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| In the spring of 2003, Smart Money Magazine ran an article on how landscaping can significantly increase the value of your home. To read the article, please click on the link on the left. |
Awards for Excellence in Design Pennsylvania Landscape and Nurseryman's Association |
| 2003 Silver Award Private Residence, State College, PA Residential $30,000-$60,000.00 |
The clients came to our firm requesting a design that would incorporate a parking turnaround area in their driveway for an area to park a large vehicle while still being able to pull out of their garage. Their home is located in College Heights in State College, PA. The property is in a neighborhood on about ¼ of an acre. After evaluating the property, we proposed an overall design change. The approach to the front door was tight and overgrown with the large yews that had been planted when the home was built over 50 years ago. The side yard was completely unusable with a hillside planted with ivy, periwinkle, and arborvitae. While the yews provided privacy at the front door, the rest of the yard was open to the public and was being used as a cut through by pedestrians since the lot is on a corner in the neighborhood. A new master plan was presented incorporating a new front entry with a circular driveway allowing plenty of parking, inlaid paver installation for separation between drive and walkway, an island bed to divide the public walk and private front yard. The new entry is a very open, welcoming change to the space. Perennial beds were suggested on either corner for color and texture throughout the season and to deter people and dogs from cutting the corner. The corners also frame the space creating a feeling of more space in the front yard. A privacy screen and gate were suggested to separate the front yard from the side and back yard. A change of materials also is used here to define front entry from rear entry…using boulders and irregular flagstone to suggest a more casual area after one enters the gate. The hillside was terraced and this immediately reclaimed unused space creating an area for a bocce court. The homeowners entertain houseguests throughout the busy Penn State football season and wanted an area to enjoy outdoor games with their friends and family. The idea of a bocce court was suggested after realization that the space could be flattened with terracing. The view from the home toward the outdoors was taken into account carefully as certain windows allow for golf course and mountain views, while other areas needed to be screened from neighbors’ windows and patios. A direct view to the bocce court is visible from the kitchen enticing the houseguests to enjoy the new outdoor space. Existing plants were carefully evaluated to see if they could be used and moved during the construction. The arborvitae from the hillside were transplanted to the edges of the property. A Japanese maple, the azaleas, and rhododendron that were tucked into the hedges and yews were worked into the new design also. A Golden Rain tree, Buddleia, New England asters, and Iris were salvaged from the hillside planting and used in the bocce court area. The new plant choices were carefully selected with the homeowners as they travel periodically throughout the year and wanted peak seasons to be during the time frames when they expected to be at home the most. The existing plants in the front yard were a Crimson King Maple, 3 Silver Maples, Rhododendron, Viburnum, and Burning Bush. The emphasis on the new design was color throughout the summer and fall, and getting some verticality into the front yard with the use of flowering trees to detract from the long horizontal lines of the house. We used a Kousa Dogwood at the entry, 3 Aristocrat Pear in the island, Maiden grass on either side of the driveway and a mass of Dwarf Arctic Willow to screen the neighbor’s house. A boxwood hedge separates the driveway from the public walk. A Blue Holly semi-circular hedge is used at the corners to deter pedestrians and provide an evergreen backdrop in the winter. Assorted masses of colorful perennials including Rudbeckia ‘Goldstrum’, ‘May Night’ Salvia, ‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis, Liriope ‘Big Blue’, ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum, Russian sage, Fountain grasses, assorted large leaf hostas, and lamiums. Purple fountain grass, impatiens, and mums are planted annually. A climbing Hydrangea and fleece vine are beginning to soften the fences and brick wall. The homeowners are very happy with the changes and are enjoying their new gardens, driveway, and bocce court. We are very proud of the design and changes that have been made to the space and look forward to returning each year to watch the progress of the plants as they develop and grow. This design should stand the test of time and continue to give them years of enjoyment. |
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| 2003 Silver Award Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts Allen Street Promenade Commercial up to $25,000.00 |
Each year in July, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts gets underway in downtown State College, PA. For almost thirty years Landscape II has been landscaping the Allen Street Promenade for the Festival. It is one week long from set up to tear down and is a major event for Central Pennsylvania. Allen Street is the main thoroughfare for the Festival. It houses a stage for performers, food tents, information booths, a silent auction, as well as many retail stores and restaurants. This area gets very crowded during the Fest and is a meeting place for many people. Over the years we have tried to be inventive and re-inventive in the design of the Promenade…it has tested our design abilities and creativity. Since the Arts Festival is held in July and we have had record-breaking heat during this time period, we have made it a permanent design feature to include inter-active water features. This years’ design included two water feature areas, the Fog Tunnel and the Dumping Buckets. Each year we try to incorporate a fun water feature for children and a ‘cooling area’ for the adults. We also provide seating and landscaping in these areas. The Fog Tunnel was a misting machine inside of a large steel tube that served as a walk through display. The fog inside cools the area by 20 degrees and comes out in a fine mist. The tunnel was covered on the exterior with a series of hanging baskets to add greenery and color. We included lighting inside the tunnel for an evening effect. The beds on both sides were constructed of large boulders to provide seating areas. The beds were filled with lush landscaping to enhance the Allen Street Promenade. The Dumping Buckets was an interactive water feature display that the children loved! The area was a trellis structure with cross-members that contained several multi-colored buckets each. As the buckets fill, their equilibrium becomes displaced and the bucket dumps over onto the heads of the participant. The anticipation of the spill and the chance to get wet are the main attraction of this feature. The trellis also housed colorful hanging baskets and plantings. The beds on both sides also offered boulder seating and landscaping. The main challenge involved in the setup up the Arts Festival is the amount of time that we have to do so. We have access to the street at 6:00 am on Monday morning and must be finished by Tuesday afternoon. The setup typically takes about 18 hours. We start by bringing in the boulders and laying out the beds, filling them with mulch and placing the plants as they arrive. This is usually a hands-on design layout, evaluating the quality of plant material, color, massing, and texture as it arrives on the street from our office. The water features are laid out and built using a rubber membrane for a catch basin and decking materials and pressure treated ties with anti-skid material. The basin is hidden with stone and plant material. We designed and pre-built the buckets at our office over the winter months testing them to ensure success. All of the water from the Dumping Buckets display is recycled and pumped back through the system. The plant choices are selected for maximum effect of color, massing, and texture. This year we used an assortment of Coleus, as well as yellow Marigolds, Purple Wave Petunias, Purple Fountain grass, Dappled Willow, Diablo Ninebark, Golden Edge European Elderberry, Neon Flash Spirea, ‘Knockout’ Roses, Maiden grasses, and ‘Happy Returns’ Daylilies. We used Korean Mountain Ash, Canadian Hemlocks, and Lawson Cypress for shade, height, and massing. The festival was a huge success and we are starting to plan for the year ahead. It is a fun project that we look forward to each summer and hope to continue the tradition of providing entertainment, cooling off, and color to the Allen Street Promenade for years to come. |
2001 Silver Award Sera-tec Biological Services State College, PA Commercial up to $25,000.00 |
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Sera-Tec Biological Services approached Landscape II after acquiring it’s new location, on the corner of Atherton and Beaver Avenues, a gateway to downtown State College. The existing building had been abandoned for several years and the area that we re-designed had not been maintained. The only plants that were on site were overgrown yews and grass that had not been mowed in months. The owner wanted to make a big statement because of the location and add a water feature to the site. The owner had also discussed the project with the sculptor, Mark Pilato, asking if he would be interested in showcasing some of his work here. He and I discussed many possibilities for the site, but decided on the enclosed design. We wanted to elevate the sculpture as much as possible because of the height of the building. We used stone to form a circular base under the piece and this also provided a place for our pump. We decided on a ring of water around the base of the sculpture to make it seem like it was walking in water. Because the site is on a corner, we knew that cut through would be a problem. Rather than try to deter this, we encouraged it. We added a curving paver walkway and strategically placed some sitting boulders. Many of the owners’ clientele spend time in the courtyard while visiting Sera-Tec. The plant pallet was chosen because of the location. The client did not want to wait 5 years to see results. I chose ornamental grasses and many perennials to reach a faster level of maturity. We also incorporated many bulbs for when the grasses are cut back, annuals for abundant color in the summer, and fall mums throughout Penn State football season. There is a hedge of blue holly that will become the backdrop and 2 Hetz junipers capping off the sides. The many different grasses and perennials compliment each other and the garden is an ever changing display of colors and textures. The client is very happy with the design and the borough of State College awarded Sera-Tec a ‘Most Improved Business Site’ award last year. |
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