Working with organizations empowered by the natural and built environment to help advance their mission-driven goals and objectives.
While spending time in Louisiana I eagerly wanted to visit one of the river houses along the Mississippi, and Houmas House touts itself as a “crown jewel” in this category. The plantation and complex was established around 1800 as a sugarcane plantation and is named after the native Houma people who originally occupied the area. … More Houmas House & Plantation, LA
Also a stop on the New Orleans trip was Longue Vue House and Gardens. I was intrigued to visit initially due the design history of the property. Ellen Biddle Shipman was a leading landscape architect of the time and designed the grounds around 1934. Her mentor was Charles A. Platt, whose sons William and Geoffrey … More Longue Vue House and Gardens
I visited Hilltop Arboretum toward the end of March, and while the climate was pretty perfect [partly sunny, near 80], much of the flora in the arboretum was just far along enough to be appreciated. The 14 acre property is situated on a highpoint about six miles south of the LSU campus, of whom also … More Hilltop Arboretum
I spent the day at the Burden Museum and Gardens, which consists of the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens, Windrush Gardens, and the Rural Life Museum. It covers 440 acres in Baton Rouge and was owned by the Burden family before being partially gifted to and acquired by LSU. The LSU AgCenter’s mission is to provide the people of … More LSU AgCenter / Burden Museum and Gardens
While exploring the city of New Orleans, i was eager to check out the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park adjacent to the museum. It takes up about 5 acres and is enclosed by mature pines, magnolias and live oaks and is further divided by rooms of mostly native understory shrubs and plants. This … More Sculpture Garden | New Orleans Museum of Art
Thoughts on my April 2017 visit to Crosby Arboretum … More Crosby Arboretum – Picayune, MS
Observations in stormwater management techniques … More Stormwater Management in Fishtown at I95
ChesLen Preserve is great destination for naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts and has miles and miles of trails trekking through the prettiest fields, woods, stream corridors, and serpentine barrens of Chester County, PA. At 1,263-acres, it is overseen by the Natural Lands Trust, and is one of the largest private nature preserves in southeastern Pennsylvania. What … More ChesLen Preserve
Its winter in the greater Philadelphia region, and as a designer and naturalist I’m always up for exploring landscapes that provide winter interest in effective ways: color, texture, warmth, and movement. Growing up in Maine, winter lasts about 5 months and the dominant color pallet in the snowy landscape is white with glimpses of brown … More Pennypack Preserve – PA
I recently took a mid-winter stroll through Morris Arboretum and wanted to point out five things that show great winter interest during a time when most of the garden is dormant. Wintersweet [Chimonanthus praecox]. It was the best smelling fragrance at the garden that day! Small yellow bell-like flowers that look nice en masse. Native … More Morris Arboretum – Winter Interest
Joshua Meyer 