Could it be time to add your mobile device to your set of gardening tools? There really is an app for everything. Bring out your inner designer to create the dream landscape you always imagined with the Home Outside Palette app. Move, resize, and even undo with over 280 available elements (trees, paths, enclosures, and more) to an existing or new landscape before even stepping outside. Design on the go has never been easier for novice and experienced designers.

“We created the Home Outside Palette app to help homeowners design their properties,” says Julie Moir Messervy, owner of landscape architecture and design firm JMMDS and creator of the app and the Home Outside online landscape design service. Using any iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, users can upload a property survey and use it as a background, or select a grid or colored background, and mock up their landscape by tapping and dragging hundreds of elements into place. The grouping feature lets you lock permanent elements together (such as the house, garage, and driveway), and the layers tool gives you the ability to play with different versions of a design.

An in-app purchase offers additional elements as well as a measuring tool that lets you input rectangular measurements or “walk-and-click” a GPS-based outline of your space. A drawing tool allows you to sketch free-form garden beds and other features. “From the start we knew that we wanted to include all the green features that today’s homeowners need: laundry lines, greenroofs, chicken coops, veggie gardens, compost bins, greenhouses, solar panels, and more,” says Messervy. “It is possible to have a functional, sustainable yard that’s also beautiful—and this app helps you get the design right before ever picking up a shovel.” When you’re finished, get important feedback before committing to any design element. You can share designs from the app on social media or email them to friends. For additional help with your landscape, the Ask an Expert feature lets you send a design from the app to JMMDS’s award-winning designers for their expert suggestions. The app is designed to be practical and user-friendly for the imaginative homeowner to the professional designer. Messervy adds, “Our mission is to make beautiful design available to anyone, anywhere.”

By Jennifer Silver, Marketing and Special Projects Manager of Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio

Jennifer has held a variety of teaching, writing and editing positions. When she moved to Vermont 12 years ago, she discovered her true passion: sustainable agriculture. She is never happier than when writing or gardening. At JMMDS, she gets to write about gardens—what could be better?

My client was happy; she’d just completed installation of major landscape improvements designed by an award-winning designer. I was not so happy. Some of the plants the designer had chosen were simply not suited for the area where they’d been planted and it was my job to make them look good.

Landscape architects, designers, and maintenance crews are largely trained in the nuts and bolts of building landscape: walls, paths, site lines, and the mechanics of irrigation systems, but may not be as versed in the fine art of plant selection. The lusty plants at the nursery look fantastic in their pots, but growing information is scanty.

The tag says full sun to partial shade. Were the conditions it was tested in similar to your site? The tag says drought tolerant. What kind of soil would provide the support the plant needs to actually survive a drought? And for how long?

Especially in water-challenged Southern California, consider the following as essential to a successful landscape:

Soil

Test the soil. Is it heavy clay, loamy or sandy? Each different type requires specific treatments or careful plant selection. Match plant requirements to what is available (or achievable).

Plant Grouping

Group plants by water and exposure requirements. Even the Cadillac of irrigation systems will support plants only if all of them in the area being watered require the same amount at the same application rate. In our climate it should always be the primary principle to reduce the amount of water required for any given garden zone.

Environment

We shouldn’t have to relinquish every lush-looking palm, fern or ginger, just make sure they are placed where their water requirements don’t conflict with those of the more drought-tolerant ones.

Professional botanists and horticulturists have taken these questions to heart and provide more complete information in books, magazines and websites. Call on their expertise and experience to create a successful, beautiful garden.

See more of my writing on sustainable landscaping here.

In the relatively short time Lisa Cox Landscape Design has been working in the Santa Barbara area and Santa Ynez Valley, she has become the go-to for anyone wanting clean and sharp designs with a focused point of view. This is clearly evident in her design for the brand new Zinke Wine Co. tasting room. Lisa says she can’t take complete credit for the beautiful design as she worked closely with Thierry Fraye of Paysage Landscape and the Zinkes who have impeccable taste and a clear vision for their brand.

Michael and Ashley Zinke are Zinke Wines. Michael Zinke is a self-taught winemaker that apprenticed at Girouard and Sans Liege wineries before venturing out on his own. They opened their state-of-the-art tasting facility in the wine country township of Los Olivos, CA this past May. They create single vineyard Rhone varietal wines sourced from a handful of Central Coast vineyards. They needed a venue befitting their precious creations and Lisa was the one to deliver.

Lisa incorporated Eye of the Day products throughout her design. As you approach the building you are greeted by two ‘aged’ Greek Bottle pots customized by Eye of the Day standing guard aside the main entrance. Each pot is planted with drought tolerant growth. While enjoying your first taste of Viognier you overlook an impressive Asian carved granite trough bursting with colorful succulents. You can also admire the lovely Italian San Rocco Giara Liscia pot that flanks the bocce court while waiting for your next throw. After taking it all in, we had some questions for Lisa:  

What was your inspiration for the design?
My Inspiration came from a few sources.  First and foremost, the owners, Michael and Ashley Zinke have distinct, incredible taste.  They were looking for a look that felt something with a rustic/industrial look and a warm welcoming feeling from the street that would draw in customers who were looking for something a little different.  Also, with the existing Cape Cod style structure of the Tasting Room, we wanted to keep that charm, but infuse it with a bit of modern charm!

Did the Zinkes have strong opinions on what they wanted or did they leave it up to you?
I would say they gave me a direction as stated above, but pretty much let me design what I felt would present both function and form to the space.

What were the particular challenges with this project?
We needed an area that would allow furniture placement which I accomplished with the DG cutouts that are surrounded with lush green grass. There was some existing hardscape that we “improved” with either widening pathways or substituting new flagstone stepping stones. With a mixed plant palette of natives, lush perennials and color, the end product turned out quite pleasing to the eye…and of course the succulent filled planters are incredible!

What do you most like about designing in the ‘Valley’?
I can honestly say, what I like most about designing in the valley are the people! Since my husband and I have only been here for 1½ years, we can honestly say we are overwhelmed with the warm, friendly and caring SYV community!  And of course, how can you beat our gorgeous natural landscape of rolling hills, oak trees and vineyards…it’s hard to beat! A special thanks to Rich Cox Photography for the images!

Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, is in many ways responsible for the way America looks. Beginning in 1857 with Central Park in New York City, he created designs for thousands of landscapes, including many of the world’s most important parks. Prospect Park and Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn are designed by Olmsted, as well as Boston’s Emerald Necklace, The Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, Mount Royal in Montreal, the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and the White House, Washington Park, Jackson Park and the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. Many of the green spaces that define towns and cities across the country are influenced by Olmsted. The “Maker of Parks”, Olmsted was a prolific writer and outlined his approach to design with ten principles:

1) Respect “the genius of a place”
Olmsted wanted his designs to stay true to the character of their natural surroundings.  The goal was to “access this genius” and let it infuse all design decisions.

2) Subordinate details to the whole
There was no room for details that were to be viewed as individual elements.  In his work, they were threads in a larger fabric.

3) The art is to conceal art
Olmsted believed the goal wasn’t to make viewers see his work. It was to make them unaware of it. To him, the art was to conceal art. And the way to do this was to remove distractions and demands on the conscious mind. Viewers weren’t supposed to examine or analyze parts of the scene. They were supposed to be unaware of everything that was working.

4) Aim for the unconscious
His designs subtly direct movement through the landscape. Pedestrians are led without realizing they’re being led. There is the sensation of feeling lost yet completely confident that you can easily return to your starting point.

5) Avoid fashion for fashion’s sake
He felt popular trends of the day, like specimen planting and flower-bedding of exotics, often intruded more than they helped.

6) Formal training isn’t required
Olmsted had no formal design training and didn’t commit to landscape architecture until he was 44.  His views on landscapes developed from traveling and reading.

7) Words matter
Olmsted wrote often and thought hard about the words he used. For example, he rejected the term “landscape gardening” for his own work since he felt he worked on a larger scale than gardeners.

8) Stand for something
His writings show that, in his view, he wasn’t just making pretty, green spaces, he was democratizing nature.

9) Utility trumps ornament
He wrote, “So long as considerations of utility are neglected or overridden by considerations of ornament, there will be not true art.”

10) Never too much, hardly enough
He constantly simplified the scene, clearing and planting to clarify the “leading motive” of the natural site. Thirty years after he helped to design Central Park, he wrote to his ex-partner, Calvert Vaux, “The great merit of all the works you and I have done is that in them the larger opportunities of the topography have not been wasted in aiming at ordinary suburban gardening, cottage gardening effects. We have let it alone more than most gardeners can. But never too much, hardly enough.”

Olmsted believed in the restorative power of landscape for ordinary people. He disliked straight lines. He loved contrasting textures, but it was a cardinal rule with him to blur the boundaries. The architecture of Europe impressed him, but trees were his true love. And that true love shows.  Everywhere.

Eye of the Day Garden Design Center recently welcomed some members of the San Diego district of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. Headed by Koby Hall of Koby’s Garden Alchemy, Inc., the group of landscape designers hit the road for a weekend of visits to major garden influencers throughout the Santa Barbara area.

They stopped by EOTD here in Carpinteria for some tea and tours by owner, Brent Freitas, and sales rep, Mitch Walker who were happy to share information about our company history and an in-depth overview of our various product lines. This included our Italian terracotta from Terrecotte San Rocco and American pottery from Gladding McBean. The APLD group walked our showroom to see our extensive collection of fountains, statuary, and containers. Brent also spoke about our customization services including coloring, aging, and fountain conversions.

We were happy to see some EOTD items find new homes in future San Diego APLD designs. Special thanks to you guys and we’re happy you could visit!

If your group would like a tour of Eye of the Day, please contact us at: trade@

Click the slideshow for more of the San Diego APLD visit at Eye of the Day:

Eye of the Day Garden Design Center is proud to announce the launch of our first-ever Brand Book. When you visit our store you meet the unforgettable people and see the authentic pottery that we’ve built our business on, and now you can have that Eye of the Day experience by viewing digital publication on any device.

Why a Brand Book? As our clientele becomes more nationwide, we have felt people were missing out on the core idea that we are a local, family business with a visually spectacular array of products. Some of our long-standing customers and friends wanted the opportunity to see our ever expanding selection as well.

“Coming to Eye of the Day is about finding design inspiration,” says Brent Freitas Owner and CEO. That inspiration is conveyed via the Brand Book by breathtaking photos of products in and out of the landscape settings, coupled with informative text that has the depth and richness you’d expect from Eye of the Day. “If you are drawn to a container but unsure as to how you could use it in your garden, there is probably an answer for you in the Brand Book.”

The Brand Book is as helpful to the novice as it is to garden professionals, some of whose profiles and projects grace the digital pages. Rick Button and Carol ‘Puck’ Erickson are just a couple of the featured designers that share their thoughts on our containers and fountains are incorporated into their projects.

If you are looking for quality and durability but have been unable to get that finish that you need for your project, the Brand Book also touches upon our customization process. This release is intended to be an important digital resource for anyone who loves or is involved with creating exceptional outdoor living spaces.

Click here to be among the first to preview our brand new book.