BEEHIVE FENCES

I recently saw this posted on the treehugger website and thought I would share. Ok so imagine that you are a farmer and want to keep elephants and other animals away from you crop. Short of killing or harming the animal you want a much more sustainable method. Well in Africa they have come up with what is called a beehive fence and it works.

The following info was coppied from the treehugger website.

When an elephant pushes against the wires to get through to the crops, the hives swing violently, which sparks a fear in the elephant of a possible bee attack. The results of the pilot test are amazing, showing 86% fewer successful crop raids by elephants, and 150 fewer elephants even attempting a raid as compared to other farms in the control group.

Instead of using poison or guns, the idea uses natural instincts among animals to keep them out of human areas. The conflicts between humans and wildlife can be successfully reduced without anyone coming to harm.

You might be questioning the safety of the farmers - what if they or their children find themselves at the fence and the object of attack of the bees? Here's the most clever part. The hives in the pilot program weren't even occupied by bees!

The elephants have been known to be scared off by even just the recorded sound of buzzing bees. So the familiar sight and smell of hives, and the knowledge that a swinging hive might mean an eminent attack, was enough to keep the elephants at bay and everyone safe from bees.

DWELL ON DESIGN

I recently attended a Dwell on design show at the Los Angeles convention center that was a nice mix of furniture and design accessories that were mostly earth friendly. There were also some landscape products, but not as many as I would have liked. Anyhoo below are some pics from the show.

















If you would like a specific list of all the exhibitors then go to the Dwell on design website.

DESIGN FOR EACH SEASON

As I design I like to plant for each season. Pick plants that bloom in different seasons so there is color in each season. Tree of life has so generously categorized some native plants by the month in which they bloom thus easily telling what plant blooms when and allowing you to design for each season. For example if you are planting for the holidays then this is a small list of what to plant for December bloom.

December Plants:

• Arctostaphylos groundcovers (4 wks) - above picture is Emerald Carpet Manzanita
  
• Cneoridium dumosum (6 wks)
• Heteromeles arbutifolia berries (2 mos)

If you would like to see the rest of the months and get a glimpse into what to plant to have color in a given month then click below.
calendar of color

HE WENT OFF GRID

I was browsing through the treehugger website and came across this that was just impressive. A man in Southwest Texas built a home totally off grid for only $1600. It is what he calls his field lab.

http://www.thefieldlab.org/Home_Page.php

You should totally check out this guys site and learn about his adventures, how he lives and what he does. This is so awesome. Imagine! He lives debt free, pays no electricity bills, harvest rain water and gray water and lives strictly within his means as oppose to the rest of that spend money like it grow on trees.

NATIVE WATERING TIPS

I always try to advocate using natives over non natives and what I always tell people is that you should really do your homework to truly understand how to properly water native plants. Usually I'll give fact sheets to clients for each plant. Understanding how to property water natives ensures that they will survive longer in your garden. Below are some tips from Tree Of Life Nursery...

• Thoroughly research the plant that you wish to use or have to determine it's water needs
  
• How much water you give depends on your soil type (i.e. clay, sand and silt), location and micro climate (sun, shade etc.) - do your homework!
• Regular watering is needed during the establishment period - one thing you can to is check your soil for moisture by touching 6-8 inches below the surface between watering to see whether the soil is moist of dry
• Do not irrigate overhead as this might cause disease
• After the establishment period (generally 6-9 months) then you can reduce your watering to monthly.
  

Generally I would suggest using this rule of thumb.... If your plant leaves are yellow then you are watering too much, but if the leaves are brown then you are not watering enough.

I NEED MORE ROOM TO GROW

I was meeting a potential client in Long Beach and saw this in front of her house. Quit literally this plant called the Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) was planted by the city of Long Beach in an area that was too small for the roots of the plant. So what happens? Well as you can see in the picture (left) the roots are destroying the concrete and causing a big hazard for pedestrians.

I really don't get it? I guess some cities would much rather waste money then save it. And then they complain that we are in shortage of funds. Hmmm well if you continually waste your money trying to fix this sidewalk when it would just be cheaper to replace this tree with a different variety then there would be nothing to complain about. As you can see in the picture below, (right) this tree which is a carrot wood is far better to plant as a street tree.

I wonder how many other cities are quilty of this?

ELEPHANT PAINTINGS

I saw this video on my friends blog and thought it was cool to share. Imagine if an elephant can do this than the possibillities should be endless for you. Just imagine!