Seasons Garden Design LLC is an award-winning, sustainability-conscious, APLD-certified,  landscape design firm in Portland OR and Vancouver WA.
Contact landscape designer and Timber Press author, Vanessa Nagel, APLD, today.
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WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN?  ►OUR RECYCLED GARDEN ART
►GREEN LINKS  ►SUSTAINABLE READING
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"The world will not evolve past its current stage of crisis
by using the same thinking that created the situation."
 Albert Einstein

 

Seasons Garden Design LLC recommends a sustainable approach to landscape design. The word sustainable means different things to different people. Gardening sustainably is an important aspect of our environment here in the Portland OR and Vancouver WA region. Enjoy the links below and learn why it is important to be sustainably-conscious in everything we do, but especially in our gardens.

Tread lightly on this earth; it's the only one we have.

 

 

 

 
 

WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN?

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  • More than recycling, it is an attitude that respects our relationship with the world in which we live to the extent that we do not destroy our environment. 

  • We leave our planet the way we found it...or better.

  • Considers everything we use from 'cradle to cradle'. This philosophy regards everything involved in the manufacture of products:

    • product and components of product origin

    • sustainable and easily renewable without the use of considerable other resources

    • fuel expended in moving product from place to place or its manufacturing

    • product life and its recyclability into the same product 

    • recycling process

  • More than organic, which describes a way of growing plants

  • Limits our use of natural resources, like water and fuel; use of renewable resources
  OUR RECYCLED GARDEN ART
 

Recycling old items is not only a sustainable practice, it can add new dimensions to a garden.  The following photos display some imaginative uses of items that might have been considered "junk".

Vanessa's recycled bench becomes a 'fern bench'

 The Old Twig Bench
I'd never heard of a 'fern table' until I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to turn the seat of my old twig bench into an area with ferns and tiny shade plants. So I went online to find out more. The end result is that my lovely twig bench is recycled into something to view rather than sit upon (a much safer thing to do). The plants will spill over the box sides in time and the cedar will age to the color of the bench.
An old table gets new life with a ceramic mosaic top Mosaic table top
Using the owners old metal table, the base was repainted while the top underwent a dramatic transformation through the use of a ceramic & glass mosaic tile design created to enhance the garden theme. Even the ceramics were recycled materials.
The terra cotta column is supported by recycled stacked terra cotta tiles Terra cotta column
The column was created using terra cotta drain tile sections dug during the installation of new drainage system near the house.  The column capital is a new terra cotta pot. Between the 2 is a painted concrete paver with glass tile edging.
An old laundry cart gets a new life as a succulent planter Laundry basket/moss planter
A wire laundry basket becomes a moss planter with the addition of moss, soil, Sedums, Hens n' Chicks, and Blue Fescue .  The planter has wheels and relocates easily to various areas around the patio.
An old concrete drain pipe supports a new red gazing ball Concrete pipe
A red gazing ball is supported by a recycled concrete pipe.  The grey Artemisia allows the pipe to "disappear" while the red accents the red fall leaves and red flowers during other seasons.
Recycled glass becomes a monument to a beloved cat Recycled glass &
ceramic tower
I created a monument to our beloved Remy cat using old glassware and ceramics with an addition of a new glass kitty from a client at the top. It is a whimsical and colorful piece of art for the garden, see in winter in this photo. Note: not too long after we put this up we discovered they need to be sheltered during winter.
Recycled steel & copper bird bath from the Cracked Pots show

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 Steel Birdbath
We purchased this lovely birdbath of steel and copper at the Cracked Pots show in Troutdale, OR. It is a BIG sale of recycled garden art every summer.
  GREEN LINKS

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US Green Building Council (USGBC | LEED Certification)

 

Soil Builders Inc logo Soil Builders, Inc. (compost and compost tea)

EPA recycled product database
EPA recycled product database

 

Oregon Tilth (organic resources and education)

 

Willamette Organics logo Willamette Organics (compost tea)

 

Nature's Needs logo Nature's Needs (humus)
 


 

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities logo Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

 

Friends of Trees logo Friends of Trees

 

Plant Native

 

Native Plant
Society of Oregon


Wild Ones

 

Cornell University
 Biological Control
  SUSTAINABLE READING

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 Timber Press has some excellent books that address many areas of sustainability, organic gardening, edible horticulture, and why healthy soil is crucial if you want a healthy garden and ultimately, a healthy family.

Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web (Revised Edition) by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis



Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants (Updated and Expanded) by Douglas W. Tallamy

 

The Truth About Organic Gardening: Benefits, Drawbacks, and the Bottom Line by Jeff Gillman


 

The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn by John Greenlee and Saxon Holt


 Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls (Revised and Updated Edition) by Noël Kingsbury and Nigel Dunnett
 

Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainably in the Garden and Designed Landscape by Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden

 

◄ top | Get out in your garden! Don't have one? Contact us today for a landscape design you can live in.
Email Vanessa | 360.546.2746 (Vancouver & Southwest WA) | 503.621.2746 (Portland OR Metro Region) Your inquiry always is welcome.

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REVISED: 03/16/10