The project was part of a new planting and management strategy developed to address long-standing maintenance issues that have left sections of the park looking scruffy. The plan incorporated bioswales, native plantings and the reduction of impervious surfaces. A big chunk of the $9.9 million budget went to cleanup. The greenway includes a park of varying widths to handle the water that would fall on the site. In 2017, the city hired SMM to help convert an auto inspection facility.
For New Orleans’s popular Lafitte Greenway, the plan was just the beginning. By Jane Margolies Volunteers help plant cypress trees on the Lafitte Greenway in April during an event that sprang from the park’s new Greenway GROW! management strategy. Photo courtesy Spackman Mossop Michaels. On a recent morning in New Orleans, church parishioners, employees on loan from local businesses, and sailors in town for Navy Week were among the 130 volunteers who showed up to plant 100 cypress trees in a...
For New Orleans’s popular Lafitte Greenway, the plan was just the beginning. By Jane Margolies Volunteers help plant cypress trees on the Lafitte Greenway in April during an event that sprang from the park’s new Greenway GROW! management strategy. Photo courtesy Spackman Mossop Michaels. On a recent morning in New Orleans, church parishioners, employees on loan from local businesses, and sailors in town for Navy Week were among the 130 volunteers who showed up to plant 100 cypress trees in a...
At Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, “two countries, two cities, one culture, one river, one park.” By Jane Margolies Zacate Creek, which feeds into the Rio Grande, creates an arroyo with a natural waterfall. Photo by Overland Partners. Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas, Mexico—known colloquially as Los Dos Laredos—were a single city divided by the Rio Grande River until 1848, when a treaty established the international border in the river, leaving one half in the Unit...
At Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, “two countries, two cities, one culture, one river, one park.” By Jane Margolies Zacate Creek, which feeds into the Rio Grande, creates an arroyo with a natural waterfall. Photo by Overland Partners. Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas, Mexico—known colloquially as Los Dos Laredos—were a single city divided by the Rio Grande River until 1848, when a treaty established the international border in the river, leaving one half in the Unit...
For new master plan, MNLA embraced Smith College’s ethos of participation. By Jonathan Lerner Paradise Pond, a beloved Smith landmark, was formed by a dam on the Mill River. A proposal to renaturalize the river strikes some alumnae as too radical. Photo courtesy MNLA. In 1871, Sophia Smith devoted an inherited fortune to realizing her dream, a women’s college to equal those for men. Today the institution bearing her name enrolls some 2,100 female undergraduates (and a few hundred grad studen...
For new master plan, MNLA embraced Smith College’s ethos of participation. By Jonathan Lerner Paradise Pond, a beloved Smith landmark, was formed by a dam on the Mill River. A proposal to renaturalize the river strikes some alumnae as too radical. Photo courtesy MNLA. In 1871, Sophia Smith devoted an inherited fortune to realizing her dream, a women’s college to equal those for men. Today the institution bearing her name enrolls some 2,100 female undergraduates (and a few hundred grad studen...
Running the length of my driveway is a slender strip of lawn, barely three feet wide. Blessed with full sun, the grass and weeds grow fast, and because the space is so narrow and blocked in by my neighbor’s fence, it’s miserable to mow. So, two years ago, I lined up a row of raised beds along it and turned the unremarkable plot into a luscious garden where this year I am growing tomatoes, eggplant, Swiss chard, pole beans and cucumbers. Vegetable gardens are hardy things, and do not need nea...
Running the length of my driveway is a slender strip of lawn, barely three feet wide. Blessed with full sun, the grass and weeds grow fast, and because the space is so narrow and blocked in by my neighbor’s fence, it’s miserable to mow. So, two years ago, I lined up a row of raised beds along it and turned the unremarkable plot into a luscious garden where this year I am growing tomatoes, eggplant, Swiss chard, pole beans and cucumbers. Vegetable gardens are hardy things, and do not need nea...
At the University of Pittsburgh, a Complete Street caps a series of student-centered outdoor spaces. By Timothy A. Schuler North of the student union, a new, permeable plaza provides space for events as well as informal gatherings. Photo by Denmarsh Studios/LBA. In the mid-1950s, the fast-growing University of Pittsburgh acquired two historic properties: the Hotel Schenley, built in 1898, and the Schenley Apartments, built between 1922 and 1924. The buildings were renovated for use as dormitori...
At the University of Pittsburgh, a Complete Street caps a series of student-centered outdoor spaces. By Timothy A. Schuler North of the student union, a new, permeable plaza provides space for events as well as informal gatherings. Photo by Denmarsh Studios/LBA. In the mid-1950s, the fast-growing University of Pittsburgh acquired two historic properties: the Hotel Schenley, built in 1898, and the Schenley Apartments, built between 1922 and 1924. The buildings were renovated for use as dormitori...
When I tell people I grow kale in my vegetable garden, they often give me funny looks and ask why I bother. Even my next-door neighbors, who welcome all my other spare vegetables, refuse my kale— except for an occasional leaf to feed their pet lizard. People think of it as something unpleasant to eat but good for you, like cod-liver oil. But I am here to say that while kale, with its rich dowry of nutrients, is good for you, it is also delicious fresh from the garden. It is easy to grow and be...
When I tell people I grow kale in my vegetable garden, they often give me funny looks and ask why I bother. Even my next-door neighbors, who welcome all my other spare vegetables, refuse my kale— except for an occasional leaf to feed their pet lizard. People think of it as something unpleasant to eat but good for you, like cod-liver oil. But I am here to say that while kale, with its rich dowry of nutrients, is good for you, it is also delicious fresh from the garden. It is easy to grow and be...
While celtuce, or stem lettuce, may sound like just another novelty vegetable, it’s far from that. If you are not familiar with celtuce, just think of it as overgrown romaine lettuce. With celtuce, it’s all about the stem, as the mature leaves can be too bitter for many (although they are edible and sometimes used in stir-fries). In the garden, a celtuce plant grows much larger than any other lettuce; a row of celtuce at first might look like collards or cabbage. Celtuce is most popular in C...
While celtuce, or stem lettuce, may sound like just another novelty vegetable, it’s far from that. If you are not familiar with celtuce, just think of it as overgrown romaine lettuce. With celtuce, it’s all about the stem, as the mature leaves can be too bitter for many (although they are edible and sometimes used in stir-fries). In the garden, a celtuce plant grows much larger than any other lettuce; a row of celtuce at first might look like collards or cabbage. Celtuce is most popular in C...
Tradescantias (Tradescantia spp. and cvs., Zones 4–12) are easy-care houseplants with cascading, colorful foliage. Apart from the ubiquitous zebra tradescantia (T. zebrina, Zones 8–12), which is beloved for its purple-and-silver leaves, there are dozens of species and varieties of tradescantia that are perfect for growing as houseplants, many with spectacular variegation. And under ideal conditions, occasional small flowers may appear. These plants are great for beginners and absentminded ga...
Tradescantias (Tradescantia spp. and cvs., Zones 4–12) are easy-care houseplants with cascading, colorful foliage. Apart from the ubiquitous zebra tradescantia (T. zebrina, Zones 8–12), which is beloved for its purple-and-silver leaves, there are dozens of species and varieties of tradescantia that are perfect for growing as houseplants, many with spectacular variegation. And under ideal conditions, occasional small flowers may appear. These plants are great for beginners and absentminded ga...
If you’re looking to start a roofing business, it’s the perfect time to flip the switch. Industry research notes that the US roofing industry consists of more than 80,000 businesses employing 250,000 people — and annual industry revenues exceed $50 billion. It’s an excellent time to consider starting a roofing company, as both the residential and commercial sectors are experiencing a wave of new construction, and that means opportunities for the roofing industry, which is expected to gr...
If you’re looking to start a roofing business, it’s the perfect time to flip the switch. Industry research notes that the US roofing industry consists of more than 80,000 businesses employing 250,000 people — and annual industry revenues exceed $50 billion. It’s an excellent time to consider starting a roofing company, as both the residential and commercial sectors are experiencing a wave of new construction, and that means opportunities for the roofing industry, which is expected to gr...
