Landscape Design | Bonick Landscaping News

Brazilian Ipe wood deck

When you embark on designing a pool, you’re envisioning that glistening water and how soothing and relaxing it will be. But you’re only half way there: what goes around the pool? One option is decking, which adds the warmth of wood to your aesthetic plan. But as anyone who has ever maintained a wood fence knows, wood requires some upkeep.

Some designers today suggest that man-made or composite decking made from recycled plastic is an eco-friendly choice that removes maintenance issues. It sounds great, but in practice, the aesthetics just aren’t quite there. It’s faux and well, it looks faux.

Another issue with man-made materials is cleanup. They require periodic cleaning twice a year to look their best and to kill mold. For green clients, it pretty much defeats the purpose if they have to use chemicals, especially where people walk barefoot frequently. And composite decks tend to stain and scratch quickly.

Wood decking is actually a great option, but it’s all in the type of wood you choose. We like the durability of cedar deck boards. These dense boards offer very small knots and stain beautifully, allowing you to introduce color to your yard. Cedar typically lasts 10 to 15 years.

For an extremely long lasting, low maintenance option, consider the range of Brazilian hardwoods which require no maintenance except a little oil. Ipe is a dense Brazilian walnut that is harder than nails. It lasts and lasts (up to 100 years!) but is more labor intensive to install as it requires pre-drilled screw holes. Its rich color ranges from an olive color to black with natural variegations.

Garapa, or Brazilian oak, is a lighter colored wood that provides an airy feeling and combines well with Ipe. Naturally pest resistant and impervious to rot, Brazilian Oak offers a beautiful, honey tone that requires only a UV sealer. Its lifespan tends to run twenty five years. Cumaru (Brazilian Red), Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry), Tigerwood, Angelim and Massaranduba (Brazilian Redwood) provide the same strength in a range of different tones and grains.

Used for years in nautical applications, teak woods are still the ne plus ultra of woods. This hardwood stands up to practically everything including fungus, rot, insects, and acids though its cost can be prohibitive. Teak’s natural oils also eliminate the need for sealants, making it maintenance free. Burmese Teak is perhaps the best known and most expensive. A lower cost alternative is Cherry Teak, another extremely hard wood, even among the Brazilians, and known for its luxurious graining.

From a cost and beauty perspective, we think Brazilian hardwoods weather gorgeously and provide a rich, real wood look that recycled plastic still can’t touch.

contemporary residence with pool and vertical garden or green wall

Photo courtesy of greenovergrey.com

Green walls, vertical gardens or living walls are gaining popularity both inside and out and I love the idea. Like most ideas, it isn’t exactly a new one. The practice of planting ivy to climb up the walls of buildings has existed for centuries. The new vertical gardens are simply a natural extension of this concept. So far, they seem to be predominantly cropping up in city environments, but we predict you’ll see more and more of this trend spreading to the ‘burbs.

Vertical gardens offer a number of benefits. The most obvious is esthetics; they can make structures more attractive and add fragrance. They can create an inviting habitat for urban wildlife. They also help absorb sound and improve air quality indoors and out. Green walls decrease CO2 and increase humidity. (Although how much they improve air quality is a pretty hotly debated topic – as are some of the other pros versus cons of green walls.)

Green wall or vertical garden on a residential rooftop patio.

Photo courtesy of agreenroof.com

Other positive claims: exterior green walls reduce solar gain (the increase in temperature in a structure that results from solar radiation) thus lowering energy costs, they provide protection from the effects of UV radiation and acid rain, and help lessen the building’s contribution to the heat island effect (when natural areas are replaced with concrete and asphalt, they become warmer).

So what are the potential negatives to green walls? The biggest concerns fall into three general categories: 1) over-inflated claims regarding the benefits (don’t expect to save 20% on your energy bills!), 2) the debatable trade-offs that relate to sustainability – for example, a number of the grid planter systems on the market are made of plastic, and 3) the long-term sustainability of the walls.

Side-by-side photos of green wall on PNC Bank

PNC Bank in Pittsburgh Sept. 2010 and Feb. 2011

Of these, the third is not something you read or hear a lot about, but it is perhaps the most important. While properly constructing and installing a green wall or green panel (after all, green walls don’t need to be an entire wall) isn’t exactly a cakewalk, maintaining a green wall is the bigger challenge. If many or all of the plants need to be replaced frequently one has to question the sustainability.

The reality is, to successfully maintain a green wall on anything but the smallest of scales is best left to experts. It requires an in-depth knowledge of design, irrigation, plants, growth media, pest and disease management and fertilizers. Choosing the right system, the correct plants for the setting and understanding the science behind the technology are all keys to green wall’s longevity.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I love the idea of green walls and vertical gardens. I’ve seen lots of striking examples, the most dramatic being some of the commercial applications. (Although personally I also love the small, less ambitious and more maintainable residential efforts.) The key, as with any landscaping effort, is in getting all the variables right for sustainability.

Tag Archives: landscape design

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