The Field

This year ASLA 2012 will override traditional focuses with field sessions in the Southwest landscape and education sessions keenly geared towards the landscape as a designed environment.

Here is a listing of planting design related field sessions and education session on offer at this year’s annual meeting.  Also, please join the Planting Design PPN meeting Saturday, August 25th from 3:30-5:00.

 

FIELD SESSIONS

FS005 Dreamy Draw Desert Hike and Residential Gardens of Steve Martino

Start the day with breakfast and a walk in the pristine Sonoran Desert with ASLA Design Medalist Steve Martino, FASLA. Then he’ll guide you through several residential desert gardens. The combined experience will juxtapose the natural ecosystem that is Martino’s passion and the gardens that are his favorite design pursuit.

 

FS009 Get Focused! A Photography Workshop at the Desert Botanical Garden

This is a unique opportunity to learn from award-winning Arizona Highways photographers, who will share their encyclopedic knowledge of photographing landscapes. Regardless of your camera or experience, this hands-on workshop will open your eyes and imagination to the art of photography and the wonders of the world-renowned Desert Botanical Garden.

 

FS011 Desert Lifestyle: The Private Gardens of Paradise Valley

This will be a diverse exploration of residential gardens and breathtaking views of Camelback Mountain. See how leading landscape architects in the Valley use hardscape materials, texture, and form to create these intimate oases. Gardens of differing scale and inspiration will reveal a rich palette of materials and vegetation.

 

EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS

SUN-B10 Green Roof Planting Design: Learning from the Experts

Green roof design and construction present many challenges, but there are truly enjoyable aspects related to completed projects artistically created, especially at high elevations. Meet three experienced green-roof design and construction professionals to learn their roof-specific planting-design processes and palettes.

 

SAT-A2 Are Natives Overrated?

Greater environmental awareness has designated native plant species as intrinsically superior choices to non-natives. Increasing disagreement among practitioners and scientists begs for a timely debate on the facts and opinions. This session offers a careful, no-nonsense, and open re-evaluation of this contentious issue.

 

SAT-A6 Natives and the Post-Industrial Site

The urgent need for practical tree-selection processes for urban and brownfield sites warrants a careful and pragmatic reassessment of the “need for natives.” Addressing site assessment, soil remediation, planting regimen, and area-wide biodiversity, panelists will put special emphasis on pragmatics and long-term maintenance.

 

SAT-B4 Measuring Regenerative Design: A Profile from the SITES™ Pilot Program

The Phipps Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) is breaking new ground as a pilot project for the Sustainable Sites Initiativeâ„¢ (SITES) rating system. This session will showcase how the CSL is implementing SITES to prevent climate change, conserve resources, and commit to biodiversity.

 

SAT-B7 Green Wall Planting Design: Using Plants to Create a Living Work of Art

Green walll systems are vital to the long-term health and sustainability of our environments. Green walls are also living works of art. Professionals designing and installing green wall systems will discuss the aesthetics and pragmatics of bringing artistry and creativity to the green-wall plant palette.

 

SUN-B3 How to Create Beautiful and Award Winning Gardens

This session will focus on sustainable garden design from an award-winning landscape architect with more than 30 years of experience creating Southwest gardens. The discussion will include a short history of garden design and demonstrate how to create sustainable, meaningful gardens.

 

MON-B7 Stormwater Management Integrated Into Creative Landscape Design

The current regulatory environment has increased site planning challenges by requiring specific, prescriptive stormwater controls. But aesthetic landscape architecture and stormwater management are often polar opposites. This session will integrate the two with basic hydrologic principles that meet prescriptive requirements and enhance creative freedom.

 

MON-D5 Sustainable Development: The Making of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Four billion people worldwide will see London’s stunning Olympic Park in 2012. It is an exemplary sustainable development that will be transformed into a mixed-use development for up to 20,000 residents. This is the story of revitalizing a largely derelict and contaminated post-industrial landscape.

 

FRI-C4 The Art and Science of Designing Native Meadows, Grasslands and Woodlands

Meadows, grasslands, and woodlands offer many environmental, managerial, and aesthetic benefits, yet designers often struggle with these complex ecosystems. This session will provide proven design, installation, and management strategies for successfully establishing sustained meadows and grasslands from seed and live plants.
by Stephanie Tuite and Deirdre Toner, Co-chairs, Planting Design PPN