Basswood Residence

Another great design and install project. We’ve been working on this project over the last several years. It’s one of our favorites. Here’s a little taste to show how the gardens are coming along in the front yard. Notice how the steps we designed shift gracefully through the gardens. The gardens are really taking shape. They were planted about a year ago. Keep posted. We’ll get photos of the back soon.

Real. Beautiful. Roofs.

For anyone interested in pursuing a green roof, now may be the time. Soon there may be an additional financial incentive to install a green roof on your new or existing structure. This is on top of all the other wonderful benefits of a green roof.

[January 30, 2009] Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington State introduced the Clean Energy Stimulus and Investment Assurance Act of 2009 (S.320) legislation on Monday January 26 that, if adopted, would provide financial incentives for commercial and residential green roof installation. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the American Society of Landscape Architects worked together to help draft the section of the bill that is focused on the green roof incentive.

For more info see: American Society of Landscape Architects or Green Roofs for Healthy Cities or contact us at Phillips Garden

MNLA AWARDS

Phillips Garden is the proud recipient of 2 ‘Grand Honor’ MNLA awards for Excellence in Landscape Design.  The MNLA is the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association.  The awards we were given were frontyard design and backyard design.  This post shows our two winning projects.  Beginning with the backyard:

This first project is our backyard design.  The challenge of this project was working in a small space with great change in elevation.  The success of this site was in turning a challenge into an opportunity.  Playing with different elevations and materials was the main focus of this backyard.

Before (above)

after ( 3 above)

This next project was our front yard design winner.  This site, also in St. Paul , was completely redesigned from the stairs, to to the walkway… fences and of course the garden planting.

before (above)

after (3 above)

Roberto Burle Marx

On this cold, snowy, winters day we thought it would be nice to visit a warmer, more tropical climate.  What better place than Brazil!?  The following works were created by Landscape Architect Roberto Burle Marx. Burle Marx was born in 1909 in São Paulo Brazil and died June 4, 1994, in Rio de Janeiro.  He was known as a modern nature artist and a public urban space designer. Burle Marx was fascinated with the natural world and was said to have spent a great deal of time within Brazil’s rain-forests studying the plant communities and structures to inform his design decisions.  It is said that  all of his time spent in the rain forest let to the discovery new rocks and plants; at least 30 plants bear his name.

plant from Roberto Burle Marx’s estate

Roberto Burle Marx’s estate

Roberto Burle Marx’s estate

museum of modern art, Brazil

Roberto Burle Marx’s design of the Copacabana boardwalk in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

unknown

National Congress of Brazil, Brasilia

museum of modern art, Brazil