I grew up with the appreciation of all creatures great and small.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve killed my fair share of mosquitoes, roaches and flies.  My justification like many others is I am allergic to the mosquitoes, roaches are gross and flies totally annoy me.  This blog is not intended as a guilt trip or to reprimand you because you kill spiders and ants.  My point is to broaden the perception of these creatures that are vastly deemed as expendable and worthless.  Many of the buzzing, flying and crawling critters have a very important job to do for the environment.  Some examples:   bees and butterflies pollinate and are food makers, dung beetles compost, ants and termites recycle, silk moths make silk and worms filter and amend the soil.  But the question then arises “Are they pests or are they beneficial?”  Well it depends.  Termites in a house can cause extensive damage, but termites in a forest contribute to the health of the forest.  A bee sting can hurt temporarily or could even kill a person who is extremely allergic; however as pollinators they are the cause for much of our natural food production.

In conclusion, perhaps we should view these little ones with a greater perspective and not take their annoying ways personally; because, generally speaking there are many more insects doing good than there are insects bugging us.  So, think twice before you deem to kill and remember that they are actually here to perpetuate and benefit life.

~Jamie Sloan

Account Manager

DeSantis Landscapes

One alternative to the meandering or stacked man-made water feature is a self-contained version.

Nearly every element or component of a self-contained water “feature” is housed within a “box” or matrix within which the water is captured and recirculated. So called “pond-less” water features move water from containment “collectors” up or out falls or spillways. Custom applications involving “bubbling” urns, formal falls through block walls and traditional cascading falls can be achieved using modern equipment.

Give DeSantis Landscapes Designers a call to help build your next water feature.

~Kyle Glynn

Landscape Consultant

DeSantis Landscapes

In 2005 a new type of small park was created as a temporary installation.  Parking days was born in San Francisco created by design firm Rebar who challenged others to think about the use of public space and the opportunity that lies in the transformation of a single parking space.  Participates in Parking Days take over single parking spaces and convert them into park like environment for a day.  The mission of Parking days is to start a conversation about the need for more open space.

Most recently these temporary installations have inspired a new breed of more Permanent Park, creatively termed “Parkletts”.  Often nothing more than a few benches or bean bags and a planter box, Parkletts are popping up in numbers around the city of San Francisco.  A feature article in American society of Landscape Architects magazine ASLA featured these spaces.  Designs ranged from outdoor café spaces like those seen along the most famous boulevards of Europe to modern sleek metal work and lighting outside a high end auto dealer. I challenge you to think what your downtown would look like if you replaced those surface parking spots with public open space.

~Matt Holt, BLA

Landscape Designer and Consultant

DeSantis Landscapes

So when you look at a row of 50 plants placed in this way, you see the plant bed (and the bark dust, any weeds, any trash, and any debris such as branches or leaves from overhead trees) as much as you see the plant.  We certainly don’t want to plant things too close together for health reasons, (and with DeSantis doing your maintenance you wouldn’t have to worry about the weeds, trash, and other debris!), but we also don’t want to put plants so far apart that they don’t look like part of a larger plan.

The other factor to consider when placing plants is the species.  When planting the same species, we want to place them close enough to each other so that they look like a unit, or so they look like they go together.  When planting different species, we want to leave enough space so that we show the viewer that we intend to have two different elements.

Spacing can make a space feel larger or smaller.  A long, narrow space with plants spaced twice their overall diameter can feel a lot longer because of the repetitive nature of the planting.  That same space with constantly changing small groups of plants gives benchmarks of progress to the person walking and makes the walk not feel so long.  This has the same effect as making a playlist to group the music you want to listen to instead of repeating the same song over and over.

~Trey McBride, BLA

Account Manager

DeSantis Landscapes

Turnbull’s passion goes without saying; but, to elaborate on what I mean about her humor and intelligence, here is an excerpt from her book that explains the other 10 Commandments:

1. Thou shalt not shear thy bush.
2. Thou shalt not top thy tree.
3. Thou shalt not plant thy sun lover in the shade, nor thy shade lover in the sun.
4. Thou shalt mulch.
5. Thou shalt not leave stubs.
6. Thou shalt not flush cut, neither shalt thou paint wounds.
7. Thou shalt not cover up the base of thy plant, or thy tree, or thy shrub.  Neither with mulch, nor with soil, nor with any landscape material.
8. Thou shalt cut circling/girdling roots.
9. Thou shalt not compact the root zone of thy tree, nor trench near the trunk of thy tree.
10. Thou shalt not weed-whip the trunk of thy tree, nor bash it with thy mower, nor leave anything tied on thy tree or the branches of thy tree, as is done in the land of the philistines.

(pg.xiv)

~Jamie Sloan

Account Manager

DeSantis Landscapes

Pergola covers are known more for their Old-World charm than their ability to block out rain. Still, when you invest the time to grow climbing plants over your pergola, the results can bring you year-round color and a delightful garden escape. A pergola cover entwined with foliage creates an outdoor room that feels like your own secret garden.

Benefits of pergola covers include:

More outdoor living space. Use a pergola with a natural cover made of climbing plants to extend your home’s living and entertaining space. With this beautiful addition, you’ll create a getaway spot in your own yard that gives you a reason to spend more time outside.

Weather protection. When you add enough climbing plants to your pergola, they’ll form a cover that provides shade from the sun’s rays. Or you can add a polycarbonate roof to your pergola for protection from the rain – a popular option for many homeowners. In addition to building a pergola cover over your patio, you can make a “green” tunnel with a series of connected pergolas over a walkway.

Add value to your home. A pergola cover, particularly when covered with beautiful flowers, adds interest to your home, which can raise its value. More importantly, the scenery you create adds value to the time you spend in your yard.

Best Plants for Pergola Covers

When considering which vines to plant, remember to choose ones that grow well in your region. While some vines cling to structures on their own, you may need to train others with twine, stakes or trellises.

In addition to Japanese wisteria, grapes and climbing roses, the following are great climbing plants for pergola covers:

Clematis. With white, pink, purple and deep red flowers, the clematis is an early bloomer and is simple to grow and maintain. The flowers come in small, medium and large varieties.

Honeysuckle. If you love fragrant flowers, you’ll love honeysuckle. These climbers are simple to grow and maintain and come with white, yellow, pink or purple flowers. Because it’s a semi-evergreen plant, its foliage provides cover even during the winter.

Passion flower. The exotic-looking passion flower, or passiflora, has ten petals, radial filaments in a contrasting color and stigmas that protrude from the middle. This climbing flower is ideal if you want to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bumblebees to your garden. While the passion flower looks high-maintenance, many varieties can survive winter temperatures as low as -7 degrees.

Jasmine. Delicate pink, purple, white and yellow jasmine blossoms fill the warm summer air with their iconic scent. The maintenance required for a jasmine plant depends on the variety you purchase; some do better in cold weather than others.

Solanum. Also known as the “potato vine,” the solanum has big purple flowers and can quickly take over a pergola. Pair this flower with other brightly colored climbers, such as deep pink roses, white passion flowers or yellow honeysuckles.

Lathyrus. The perennial variety of lathyrus, also known as the sweet pea, has sweet white, purple or pink flowers. Unlike its cousins, this sweet pea variety comes back every year. 

Material Options

The most popular materials for pergola covers are cedar and vinyl. Both can be equally beautiful, and each has its own benefits.

Cedar: Cedar is naturally resistant to insects, rot and weather. Since it is natural wood, you can stain or pain cedar in the color of your choice. Or leave your cedar pergola in its natural state and refinish it regularly.

Vinyl: Vinyl is a synthetic material that’s immune to insect damage, rot, water damage, fading or splitting. Consequently, you don’t need to stain or paint it. Because the material is so durable, many vinyl pergola manufacturers offer lifetime warranties.

Call and talk to one of our designers today to include a pergola and plantings in yoru next landscape project.

503-364-8376 Salem

503-639-0151 Portland

photo and post courtesy of Rick’s Custom Fencing

~Matt Holt, BLA

Landscape Designer and Consultant

DeSantis Landscapes

You can create spaces with any one of these planes alone, or create rich layered spaces through the combined effect of all three.  For instance:

•  1 tree can be a column to lean against, an overhead canopy that provides shelter and creates shade, and a marker for a place on the ground plane through its shadow.
• Different patterns of groundcovers, turf grass, and hardscapes can create spaces just like rugs, carpet, tile, and hardwood can be used indoors.
• A row of shrubs can create a wall that separates one space from another.
• A 3 foot tall shrub creates a physical barrier (you can see into the space but can’t physically walk into it) and an 8 foot tall shrub creates a physical and visual barrier (you can’t see into the adjoining space).
• Trees of different heights can create a vaulted ceiling affect and spaces between them can act as skylights.

Planting design becomes much stronger when thought of in these 3 dimensional terms.  All of these elements should be combined to create a space that you want to be in, rather than an object that you want to look at.

~Trey McBride, BLA

Account Manager

DeSantis Landscapes

The Salmon Safe organization has grown and expanded to become a leader in fostering relationships and forging partnerships which elevate the way we work and maintain our landscapes and buildings so that we reduce harm to waterways and improve habitat for Salmon.

Recently, DeSantis Landscapes partnered with Redside CRE in the design and remediation of the first ever Salmon Safe Light Industrial Park.  Work will be completed over the next five years and will include water smart irrigation retro fits, lawn reduction or conversion to alternative lawns, stream bank restoration, and conversion of existing plant material to native and adaptive plantings.

Work began with an overhaul of the front entrance of the property which had a traditional business park aesthetic with a large expansive lawn.  Redside and DeSantis teamed up to create an environment which featured native and adaptive perennials shrubs and trees.  By removing over 2,000 sqft of lawn, Redside took active steps to reduce the input of water, fertilizer, and herbicide required in a traditional lawn. The design showcased how landscape can be converted from an energy intensive space  to an environment which requires less input and  improves the water quality of the Columbia slough watershed.

~ Matt Holt, BLA

Landscape Designer and Consultant

DeSantis Landscapes