Robert Leeper Landscape and Garden Designs

A Ranch-style Home Remodel: From the 70’s to Today

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:36:03 +0000

The homeowners wanted the front yard to be fun, inviting, and have outdoor entertaining. Look closely and you can see the scary old tree was hiding a wonderful, lush tree that became the focal point of the “frontyard.” This landscape has been featured in Atomic Ranch magazine and Austin Monthly magazine.

2007 Tribeza Magazine

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 02:12:04 +0000

2007 - Tribeza Magazine

Tribeza Magazine Cover - 2007

Tribeza 2007 pg.1
Frontyard modern landscape and garden design

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

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Modern landscape and home remodel in Austin

Landscape Garden Designs for Clients

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:02:08 +0000

Our Clients:

We thank our clients for the opportunity to serve them and for their making it possible to do work that we love doing. We serve them with gratitude and joy, hoping our shared creation enriches their lives as much as the work they provide us enriches our own.

Marin Modern - Eichler House Landscape - A Case Study

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:20:58 +0000

Posted by Robert Leeper on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 5:08pm.

Whenever people ask me, "How do you figure out what to do?", my first response is, "I don't really know, it's mostly intuitive at this point." But the reality is that there is a whole lot of theory, education, travel, exposure, reading and practice that goes into how any designer comes up with ideas of what to do with a property.

From my education - at LSU, in Baton Rouge - we were taught that the design comes from 3 places: first, the style of the home (no sense going against what you have, and also a desire to integrate the architecture and the landscape), second, what the land can actual do (this is what is now called sustainability, meaning what can really grow in a cetain place, not require vast resources, and last a lifetime) and third, what the client's needs and uses are for the outside area (which can be anything from privacy, to a vegetable garden, outdoor entertaining, or a soft-place for the kids to play). I might add a fourth dimension: the aesthetic vision of the designer. This is what people usually see first - the recognizable, individual style of a particular designer - but there is a lot of backstory to even the most expressive design.

All these factors are in play, and these various thoughts are what drives a design. So, in an attempt to pull back the curtain, and walk you through the design process, I'm going to document a design consultation. I will try to show you how I come up with ideas, in this case, for a beautiful mid-century modern Eichler Home in Marin County.

First, there is the architecture. When Marin Modern Real Estate showed me the case study house - and told me it was built by Joseph Eichler - I could barely wait. There are quite a few Eichler style homes in Austin, and I have been fortunate to have seen several. I was excited to learn how many are in Marin, and was really happy to get a chance to do a design for one here.

I will start with the front, which is decent. But once I start looking closely at a project, I start to want to remove things. One thing people are terrified to do is to remove plants. In this case, the original plantings have grown to the point where they are actually crowding one another. I actually like the little redwood tree on the left, and the wonderful form of the Pineapple Guava bush on the right - which has a nice sculptural profile against the wall. But one of the best plants - an oak tree, which is native to the surrounding hills - is somewhat hidden and is being crowded by a second Pineapple Guava on the left. It got lost and, and it was a little dark by the entrance. My main thought was, "I sure would like to see the landscape simplified, and really showcase the house and architecture, and make the landscape part of the architecture, as opposed to just a little greenery, hiding a real beauty."

So, here's what I came up with...

OK, so how did I come up with this design? When I met the owners - a young couple - it was obvious that what they loved about the home was the Eichler design. So, first came the unspoken, but very present, thought : Respect the architecture. No problem. Second, what could the site do: as you can tell from the "before" picture, there was bare dirt from the curb to the sidewalk, which meant, "Without a sprinkler, here's what will grow here: a redwood (or other native) and an oak, another native." And then came the third criteria - the new owner's only real directive, "Make it easy to take care of, and look good." Both are busy, (probably) getting ready to start a family, and (definitely) want to invite friends and family to their new pad. They actually asked to keep the red brick walkway, mainly as a way to save money, but since this is just a design exercise, I went ahead and updated the walk too in the picture. There is a red brick patio in the courtyard that is going to be replaced (that will be the next blog) and I didn't want to have two different materials. A minimum of different materials is key to a clean, modern design.

Now for the fourth criteria, my own personal aesthetic. I like things to be clean, and simple, almost to a fault. Some people think it may be too starck. I just really like the simple lines of the house - to me, that is the strength of a Mid-century modern house like this. With this design, I wanted to show off the architecture and make the landscape part of the home's design.

Another major issue for me was that the house was hiding behind the landscape, and, since the front faces north, it seemed a little dark and not so inviting. That's one of the reasons I chose a light colored gravel - to make it brighter, and cleaner. The pavers continue the use of a lighter material, and they mimic a pattern of the long rectangular bricks found in the wall.

One thing you'll notice is a line of Japanese boxwood that runs parallel to the wall. This reinforces the lines of the architecture - especially the exposed beams - and actually hides a necessary french drain that needs to be installed in front of the wall. It also adds a green line, to keep the design from being to minimal. I like to call it the balance of white and green. The gravel - the white - and the white stone (or concrete) pavers add a fresh look, and much needed light to the front. The green adds an anchor, and the trees each have enough room to be sculptural elements. I hope you - and they - like it.

Next issue: The Eichler Courtyard.

Robert Leeper is a guest blogger on landscape design for Marin & San Francisco Modern. He is the founder of Robert Leeper Designs, a landscape design firm established in Austin Texas which recently expanded to Marin County, California. Contact Robert at 415-322-9254 or visit him online at Robert Leeper Designs.

Source: http://www.marinmodern.com/blog/eichler-house-landscape-a-case-study.html

An Entry Courtyard Should Welcome Your Guests And Be A Place To Enjoy

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:38:38 +0000

The courtyard always seemed “dirty” and “un-kept” to the homeowner. I designed something that was clean and orderly, and included the sound of running water. This garden is what the guest sees when arriving, and what the homeowner sees from the kitchen window. This garden was featured in Austin Monthly Home magazine.

san francisco austin texas email phone garden design

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:33:09 +0000

Please contact us by email at robertleeper7@yahoo.com.You can also reach us to schedule an initial consultation or ask a question by calling 512.751.4642

Landscape and Garden Maintenance

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 07:36:00 +0000

Maintenance - I encourage customers to allow me to maintain their gardens over time to protect and nourish their investment in their landscape. Intelligent maintenance is the cornerstone of a great garden; I have seen too many landscapes ruined by inexpensive "mow and blow" operations who simply didn't know what they were doing.

"Maintenance is everything for a garden. It needn't be too much work. Maintenance means careful crafting over time, as well as seasonal cleaning and nourishing. Most gardens I install only need me 3 or 4 days a year."
-Robert Leeper

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Sorry, but the content you requested could not be found. Click the entrance button and you can view the award-winning neighborhood landscaping of yards in Austin and San Francisco.

resume awards press honors magazine landscape

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 06:29:16 +0000

Robert Leeper Landscapes was started in 1999, after working with some of the best Austin nurseries and landscape providers. With a degree in Landscape Architecture from LSU - which is consistently rated as one of the best in the nation - Robert set out for Austin, Texas. Through continuous education and reading, travels to various countries and cities, and a love of nature and design, Robert grows his passion for the built and natural environment. Below is his resume and a list of honors and awards.

EXPERIENCE

1999- present
Robert Leeper Landscapes, Austin & San Francisco: Landscape Designer/Builder
Residential and commercial landscape design, installation and maintenance.

1998-1999
Gardens, Austin: Plant sales, store merchandiser, container design
Merchandiser, terracotta/container garden designer and orderer.

1997-1998
The Great Outdoors, Austin: Landscape Designer
Landscape design, installation, billing and management.

1994-1996
Buzz Design, Austin: Interior Designer
Interior design, stained concrete, restaurant and store design

1993-1994
Barton Springs Nursery, Austin: Landscape Designer and Plant Sales
Landscape design and installation. Plant sales.

EDUCATION

1987-1991 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, 1991
Study abroad in Tokyo & Kyoto, Japan; Summer & Fall 1990
1984-1987 Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas

INTERNSHIPS
2001   Villa Gamberaia, Florence, Italy
1989   Bruce Kelly/David Varnell Landscape Architects, New York, NY
1990   PREC Institute, Urban Design, Tokyo, Japan

HONORS/PRESS/AWARDS
2011 Landscape featured on Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center's Garden Tour
2011 Landscape used as a set in The Tree of Life movie, starring Brad Pitt & Sean Penn
2010 Landscape featured on AIA-Austin Home Tour
2010 Garden featured in book Tomorrow's Garden by Stephen Orr, garden editor of Martha Stewart magazine
2009   Featured on Central Texas Gardener, KLRU-PBS
2009 Landscape featured in Austin Monthly Home magazine
2008   Landscape featured on Garden Conservancy Tour
2007   Landscape featured in Tribeza Magazine
2006   Landscape/house featured in Home Magazine
2006   Courtyard redesign on AIA-Austin Homes Tour
2005   Featured in Austin American-Statesman article for Taniguchi Garden
2005   Member, Committee for Revitalization of Taniguchi Japanese Garden
2005   Filmed for Landscapers Challenge, HGTV
2005   Garden on CCMC Garden Tour
2004   Green Garden Award, City of Austin
2004   Landscape on AIA-Austin homes tour
1995   Featured in Southern Accents magazine, stained concrete
1994   Featured in Metropolis Magazine for Buzz Design
1994   Winner, Best of Austin, Austin Chronicle, Best Stained Concrete
1993   Honorable Mention, Metropolitan Home, Met Home of the Year Contest
1991   Winner, Best Furniture Design, State of Louisiana AIA-ASID-ASLA

A Landscape is Another Room of Your Home

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:40:07 +0000

This landscape had everything, except a focal point, and a sense of place. By installing a large fountain that had a stone bench seat, it became everyone’s favorite “room” in the house. The homeowner provided me with the fountain’s ironwork - which are shaped like a swan's neck - and came from France.

Central Texas Gardener PBS January 2009

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:41:40 +0000

Youtube.com: 2009 Central Texas Gardener

Jan 24, 2009 - Central Texas Gardener
Robert Leeper Landscaping and Gardeing Designs

Garden Design Goals

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 06:50:43 +0000

Our Mission:

We create our client's landscape environment with the best possible design, installation and service. Our goal is to hear our client's needs and desires, as we create a landscape that is a right for the home, has a timeless sense of style, and is respectful of the environment.

press & awards

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:24:54 +0000

AWARDS, PRESS AND HONORS

2011 Landscape featured on Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center's Garden Tour

2011 Landscape used as a set in The Tree of Life movie, starring Brad Pitt & Sean Penn
2010 Landscape featured on AIA-Austin Home Tour
2010 Garden in book Tomorrow's Garden by Stephen Orr, garden editor of Martha Stewart magazine
2009   Featured on Central Texas Gardener, KLRU-PBS
2009 Landscape featured in Austin Monthly Home magazine
2008   Landscape featured on Garden Conservancy Tour
2007   Landscape featured in Tribeza Magazine
2006   Landscape/house featured in Home Magazine
2006   Courtyard redesign on AIA-Austin Homes Tour
2005   Featured in Austin American-Statesman article for Taniguchi Garden
2005   Member, Committee for Revitalization of Taniguchi Japanese Garden
2005   Filmed for Landscapers Challenge, HGTV
2005   Garden on CCMC Garden Tour
2004   Green Garden Award, City of Austin
2004   Landscape on AIA-Austin homes tour
1995   Featured in Southern Accents magazine, stained concrete
1994   Featured in Metropolis Magazine for Buzz Design
1994   Winner, Best of Austin, Austin Chronicle, Best Stained Concrete
1993   Honorable Mention, Metropolitan Home, Met Home of the Year Contest
1991   Winner, Best Furniture Design, State of Louisiana AIA-ASID-ASLA

A Kitchen Garden Goes From Drab to Fab

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:36:47 +0000

The owner of this garden is a real foodie, but wanted her garden to be a place she wanted to spend time in. It had to be functional – a food garden – but also pretty. This garden was featured in Stephen Orr’s book, Tomorrow’s Garden. He is the garden editor for Martha Stewart magazine.

Marin Modern - Heroes of Modern Landscapes II

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:26:54 +0000

Heroes of Modern Landscape Design

Posted by Robert Leeper on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 8:46pm.

The first thing I thought about writing for this blog was a brief history of landscape design during the Mid-Century Modern period. Whenever I need to learn - or refresh my learning - about landscape design, I turn to Elizabeth Barlow Rogers' encyclopedic masterpiece, Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History. If it isn't in there, it hasn't happened yet! And even though her website says it took her ten years to write, I secretly think it must have taken twenty - this book weighs a ton, and has over 500 pages of very dense text and hundreds of pictures. If you want to learn anything about landscape architecture, this is your textbook!

My other favorite resource is the remarkable Cultural Landscape Foundation whose mission is "dedicated to increasing the public's awareness of the important legacy of cultural landscapes and helping save them for the future." We are very fortunate to have a foundation that is dedicated to educating the public about important landscapes, and actually helps preserve them. Visit this site to learn, and please support their mission.

OK - on to Modernism! So, after a quick refresher course, here - in my own words - is what I relearned about the history of landscape design during the mid-century modern period:

There are many designers and writers who helped create the aesthetic of Mid-century Modernism. For this blog post, I am going to just talk about four in particular. They stand out as the best known names in Landscape Modernism: Garrett Eckbo, Dan Kiley, Thomas Church, and James Rose.

All of these designers were attracted to the new ideas about architecture that were the emerging during this period. They were articulate about their profession; they all wrote articles as well as practiced. Design was about ideas and ideals, about how the designed environment made a difference in people's lives, and were significantly more important than just aesthetics alone.

All previous "styles" were rejected as ornamentation. It could be argued that the previous styles were definitely the product of their time, with their own meanings - and not just set decoration. Modernism, however, sought to reduce the designed environment to it's minimally necessary elements, integrate interior and exterior spaces, and transform design from the past to the present. It was an evolution from - and some would say a rejection of - all that came before it. It wasn't this style or that style, it was the "un"-style, to borrow a line from 7-up's advertising.

These four designers took clues from the Bauhaus, Le Corbusier, and social thought of the day, and made a bold new statement about what a landscape could be. They integrated a new way of living - which is was what we now call creating outdoor rooms - into their designs. Aesthetically, they used plantings and materials to create spaces and gave the emerging profession of landscape architecture its cornerstone. Landscapes were not meant to dress up, ornament or embellish architecture; landscapes became architecture.

Garret Eckbo was raised in the Bay area, and studied Landscape Architecture at UC Berkeley and later Harvard. He wrote a book in 1950 called Landscape for Living which addressed ideas of modernism in the landscape, especially how to make public housing more humane with thoughtful landscape design. He practiced primarily in California. He had many outstanding designs - including the Ocotillo Lounge in Palms Springs - but his greater contribution to the profession was his continuous writings about it. He wrote throughout his career, helping give definition to the emerging field of Landscape Architecture. He helped conect everyday people to the meaning, and practice, of landscape design.

Dan Kiley was an interesting link between the past modernism. He utilized grid geometry in his designs that were similar to what Andre LeNotre did at Versailles for Louis XIV but without any ornamentation, nor any direct axis pointing to one person's power over a landscape. His designs look like circles on graph paper and are random squares, lines and orchard-like plantings of trees. This geometric layout - in real-time, on the ground, as experienced by you and I - was a clever way to create spaces, or rooms. There were hallways to walk through, orchards to meander in, and "living" rooms to relax and be with one another. His most famous mid-century modern residential landscape was The Miller Garden in Columbus, Indiana, with a house designed by Eero Saarinen.

Thomas Church wrote a book in 1955 called Gardens are for People where he dispensed practical advice on landscaping for homeowners, even those with modest homes. He went to school at Berkeley, and then Harvard, and returned to practice throughout California. His most seminal work is the Donnell Garden (pictured above), which is located in Sonoma. The website for The Cultural Landscape Foundation says the following about the design:
"At the Donnell garden, Church responded to the particular characteristics of site and client while exploring new forms. Of particular note was the biomorphic kidney-shaped pool; its Adaline Kent sculpture which functions both as a focal point and a tiny, inhabitable island; and the floating deck, designed with a checkerboard of wooden boards that preserved existing trees while extending the outdoor living space."

James Rose is the most unconventional of the group. While all were educated at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, and were friends - they were even called The Four Horsemen of Harvard - only Rose did not finish there. He was expelled! All of the modernists were interested in the revolutionary turns of architecture, landscape architecture and social issues, and they often co-wrote articles discussing these important developments. But he was expelled likely for his bucking the program being taught as too rooted in the past. Now that's what I call a commitment to one's beliefs. He was also different in his practice, doing mainly residential work, and being onsite as each was built, crafting instead of drafting, so to speak. This difference of made his work more personal, and he held tightly to his ideals. Ms. Rogers sums his philosophy up nicely:

"Like the architect Richard Neutra, Rose considered the separation between indoors and outdoors as a series of transparent planes, and his interlocking of exterior and interior forms promoted spatial fusion."

I like that word - fusion. It shows up on The Cultural Landscape Foundations' website when describing him also. We'll call James Rose the Fusionist. There is also a website devoted to him, called The James Rose Center .

Next Marin Modern blog post: Roberto Burle Marx, the only landscape designer to have a show featuring his work at The Museum of Modern Art, if you don't count the garden there, designed by Isamu Naguichi.

Source: http://www.marinmodern.com/blog/robert-leeper/heroes-of-modern-landscape-design-roberto-burle-marx/show/

Bringing Your Home’s Style Beyond The Front Door

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:39:17 +0000

The homeowners called me just one month after a new landscape had been installed. They liked the drawings, but hated the results. They wanted a landscape that fit the style of the home - including the red colors they had chosen for the windows - and something that was simple and modern.

Landscape and Garden Clients

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 06:57:28 +0000

People We Work With :

We value the contribution of every single person involved in our projects. We treat everyone with the same respect and concern as we want for ourselves. All workers together - from owner, to designer, to shovel operator - is a valued and equal member of our workforce who is essential to the creation of exceptional works of landscape art.

landscaper garden design landscape

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:25:39 +0000

Consultation - A one hour, on-site walk through of your property with Robert Leeper giving ideas about design, planting and hardscapes, as well as how-to advice for do-it-yourself-ers.$150. This consultation fee can be applied to design or installation work. You will receive a copy of my notes and an estimate.

"The finished landscape far exceeds my expectations. Thank you very much."
-client

Landscape and Garden Philosophy

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 06:54:00 +0000

Our Philosophy:

Every person benefits from an aesthetically pleasing and environmentally conscious landscape that connects us to Nature and Art through the combined creation of client, landscapers, and Nature. We believe every person is uniquely talented and has a creative force within that we help to express.

Landscape Links

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:30:24 +0000

www.asla.org
American Society of Landscape Architects

www.atomic-ranch.com
Atomic Ranch Magazine

www.austinmonthly.com
Austin Monthly Home Magazine

www.tribeza.com
Tribeza

Sep 2011 - Statesman - Less is more

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:43:16 +0000

Less is more: less watering, less lawn and less work

By Joshunda Sanders AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 10:09 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2011

It's possible you're one of those optimists who still actually waters your lawn. This story is not for you. The summer has battered the spirits of some Central Texas gardeners to the extent that they have been calling in experts like Robert Leeper, a local landscape designer and builder, to just dig up the water-sucking grass and start over.

The never-ending summer heat has given Leeper's landscape business a boost, and not just because more people are choosing xeriscaping and lower-maintenance outdoor living spaces over high water bills.

Leeper sent along some ideas for how gardeners can save their sanity and maybe save a little on water bills by replacing some, if not all, of their lawn space.

Reduce (or eliminate) the lawn. "The less lawn, the less water and money," Leeper said.

"Instead of cranking up the old lawn mower, you can spend time with a pair of pruning shears, a good pair of gloves and lots of compost and mulch. It's called gardening — which most people are terrified of, but is really quite easy and enjoyable, once you get the hang of it."

He suggests looking for local classes on reducing lawn spaces at local nurseries or the Austin Museum of Art's Laguna Gloria art school.

Increase your bed space. Planting beds are often 3-foot narrow strips right up against a house, but Leeper said his designs are 6 to 8 feet wide to provide ample growing space for plants from the City of Austin's list of varieties that thrive locally.

Be sure to include at least 60 percent evergreen plants and perennials, or your beds will look bare and empty during the winter.

Create more outdoor living space. Leeper says this is the greatest trend in contemporary American landscape design. Think patio, but bigger. It allows homeowners to add substantial square footage to their living space.

Instead of going crazy with a big slab of concrete, Leeper suggests using gravel or pavers so that homeowners don't end up increasing their impermeable surfaces to create more runoff when it finally rains again.

Know what local plants will thrive here and which ones won't. In addition to getting to know the City of Austin plant list, Leeper says the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, which he says has led the charge for native and well-adapted plants is a great resource for ideas and plants.

Learn some new ways to water. "You don't have to buy a sprinkler system if you don't want, or can't afford to," Leeper said. "Our company has installed several low-tech systems from big-box stores to get our landscapes established ... They aren't perfect, but they can be very practical and efficient, delivering tiny life-saving drops of water to each individual plants via micro-emitters, which have replaced the 'spray every square inch with hundreds of gallons' systems of past century.

"Traditional sprinkler systems can be adapted to have micro-emitters also, but there is something about turning that timer on when it's your day to water. You get in sync with your landscape, instead of expecting it to magically take care of itself."

Get professional help. Leeper advises homeowners to get some help from landscape experts to keep them from wasting money on the wrong plants but also to help translate what the homeowner wants for their landscape into reality with less effort.

"I've learned to translate 'orderly, inviting and alive' into a large entertaining space with simple hedges of Texas mountain laurels, a Mexican sycamore that will shade the picnic table, and a few easy-to-care-for pots," Leeper said.

"Many landscape experts and local garden centers offer consultations by the hour to help you map out your ideas, figure out spaces and make wise plant choices."

jsanders@statesman.com; 445-3630

Find this article at:http://www.statesman.com/life/less-is-more-less-watering-less-lawn-and-1834041.html

Landscape and Garden Design Services

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:29:40 +0000

Design - Either a frontyard, backyard or full property landscape design by a professional landscape designer. Includes a site visit, a professional landscape design drawing to scale, one revision, and an estimate of plants, materials and installation prices. $750 for front or back yard design; $1500 for full property design. The cost of a consultation is included in this price.

"Thanks for your incredible design. I feel as though I hired my own personal artist to create something beautiful."
-client

When The Landscape Connects To The Architecture

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:37:41 +0000

This ranch-style house has wonderful, geometric lines and a gorgeous stone wall. I designed the landscape to be a part of this home’s design, not just another generic landscape. By using stone to line the beds, you bring the home’s architecture into the landscape.

Marin Modern - Heroes of Modern Landscapes

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:23:01 +0000

Posted by Robert Leeper on Saturday, June 12th, 2010 at 8:47am.

Robert Burle Marx holds a special place in the development of modernism in the field of landscape architecture. Often times in books - and in my professor's history courses - he was set apart from others of the same period. In Elizabeth Rogers' book, Landscape Design, she gives him his own sub-chapter: Roberto Burle Marx and the Garden as Abstract Art.

Wikipedia says:

"Roberto Burle Marx in Brazil combined the International Style and native Brazilian plants and culture for a new aesthetic. "

That sums it up nicely - a new aesthetic. He was - and still is - so unique, that he stands out as a iconic master in the profession. His works are iconic also, especially the famed Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.

His paving patterns are often refered to as modernist painting. So it should come as no surprise that Burle Marx was also a painter. And a botanist and plant collector. And a musician/singer. And an early ecologist.

The fact that stands out about him - that speaks volumes to me - is that he is the sole landscape architect whose work has every beean featured in an exhibit at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1991.

Here is one of his renderings for a landscape design. It's easy to see that he was an artist, whose medium was the landscape.

Burle Marx is also very well-known for his collaborations with one of Brasil's best architects, Oscar Niemeyer, himself a hero of mid-century modern architecture.

In an article about another show of his work - this time at the Paco Imperial museum in NYC, last year - Larry Rohter writes:

At the peak of his career, Burle Marx was highly esteemed among his peers in the United States. In 1965 the American Institute of Architects awarded him its fine-arts prize, saying that he was “the real creator of the modern garden.”

His own home, which is now a museum, is his personal masterpiece. It isn't quite the modernist masterpiece one might expect. I think it clearly shows the full spectrum of his personality. It shows his love of architectural form, but is overwhelmingly a plant lover's garden. His collection of plants he found in the vast Brazilian jungles is one of the hallmarks of his legacy. He discovered, and named, many plants that were theretofore unknown. He was a passionate spokesperson for the environment, and made conservation a key part of his mission.

You can see more pictures of his home at this wonderful website.

There's really nothing more that I can say. Except, "WOW!" Okay, there's one more thing I can say: I LOVE Roberto Burle Marx. He's my hero.

If you would like to take a phototour of his gardens, we are very lucky to have Mr. Malcolm Raggett's excellentphotojournal of most Roberto Burle Marx's gardens. Enjoy!

Next Blog Entry: A Case Study: A landscape for an Eichler home, right here in Marin County.

Source: http://www.marinmodern.com/blog/robert-leeper/heroes-of-modern-landscape-design-roberto-burle-marx/show/

Commitment to Environment

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:06:49 +0000

Our Commitment to the Environment:

Our company strives to protect, enhance and serve our environment through environmentally conscious practices. We continue to educate ourselves and adapt methods to our designs to accomplish this. We enjoy using native and adapted plants, promoting the collection and use of rainwater, following time-honored systems of natural, organic fertilizers and mulches, and creating organic growing beds for self-grown vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

Landscape Contractor Installation

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:32:15 +0000

Professional Installation - A minimum of $10,000. Installation is based on the plants, materials, and labor needed. How much will a landscape installation cost? If you need a new - or complete remodel - a good rule of thumb is to figure on 5-10% of the value of your home. Example: a house valued at $300,000 will need a landscape installation in the range of $15,000 -$30,000. We do many of our projects in phases. Installations outside of Texas are subcontracted to a professional landscape installer from your area.

"Many, many thanks again for you and your crew's hard work."
-client

Austin Home Monthly Magazine Article

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 01:10:31 +0000

2009 - Austin Monthly Home Magazine

Austin Monthly Home Magazine Cover - 2009

Austin Monthly Home Magazine Courtyard Design Article - 2009.