A Trip To The Hill

Today is day two of the Irrigation Association’s Advocacy Day in Washington DC.  This is running in conjunction with PLANET’s legislative day on Capitol Hill and Renewal and Remembrance,  the day PLANET members volunteer manpower and equipment to enhance the beauty of Arlington National Cemetery. Each year, this event draws hundreds of landscape and lawn care professionals from across the country to Arlington National Cemetery to spend the day mulching, cabling,… Read more »


Are we all just moral hypocrites?

Happy tax day!  Thanks to Emancipation Day, the tax procrastinators of the Nation were given a couple extra days to file taxes this year.  April 15th fell on a Sunday so you would expect the deadline to move to Monday.  This year Monday is Emancipation Day so the deadline was pushed to Tuesday, April 17th. Emancipation Day, you ask?  It’s a local holiday in the District of Columbia and by law, District of Columbia holidays… Read more »


Garden Up! Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces

What is vertical gardening? The best way to maximize outdoor spaces and create drama in your garden. In the book Garden Up! (An Amazon Best Books of 2011 selection) you’ll see many examples, such as growing edibles up a wall or learning which edibles double as ornamentals.   Have a landscape eyesore? You’ll find lots of solutions in Garden Up! You’ll get ideas on how to create focal points with arbors. You… Read more »


The H2O Overhaul Challenge

“H2Overhaul” seeks best ideas to include in next-generation water efficiency building projects around the world. Cassandra Cappello of Jovoto sent me the information below and I think this is an excellent opportunity for you to show others how you are literally saving water.  The challenge stared a few weeks ago, but there is still plenty of time for you to submit your concepts.  Please take a look,  rise up and accept the challenge. Come… Read more »


Inspect What You Expect

We have all heard the term, “Inspect what you expect.”  Measurement of performance is one of the quickest ways to inspire change.  The landscape irrigation industry could benefit from better tools to measure the amount of water used on a daily basis. The non-profit group Charity Water (www.charitywater.org) recently focused on a project done at Teague, a manufacturing firm. Teague measured the amount of water flowing through their office kitchen faucet.  They… Read more »