There are well documented studies that demonstrate the healing properties of nature, as well as ornamental landscaping. Awareness of this concept and the holistic welfare of patients are engrained into the culture of Sharp Healthcare in San Diego, California. Yet, portions of their new hospital wing at Sharp Memorial created views from patient rooms to a barren emergency room rooftop. The hospital’s response was to commission the design and construction of a green roof to create more pleasant views from patients’ rooms. In response to the linear nature of the space and the fact that the roof is not accessible to patients, the design team decided to depict a staff of music, allowing both landscape and music to provide beauty and inspiration. The first few bars of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony “Ode to Joy” were selected for the project which was depicted in the placement of large planters on a music staff. The ode, written in 1785 by German poet Friedrich Schiller, is “celebrating the brotherhood and unity of all mankind”. It was put to music by Ludwig van Beethoven as the final movement of his 9th Symphony in 1824. The music staffs were created utilizing Trex composite lumber for the frames and large planters to depict both treble and bass notes. In keeping with the dry Mediterranean climate of the region, succulent groundcovers on 4” of soil media filled in the music staffs and were combined with the notes which are large planters containing Yuccas and Agaves. Background Palo Verde trees, rosemary, and climbing roses were also added to the planting palette. All plantings are irrigated with an efficient drip irrigation system. In addition to enhancing views from patient rooms the green roof provides a number of environmental benefits. These include the benefits of living plant material in oxygen production and carbon storage, as well as reducing roof top temperatures, providing insulation, and capturing rainwater.

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Vicki Estrada, of Estrada Land Planning, graciously made a huge contribution in the design and creation of the Azalea Park Conservation Garden in City Heights. Being inspired by the concept of a water-wise garden that encompassed artwork from recycled/reclaimed materials, Ms. Estrada took it to another level by designing the creative layout, with connective pathways to allow visitors to experience the garden from various grades and angles. The landscape design called for the use of a variety of natural and recycled materials within the walkways, along with staging vignettes of the plants to inspire homeowners to replica the settings into their home gardens. Landscape architect students David Clarke and Kerry McDonald designed the plant plan, supported and guided by Vicki Estrada.

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The Ten Tree Project is a temporary exhibit consisting of a grouping of ten boxed trees and portable seating located within a busy urban setting. The intent of the exhibit is to demonstrate to the general public the transformational power and value that trees provide within an urban setting. The simple and artful statement will provide a respite from the urban world,as well as a place for education and awareness of the value of our green infrastructure. THE SPACE: An intimate, protected courtyard space has been created (approximately 30’ x 30’ in size)by the placement of ten equally spaced large box trees. Movable chairs within the central courtyard empowers each individual with a freedom to personalize the space, find the most comfortable places to sit, and promote social interaction. An educational panel has been placed in the center of the space utilizing a box container equal to that of the chosen tree. EDUCATION: The educational panel provides information about the value of trees within an urban context. Trees provide multiple enhancements to our quality of life including social, environmental, communal and economic benefi ts. They alter the environment in which we live by moderating climate, improving air quality, conserving water, and harboring wildlife. Thermometers placed inside under one of the trees and outside of the space illustrate the differences in temperatures (often more than 20 degrees F). THE MESSAGE: Inspiring message regarding the value of trees expressed through individual words are stenciled onto the inside of several boxes: “Life, Comfort, Air & Shade.” EXHIBIT LOCATIONS: The Ten Tree Project is a traveling exhibit that started at at the Arts Center entry courtyard at Cuyamaca College in May 2011. It is currently located on the UCSD campus transit stop at Gilman Drive and Meyers Road until September 2011. The final location is planned to be in downtown San Diego for the opening of the ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo at the San Diego Convention Center, October 30th through November 2, 2011. The trees will be donated to worthy projects after the completion of the exhibit. SPONSORS: • American Society of Landscape Architects, San Diego • Horizon Distributors, Inc. • Miramar Wholesale Nurseries, Inc. • Mark Schroeder & Co.

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WATER CONSERVATION:IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING! In alignment with Catepilar’s Corporate Sustainability Goals, Solar Turbines set an important water conservation example in the region by reduced their landscape water consumption at this Kearny Mesa facility by more than 80%. In a bold move, this water-smart retrofit removed 90,000 sf of turf and created a sustainable garden that has become an award-winning source of corporate pride and employee enjoyment. Even folks from surrounding office buildings come over to stroll through this 'eye-candy' garden during their lunch hour. The beauty of this 'botanical showplace' grows with each new season, often celebrated with massive swatches of exuberant neon colors. Landscape Architect Marian Marum, ASLA, LEEDAP incorporated sustainable site design strategies throughout the project. Old turf was removed, and on-site soil was sculpted to create a network of 'basin and range' landforms, facilitating rainfall collection and fostering improved tree root health. Large drifts of drought tolerant, ‘high drama’ shrubs, succulents, and groundcovers from around the world were specified to increase bird habitat. High-efficiency irrigation components were incorporated (drip emitter tubing and rotator nozzles), and are controlled by actual weather conditions at the site. Mature existing trees were retained and new trees were added to increase site cooling; on-site cobble was harvested, washed, and placed carefully into meandering rain swales. Organic amendments were incorporated into the soil to increase soil biota and oxygen levels, further enhancing water absorption. Decomposed granite pathways were added to increase site percolation rates. Additional amenities included custom vine structures, 'encounter' patios, and an informative educational pamphlet (by popular demand) explaining the diverse plant pallette and sustainable design features.

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Together with Principal Donna Tripi and the La Jolla Elementary School (LJES) staff, the San Diego Unified School District, and parent and community supporters, BLOOM, a privately-funded site improvement committee, is proud to introduce the Marine Street Entryway revitalization project, the renovation of the landscaping on the Marine Street entry side of the elementary school and the repainting of the entire campus. Along with the extraordinary transformation brought about by the campus’s new paint color, the Marine Street Entryway also features new seating benches, large decorative planters and refuse containers, a wealth of new California native, drought tolerant plants and a lawn area replanted with high-traffic turf and properly irrigated. Other recent and equally "orchid-worthy" Bloom projects include the Girard Welcome Plaza, a complete refurbishment of the LJES campus on the Girard Avenue side of the school including the Girard Avenue Courtyard, a beautiful circular seating area, and the Auditorium Promenade; improvements to the sidewalk leading from Marine Street to Girard Avenue along the school’s edge to form the Legacy Walkway; and the Kindergarten Terrace, a wonderful new green lawn play area/outdoor classroom for the kindergarten featuring the Kindergarten Terrace Neighborhood Playhouse and the Kindergarten Terrace Gathering Wall, a seating wall for parents and siblings to gather during pick-up and drop-off. Bloom is a sanctioned committee at LJES, with 12 board members operating in conjunction with the very successful Friends of La Jolla Elementary, Inc., the support of the PTO, and very importantly, in partnership with the San Diego Unified School District. The committee was formed by three LJES moms committed to designing, implementing and maintaining mind-inspiring hardscape and landscape throughout the elementary school’s campus. Further information about Bloom can be found on the committee’s website, www.ljesbloom.com or by calling La Jolla Elementary School, (858) 454-7196.

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Once the home of a thriving Italian restaurant at the northwest corner of West Point Loma Blvd. and Sunset Cliffs Blvd., the building is gone and the site now sits vacant, an eyesore at one of the primary entries to Ocean Beach. KTU+A worked with the City of San Diego, the Ocean Beach Community Development Corporation, and the community to create a general development plan for the 20,000 square foot site. The vision is a passive plaza and garden that serves multiple purposes. It creates a unified entryway from the north into Ocean Beach, improves both pedestrian and vehicular traffic safety, and enhances the pedestrian access to Robb Field. The entryway and streetscape reflect the unique character of Ocean Beach. The project site features a street-side community plaza and coastal garden, and includes a people’s wall, setting for community-based art, site furnishings, and a meandering ADA-accessible pathway. The plaza serves as an overlook to the garden and Robb Field. The plaza design is based on a nautical conch shell theme highlighted by a highly visible, landmark specimen tree. A curved retaining wall honoring noted members of the community separates the upper and lower levels of the garden. Lighted bollards at the edge of the plaza adjacent to the sidewalk prevent cars from entering the plaza. Access at the street level is enhanced with an ocean blue and sky blue concrete and stone ribbon that crosses through the plaza. The paving pattern complements the Ocean Beach logo. The textured paving keeps bikes at a reasonable speed as they transition from the street level to Robb Field. Along the street is a stabilized decomposed pathway that overlooks the garden. The coastal garden is designed with drought tolerant plants requiring minimal maintenance.

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The stunning and sustainable architecture of the new Thomas Jefferson School of Law is only further enhanced by its thoughtfully planned landscape, designed by Greg Nowell and his team at Nowell & Associates. A variety of aloes, succulents, echeverias, passion flowers and other blooming plants, vines, cacti, palms and foliage plants fill the exterior spaces of the street level, 5th floor and 8th floor terraces, while the interior atrium welcomes students, faculty and visitors with specimen cycads and giant bromeliads, reminiscent of the days when dinosaurs ruled the earth. The first floor, wrapped in pittosporum “golfballs” on the west side, is complimented by the bright orange blooms of terrestrial orchids. The main entrance is decorated with matching windmill palms accessorized with agaves, cordylines and lined with vertical and architectural sanseverias. Agaves and cordylines also highlight the impressive multi-trunk Mediterranean fan palm on the corner of the property. The fifth floor boasts an 85 ft long and 5 ft high living wall, made with a variety of echeverias, sedums (low-growing succulents) and sempervivum, and is planted in the form of a sunburst that gradually transforms into a wave. This impressive living art piece sits behind a granite study counter, and ranges in color from gold, bright lime, dark green and purple. The wall’s wave introduces a red-tinted wave wall, that serves as the perfect background for a planter filled with several varieties of colorful passion flower vines, both fruiting and not, as well as an interesting array of cacti, ranging from barrels to fenceposts. Most of the cacti here display surprising blooms on occasion, in addition to their interesting shapes and sizes, and are planted amongst hearty agaves and colorful yellow bulbines. Planters wrapped around the 5th floor terrace are filled with lipstick aloes, fire and ice echeveria, cordylines and an impressive specimen dragon tree. The building’s 8th floor displays an interesting array of rare and unusual cycads with one in particular featuring a large and bright orange seed cone. Western redbuds are planted amongst soft sysirinchiums that complement the redbuds with deep violet flowers. Pre-historic looking zamias and bright orange aloe Africanas round out the eye-catching display, all surrounded by an variety of echeverias in numerous colors and textures. The landscape ties in well with the discovery of pre-historic fossils from the beginning stages of construction, from plant selection to ground cover.

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On March 22, Chula Vista's City Council voted 5-0 to approve the final design (90%) for the construction documents of the Third Avenue Streetscape Master Plan, capping a series of collaborative workshops. Councilmember Patricia Aguilar said, "Because of the importance of this historical section of street in the community psyche, during the first week of March the city held a series of public workshops and meetings to finalize the design of the project." Here are the workshops accomplished: - An opportunity for public participation and civic engagement in the future of Third Avenue; - Wider sidewalks and new planted median on a portion of Third Avenue between G and H Streets; - A way to acknowledge Memorial Park as a central civic amenity by joining it with the fabric of the street scene; - Creation of an important new civic amenity composed of the following elements: 1) Memorial Square, an outdoor public space for community celebrations, special events and Farmers Market (Thurs). 2) A simple, elegant paving pattern. 3) Use paving to mark connections to public parking lots through existing paseos. 4) Design ideas for a permanent Chula Vista Heritage Museum. 5) Iconic setting for a new Veterans Memorial to visually link with the new Memorial Square. Construction is beginning in August 2011. The public workshops and design development were led by the city of Chula Vista Community Development Department: Garry Halbert, Director Garry Williams, Project Manager Consultant Team led by PlaceMakers, LLC. Michael J. Stepner, Project Manager Howard Blackson, Design manager Andy Spurlock, Landscape Architecture Braulio Casas, Architecture

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Panda Exhibit Renovation By Ellie Rosenbaum – November 11, 2010 The crane at work. Tuesday, November 9, was “crane day” at the Giant Panda Research Station. No, not the feathered kind; they’re all waiting in the wings, so to speak, for our four-day Festival of Flight, November 11 to 14. Instead, it was heavy equipment day, starting in the wee hours of the morning. A large crane was moved into position in the panda canyon to do the heavy lifting for the panda exhibit renovation before the Zoo opened, and heavy lifting it was. Read Less Gao Gao will have some new climbing structures. By 9 a.m. new elm trees had been positioned and planted in each enclosure, some trunk material (called “zoo furniture” here) had been removed or repositioned, and new “furniture” placed. The crane was gone, but there was still a buzz of activity as arborists, gardeners, and construction workers from the Zoo’s staff all worked together to secure and stabilize the new climbing structures. There’s still much work to be done, but the bones are in, and it’s going to be very exciting for our pandas! The new panda furniture is secured into place. Old familiar napping spots have been transformed into way stations, leading up to new and exciting places to perch or nap. Trees have been pruned to add more light to the areas, while the young elms will provide different shady corners. The climbing structures have been expanded and conjoined so that they stretch almost across each exhibit. It will be at least another week before the bears can return, but by then between the new soil, plant material, paint, workers, and hardware, it will not only be physical enrichment for the pandas but an olfactory one as well. It’s going to be quite the treat for them and their visitors as they explore this wonderful new environment. On behalf of the pandas and the Panda Team, I’d like to thank all of you who donated through our Wish Lish toward the rental of the crane. It is much appreciated! Ellie Rosenbaum is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Sprucing Up for the Holidays.

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The Sustainable Sites Initiative is the first rating system (similar to LEED) for green landscape design, construction and maintenance. It is an interdisciplinary partnership led by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to transform land development and management practices with the nation's first voluntary rating system for sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. This year the Sustainable Sites Initiative announced the selection of 150 projects from 34 states as well as from Canada, Iceland and Spain to participate in an international pilot project program to evaluate the new SITES rating system for sustainable landscapes. Three projects in San Diego County were selected to participate: two designed by the Schmidt Design Group, Inc. of San Diego (Cottonwood Creek Park and Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens) and one by Helix Environmental Planning of La Mesa (Helix Environmental Planning Headquarters). Cottonwood Creek Park (former Orchid recipient) was selected based sustainable practices such as: the daylighting of two creeks to create a native riparian habitat corridor, stormwater management and bioswales that improve the water quality of the urban runoff that flows through the park. Other sustainable elements include native plant material throughout, sustainably harvested IPE wood decks and fencing, pervious concrete that provides infiltration in the parking lot and pathways; and interpretive educational nodes along the restored creek. Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens (former Orchid recipient) was selected based on sustainable practices including: combining entertaining and recreation within a stormwater basin, water quality improvements, use of local and reused materials, as well as Mediterranean, native and edible landscaping to create a unique and regionally appropriate garden. The garden is also 100% organically maintained. Helix Environmental Planning Headquarters was selected based on sustainable practices including: removing high water use lawn areas, installing a native plant garden, as well as managing and re-using rainwater on site.

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