remember better from something I've drawn myself instead of from a photo. Lately, I have been sketching small courtyards around Houston and taking notes on how the spaces are organized and how the container plants or small in-ground plants grow within the space. These quick drawings help me learn what works and what could be done better in small urban gardens at homes, businesses, and restaurants. The best courtyard gardens feel intimate, like secret gardens, and also inviting. The trick is to use the vertical surfaces in a smart and efficient way so that the space is private and quiet. Here is a selection of recent courtyard drawings from my sketchbook:
Vines for Houston
Houston is a great city for growing vines. We have courtyard walls and residential fences that are spilling over with Bougainvillea, Creeping Fig, and Passion Flower. Every spring, the walls of Jasmine perfume entire neighborhoods with their sweet white star-shaped flowers. Vines are very useful for bringing lush texture to small spaces and spaces with tight corners and vertical surfaces. Some of the most commonly used vines here include Confederate Jasmine, Creeping Fig, and Bougainvillea. There are dozens of other species that are easy to care for and bring unique flowers and textures to the garden. Here are some of my favorites for their colorful flowers, all in the red-pink-purple tones, with links to more information and photos of the flowers:
Design Process: at the drawing board
I have an old-school drafting table and I use it everyday. Drawing by hand is always the very first thing that I do when starting a design project. It's how I capture site notes, develop ideas and quickly sketch and create diagrams. These initial rough sketches are developed into an overall site plan. As a Landscape Architect and Artist, drawing is a primary tool in my creative process. Here I give a sample of some of my hand drawn sketches to give you a look at my behind the scenes process of drawing.