zoning

In the past article I brought up the subject of Best Management Practices for Landscaping and touching upon why a manual of this sort might be important. There are many good publications already out there that already focus the practices one should follow to create and maintain healthy landscapes and most of us as landscapers we already know what these practices are and we use them everyday. Having said that, why is so much of what we see everyday really doesn’t take best practices into account, plants installed in conditions that can never support them or if they do they aren’t appropriate for the site where they are used? Then the question becomes what allows for this and how might we correct it? How do we give some weight to these best practices, so that they are understood and they become the standards by which all those that are involved in the creating, approving, installing and maintaining of landscapes in municipal, commercial or residential situations? I will offer an example of this in the municipal situation with a couple of photos to illustrate.

In Rochester, as is occurring in many towns and cities they are making improvements to streets and sidewalks either for stormwater/ sewer improvements or as in Rochester downtown revitalization projects. This street (Hanson St.) that the photos show; it is side street that comes into the central square of town. What had occurred was that the street pavement and sidewalks were taken up, all of the utilities were place underground and with improvements to sewer and water lines. After all this work was done it was back filled with gravel and the crushed pavement that had been removed, new sidewalks were installed with new streetlights. As with many of these types of projects opening were left in sidewalks for trees to be installed. There are 26 trees that have been planted along this street, 4 varieties of trees were used: 10 Syringa reticulata, 4 Acer rubrum, 9 Zelkova serrata and 3 that might be Crataegus inermis, all about 2” cal.. As you will notice in picture 1 the trees were planted 6-8” below sidewalk grade. As a side note Hanson St. was the first street to be paved in Rochester in 1901 with 56,000 granite blocks from a quarry in Suncook, some of which were saved and cleaned to be reused as you notice in second picture around the trees. In order for granite blocks to installed stone dust was used as a base and in between joints. Then mulch was used to fill the gap between the trees and blocks. To look at the pictures, what do you consider to be problems? What might these trees look like in 5 to 10 years? What might have been the cost? This one example of so many, I sure you see this every day.
We do have a better understanding of the importance of soils and the nature and habits of plants and what their requirements are; so what I would like to offer now is outline for what I think would be in a Best Management Practices for Landscaping manual. I hope you might look it over, add your ideas, add comments, suggestions, or tell me I’m way off base.

Outline
Introduction
Reasons for Manual-
A guide of best management practices for landscaping to be used by Planning Boards, Landscapers, contractors and homeowners who might use this resource to do the work themselves or to oversee the work done by someone else.
To help create realistic expectations to a design, installation and maintenance issues for the long-term success of the landscape site, one that enhances the site and the surrounding area and helps minimize the impact of other features of the site. General plant requirements – to site and soil types.

Site considerations
Sun light and environmental exposures
Soil conditions
Type of soil- an explanation of different type of soils
Native soil or back fill
Compaction of soil at site
Amount of areas for landscaping – what plant material might it support, where they might be created to realistically valuable
Amount of imperative surface around planting areas and how these areas might impact the landscaped areas
Building site Footprint
Proper protection of existing vegetation
Minimize impact in alternation to site
Runoff water- where does it come from and where does it go?
Plant material and their characteristics
This would give general information about plants and their growth habits and requirements for a successful planting.
Different trees and their type of root structures and sizes.
How to select good quality plant material, esp. trees; also container vs. B & B material advantages and disadvantages
A discussion of the planting area and what it can support
A description of plant materials and those conditions that they require
The natural characteristics of shrubs and their cultural practices for growth control

Proper Design
The design should factor in maintenance issues
Plant materials suitable for the area that are sustainable
Snow removal and considerations chemical usage related planted areas
The effects of imperative surfaces
How the design should relate the site to the surrounding area

Proper installation
Site preparation
Soil amendments
Planting
Mulching and staking

Maintenance
Maintenance factors that help create a successful Landscape
The establishment period (short term maintenance)
Long- term maintenance considerations and cost factors
Structural pruning

As we all go about our business, landscaping in one form or another we see everyday what is being done by quote “others who by common sense or basic understanding of plants, trees and their true requirements”, should never be doing the things we tend to see happening everyday. How many places have each of you seen in the course of traveling around, whether from job to job, or just going to the mall or a shopping plaza with the family where all you can to do is wonder “ what was “someone or they’ thinking when they designed, created the site, and then installed a bunch of trees and shrubs that we all know that in all likelihood will have no chance of survival or if they do, they will never be what was envisioned when designed and installed. It comes down to the basics of what are the plants requirements and are they being met? Is it realistic to think that a tree that in its’ natural habitat might mature to a size of 50 feet plus be able to grow in an area of 6’x10’ surrounded by an impervative surface of asphalt, with a base of gravel and crush stone and then compacted, which may be the Best Management Practices and materials for laying asphalt, but not for planting a tree as the landscape plan and/or zoning calls for. Does that tree have any hope of reaching maturity?

How many times have you gone to a potential job site, whether an individuals’ home in the woods or a sub- division in a new development to find the site has been so altered with the removal of native soils and replaced with a layer of sand against the foundation and backfill with gravel or clay and then topped by an inch to 3 to 4 inches of quote “loam”. Maybe the whole building lot has been cleared of vegetation and native soils well beyond the buildings’ and its’ necessary features such as a driveway and a septic systems’ footprint. That house in the woods is now a cleared lot with an altered grade, substandard soils and we are being asked to return it to that natural landscape or now it is to becomes a large lawned area with some landscape beds to make the home look pretty. Is any thought given of how this impacts that larger surrounding natural landscape when this is being done over and over again? And if we are to consider doing the job, we must factor in the materials needed just to create an environment healthy enough for a landscape to grow and succeed Where grade changes have occurred retaining walls may have been installed with BMP for walls so that they may remain true over the years, but may not have taken in account that plants might be install on top of it to soften the look of that wall. Much of this has to do with communication or lack of; for someone (building contractor, planning board member, site worker and another trade) who isn’t landscaper or a plants’ person and isn’t considering what is required for plants and trees to survive after their job is done, that becomes the problem of the homeowner or someone else including us because we have to work with it, either to correct those problems or just work with those conditions and hope for the best that maybe plants might survive (at least a year).

I may have only begun to scratch the surface or ‘soil’ as too the much larger subject of Best Management Practices for landscaping; for we all know of the importance of soils to all living things that are dependent on it for their survival, including ourselves. Yet many times soil is never considered, whether to protect it, nurture it for many who don’t understand it just figure stick a plant or tree in the ground it will grow. We work with everyday; so how do we communicate it and educate others, who might if they had the knowledge, might attempt to change some of their practices for the better? It is one thing to talk to someone on a one to one basis, a building contractor who wants to the best job he or she can beyond the bottom line, but they need to have the knowledge to know how best to work a site for their client and for the larger surrounding natural environment. This information would be important to local planning boards that are charge with the responsible of overseeing the development that adds rather than reduces a quality of life for their community and part of that is a healthy, growing landscape in a residential or commercial setting.

There are many tools already out there we can use such as UNHCE’s publications ‘Landscaping at The Water’s Edge’ and ‘Integrated Landscaping: Following Natures Lead’. There is ‘Selecting trees For The Urban Landscape Ecosystems’ published by NH Division of Forest and Lands and New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ new ‘Innovative Land Use Planning Techniques Handbook for Sustainable Development’ which you can be view at http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/wmb/repp/innovative_land_use.htm this site can also be linked from NHLA’s web-site. At our joint Spring Educational Conference for Landscapers this coming March 18 2009 we hopefully will be having a panel discussion on the subject of land use and BMPs’ for landscaping which I am sure you all want to be involved in and offer comments to the discussion.
Having looked over the draft form of this handbook and other publications, I might even suggest that NHLA partnering with other organizations consider creating our own manual on the Best Management Practices for Landscaping manual to address issues not covered in other published documents or where they are, to combine that useful information into a one source manual that addresses the many issues involved in good landscaping. This could be given or sold to planning boards, building developers, contractors, and landscapers and offered to the general public as an educational book. We have friends and colleagues from other organizations who’s’ educational background can provide direction; offer suggestions and arm us with scientific research can support our findings for proper landscaping practices.
I know it might be a big task, but at least it might help address so many of the problems we see everyday. It doesn’t nor should it be a textbook, rather a manual that can be understood by the layperson, but can provides valuable information to help so that they can make informed decisions when it comes to landscaping from the very beginning of a project.. When it comes to landscaping. It isn’t only about just making money; it is about creating something and being to look back on it and feeling pride in what you did. It is also about not having all landscapers being place on the same level, unless it is to a higher level where knowledge, education and experience are the deciding factors.
So I’ll ask if any of you are tired of seeing bad work being performed and want to try and do something to improve what seems to be becoming the norm. I do hope you might consider becoming involved for it is about the standards we all want to work with and it will take many view points and ideas that are taken together that would make a BMP for Landscaping manual of any value