"Ernst Conservation Seeds"

August 29, 2019

This past year I specified Ernst Seeds’ meadow mix for a residential landscape design project. Mark Fiely, Ernst Seeds’ Horticulturalist, expertly assisted me with the seed selection process as well as advised me on application and maintenance protocols. Mark’s vast knowledge and experience are a valuable resource for landscape architects working on all scales of projects. Intrigued by the seed production and harvesting process, I finally found time to visit Ernst Seeds in Meadville, PA.

Ernst Conservation Seeds, Inc. has a fifty-plus year history, evolving into the largest native seed producer in the eastern United States. Ernst grows, harvests, and processes hundreds of species of native and naturalized seeds. The operation covers more than 9,000 acres. Ernst supplies seeds for a range of project types - from ecological restoration, reclamation, and conservation to wildlife and pollinator habitat improvements. Ernst Seeds also grows native warm season grasses, harvesting both the seeds and biomass. The soil bioengineering division supplies live plant materials for bank stabilization.

Mark Fiely was kind enough to give me an extensive tour of Ernst. We drove to several production sites, visually stunning expanses of native flowering plants that cover the rural landscape in undulating swathes of color. I also saw the wide range of sizes and types of combines used for harvesting. The boxcutter is one of these combines that I saw in action! Most crops are harvested with machines, the most efficient way to harvest tons of seeds covering several thousands of acres. Less than one percent of seeds are harvested by hand. Hand harvesting is used if there is a small volume, too many weeds, or the site is inaccessible to machines. Once harvested plants are dried in pallet dryers or industrial scale steel dryer bins. Ernst Seeds currently has forty-five dryer bins with plans to add several more. The dryer bins with controls for moisture, temperature, and aeration, are also used for storage.

Many thanks to Mark Fiely and the staff at Ernst Seeds who gave me a warm welcome! I wish I could be there throughout the seasons to view the changing sea of colors and textures of native flowers and grasses that blanket the production fields. Special thanks for one of the highlights of the tour - the Swamp Milkweed field where countless butterflies at all stages of life are thriving. Seeing the complexity, science and technology behind seed production and harvesting is fascinating and gives me a new perspective on how I specify seeds for landscape projects.

(Click on each photo below for further description.)

One of several production fields of Heliopsis helianthoides (Oxeye Sunflower). — One of several production fields of *Heliopsis helianthoides* (Oxeye Sunflower).

Entrance to Ernst Conservation Seeds, Inc. in Meadville, PA.

Standing in front of a field of Eupatorium fistulosum (Joe Pye Weed).

"Dale Tree Movers & Tree Farm"

August 27, 2018

This summer I worked with Pat Dale of Dale Tree Movers & Tree Farm to source and install a large caliper tree for a project in Newport. Pat came out to the site and we discussed possible options. Dale Tree Movers specializes in transplanting and installing mature trees and shrubs. Pat's own fifteen-acre tree farm in Falmouth has a vast inventory of hard to find large caliper trees that are suited for coastal environments. A walk through the arboretum-like tree farm is advisable as one might come across the perfect specimen tree or mature evergreen hedge for a project.

I found a lovely eight-inch caliper American Beech, twenty-two feet in height. The pictures below document the entire process of large tree moving using special equipment such as the tree tire and tree spades attached to loaders. We used one of Pat's ninety-inch tree spades. If a root ball is wider than ninety inches, Pat can hand dig the tree through the technique of drum lacing.

The Beech weighed 9,500 pounds. The size of the tree and limited machine access to the back yard would require the tree to be craned over a wall. Pat coordinated with Baxter Cranes-Riggers to ensure proper installation. The crane needed to extend out into the yard over 70 feet. Baxter used their 115-ton Liebherr, all-terrain crane with the necessary counterweight. Installation went smoothly, the elegant Beech instantly enhancing the back yard!

Pat works with a range of clients from homeowners to landscape architects throughout the Cape, Islands, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Dale is a Massachusetts Certified Arborist and an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist. He holds degrees in arboriculture and urban forestry. Working with Pat, it is evident that he has honed his expertise in the art of tree transport, having state-of-the-art equipment, crew and skills to tackle the most challenging jobs.

Warm thanks to Pat Dale and his crew. Special thanks to Brian Dale, Pat's father, who took the time to answer my questions. Brian shares Pat's passion and tree knowledge having been the Tree Warden of Falmouth for 28 years!

(Click on each photo below for further description.)

Elegant Cut-leaf European Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Asplenifolia') at Dale Tree Farm in Falmouth. — Elegant Cut-leaf European Beech (*Fagus sylvatica 'Asplenifolia*') at Dale Tree Farm in Falmouth.

One of Dale Tree Movers' ninety-inch tree spades.

That's me in the hole! This is the hole left after digging up the American Beech. Notice the clay soil (darker) and sandy soil (lighter) layers.

"Freshwater Stone"

November 02, 2017

Last year Bill Zildjian, Brand Manager at Freshwater Stone, dropped off finished granite samples sourced from their quarries in Maine. Samples are great, but I eagerly inquired about a visit to Orland, Maine where I could get a glimpse of the entire operation - from quarry to fabrication. Bill was more than willing to indulge in my fascination of the process.

In early October, I made the five hour trek north from Cape Cod, enjoying the first of the brilliant reds and oranges of autumn foliage in Maine. I was warmly received by Bill, Jeff Gammelin (Owner/Founder), and the rest of the dedicated and talented Freshwater crew. Jeff was kind enough to give me a tour of the fabrication shop where CNC (computer numerical control) machines operate stationary wire saws, multiple axis bridge saws, and surface treatment machines. After precision cutting, stone is skillfully worked by artisans year-round in the pre-assembly rooms. The warehouse allows for full scale mock ups before installation.

The second part of the tour was of the Freshwater Pearl Granite quarry on Mosquito Mountain in Frankfort. It is one of Freshwater Stone's three local granite quarries. The other Freshwater granites are Cherry Fields Granite and Hall Granite. Freshwater Pearl Granite is a beautiful gray-white granite with swirls and variation. As you can see in the photos below, another classic look is the weathered Freshwater granites, available in various sizes and ages. In addition to their trademarked granites, Freshwater sources unique local stones such as Duck Cove and Norumbega and has access to a world-wide range of stones.

The photos below are snapshots of my visit and the accompanying captions (click on image to view) provide more detail about the depth of production and craftsmanship that Freshwater offers. Please visit Freshwater Stone's website at www.freshwaterstone.com to learn more and contact Bill Zildjian (billz@freshwaterstone.com) for specific questions.

As a landscape architect, I am always curious to learn about the materials I specify for projects. Seeing this process in person at Freshwater Stone better informs my design choices and presentations to clients. A sincere thank you to all at Freshwater Stone!

Freshwater Stone's welcome sign highlights their affinity for blending weathered stone with precision-cut stone.

With Jeff Gammelin, Founder/Owner of Freshwater Stone. Great to have an expert tour guide!

Natural cracks or "rifts" are visible in the quarry face seen in the center of the photo.

"Resilient Landscapes"

March 24, 2016

Welcome to my first post . . . reflections on a revolutionary book by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West, Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes (Timber Press). Enjoy!

One of my mentors recommended that I read this book. He was right. It is a must-read for anyone in the field of landscape design. Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes challenges the conventional horticultural approach to planting. The authors have in-depth knowledge and present their case clearly, supported with vibrant images and graphics.

“Designed plant communities represent a hybrid of horticulture and ecology.”

— Rainer and West

Most designers like myself with a horticultural background typically begin the design process with a painterly approach - the composition based on basic design principles of form, color, balance, texture, and proportion, while envisioning how the planting will look during New England’s four seasons. Thomas Rainer and Claudia West (North Creek Nurseries) still embrace these design principles but have added practical and ecological criteria that create for a rich and thorough design process.

There has been a general shift from a horticultural approach toward an ecological approach to design, with an emphasis on using native plants. This book, however, takes ecological design to a new level, proposing a planting paradigm that goes beyond merely using native plants. Rather than thinking of the individual plant, Rainer and West consider how plants interact within natural communities.

The natural communities that Rainer and West draw inspiration from are three archetypes: grasslands, woodlands and shrublands, and forests. Wild places that elicit distinct emotional responses: the open breath-taking views of a prairie grassland, the mysterious edge conditions of woods and shrublands, and the cool serenity deep within a forest. As much as we are drawn to the natural beauty of these archetypes, our impulse is for control and order - neatly mown lawns, manicured monoculture plantings, without a weed in sight. How do we bring the beauty of the wild and natural back into our ordered built environments?

Rainer and West outline a rigorous design process, not a boilerplate method choosing from standard plant lists. The process explores three relationships: 1) how plants relate to a specific place 2) how plants relate to people 3) how plants interact with other plants. By addressing all three relationships the design can integrate ecological and artistic design principles.

A thorough site analysis informs the choice of “goal landscape” and how people will relate to the design. Does the site lend itself to a forest type of planting because it is in an urban courtyard? Could the open expanse of suburban lawn be a candidate for a grassland or meadow?

The skill lies in choosing and defining the character of the new landscape and bringing the provocative elements of the archetypes to life. As designers we can draw from nature’s visually striking patterns and order. This strategy not only informs the planting design but informs how the planting will be managed. Management focuses on maintaining the clarity of these natural visual patterns in the designed landscape over time. Rainer and West stress management, not maintenance. In addition to patterns and order in the planting, they rely on the beauty of built elements – masonry, carpentry, and sculpture are just a few examples, to create a feeling of order.

The most groundbreaking lesson in this book for me is the concept of choosing plants as design layers and functional layers.

“Our mantra for planting design is to create legibility in the design layers and diversity in the functional layers”

— Rainer and West

The design layers are the plants that catch your eye because of their height and striking colors, textures, and form. They are the trees, shrubs, tall perennials, and grasses. The functional layer is the ground cover layer, what Rainer and West consider the most important layer. It is not noticeable but it functions in soil building as well as erosion, weed and invasive control. According to the authors, the best mulch is a green mulch – plants!

This layered approach goes below ground, using plants with varying root depths. Shallow-rooted groundcovers are balanced with deep tap root tall grasses so that they are not competing for the same water and nutrients, much like the diverse plant communities in the native prairies.

Shifting toward thinking about plants in this way, occupying ecological niches, creates for a rich and robust landscape, what Rainer and West call “resilient landscapes”. Using native plants alone are not enough, both from an aesthetic design perspective and from an ecological perspective. Observing how plants coexist in archetype landscapes gives us valuable lessons. We can build upon these observations, reinterpreting and applying the striking visual patterns that appeal to us on an emotional level, in our designs. This strategy challenges designers like myself to be more thoughtful and thorough in our design process, but the results can be rewarding. It is possible to combine horticulture and ecology and create beautiful landscapes in our hard-edged environments that reference the sublime of our natural world.