Tuesday’s L.A. Lesson

William Gibson states, “When you want to know how things really work, study them when they’re falling apart.” Yikes, that could be applicable to a number of things in society today but here’s one that is receiving some attention in the news lately. It’s one that all homeowners should understand because in some way, shape or form, these changes can slowly trickle down and before you know it, you may be part of these legislative changes. It is already making impacts on landscape architecture and how we design. So what is it?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is in the process of remapping flood zones. If you live or are building in a coastal location, you may already be aware of its impact. But don’t think it stops at coastal zoning. Visit the Floodsmart.gov site and you can find useful information that all homeowners should be paying attention to regarding reassessments on properties in ‘high-risk areas and if it reflects a true flood risk’. Understanding topography or low lying flood zones may seem irrelevant to most but it all matters when legislation like this appears. Just for giggles, enter a zip code on the Floodsmart site and see if you recognize why the city or town listed may be listed as part of this remapping legislation. It will make you remember, “Oh, yeah. It was just a few years ago when those streets were flooded for days.” Or you’ll think about that pristine reservoir as it sits on a hill but realize its devastation if any part of its dam let go. Remember the William Gibson quote. “When you want to know how things really work, study them when they’re falling apart.” Unfortunately, we learn our lessons too late.

Let's consider storm frequency and intensity. What once was considered a 25-year storm event now occurs more frequently. You may remember reading about that tidbit here. It's also been mentioned in previous posts how federal legislation impacts state and local municipalities when it comes to storm water management regs and development of a property. Now it's time to pay attention to the remapping of flood zone areas. It’s been a long time coming and there’s clearly been some resistance because it can change the playing field. But like so many things as it relates to design and development, you can’t fool with the laws of Mother nature as to when she hits or where. With the devastating damage of Hurricane Sandy still fresh in our memory bank, this post serves as a wake-up call. Pay attention, especially as this year was extremely quiet on the hurricane front. L.A. Lesson for this November Tuesday – Eyes on the forefront and be prepared for the storms ahead. 

P.S. Hopefully Blogger's email subscriber function is working this morning and sends you yesterday’s post as well.

Image by Ann Bilowz ©  

If you like this blog, hope you check in for your daily share's worth of inspiration, design, and garden tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at Annie You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too.

A Fall Veggie Boost

 

If you didn’t plant a late season crop like Broccoli or Brussel sprouts or you don’t intend on getting any garlic bulbs in the ground over the next week, you may be under the false pretense that everything in the veggie garden is all set for next spring. But not so fast – there’s always a useful garden tip and one you can’t overlook if you take your veggies seriously. The most important step you can never skip is to clean up all your dead plants, dispose of them and any additional debris that leaves pathogens to emerge in the soil each spring. This can be caustic to your vegetable garden, big or small, so it should be cleaned properly so as not to spread plant diseases.

There’s one last winterizing step for the veggie garden, which is to add a winter cover crop (i.e., winter rye). Why is this recommended, specifically for a sizeable vegetable garden? This extra boost helps stabilize the soil and provides a layer of green manure, adding a supplementary organic matter that gets tilled into the soil next spring. The only thing you should be aware of – don’t wait too long come spring to till it in. You want this extra layer mixed in your soil before it goes to seed.

So it’s a quick wrap up on this November morning with a Jane Shellenberger quote. “Our most important job as vegetable gardeners is to feed and sustain soil life, often called the soil food web, beginning with the microbes. If we do this, our plants will thrive, we’ll grow nutritious, healthy food, and our soil conditions will get better each year. This is what is meant by the adage, ”Feed the soil not the plants." Have a great Monday. Enjoy your week.

 

Top Image by Ann Bilowz – The Last of the New Dawn Rose in Bloom this weekend.

Bottom Image by Ann Bilowz © Last of the Parsley and garden clean-up

If you like this blog, hope you check in for your daily share's worth of inspiration, design, and garden tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at Annie You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too.

It’s the Form That Counts

Orhan Pamuk states, “It's not the content, but the form of thought that counts.” So on this balmy but windy first day of November, it’s an image looking up. It’s the last of the fall foliage and it’s my favorite color, yellow. This photograph suggests the final moments of light and sunshine on this overcast Friday. For those turning back the hands of time, we can’t forget that this is the weekend we set our clocks back an hour. Get use to the darkness a bit earlier in your afternoons. That’s why planting bulbs become so darn important when we are looking for those first signs of spring. If you missed Tuesday’s garden reflections, there’s a list of fall tips worth checking out for this weekend.

Yes, it’s been a long, whirlwind week here in #Soxnation so Friday’s content may be short on word count. But it seems that images always garner the most looks. But if you need a tad more ‘story’, here’s an inspiring article. Take a look at how +Cornell University’s Landscape architecture program is inspiring local teens. It’s a Friday lift-off. Enjoy your weekend.

Image by Ann Bilowz © 11 1 13 Last of the Fall Foliage

If you like this blog, hope you check in for your daily share's worth of inspiration, design, and garden tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at Annie You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too.